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Chapter 2 Life through Life
The Age of Attendance
In this age you are justified by living in attendance to God. You attain salvation through attendance. Previously, you were saved through paying indemnity. However, you must now enter the age when you attend Heaven. There must be a nation where everyone lives in attendance to Heaven. Jesus was chased out because he did not have such a nation. It is the same for you. You must go forth holding on to the Word that I am conveying to you. Satan has no power to deny the Word. Since even Satan recognizes God, if you substantially build a family that is aligned with the Word and with the heavenly world, then centering on your family you can freely expand your foundation. How can a nation emerge without families? It is from our families that our tribes can emerge. Centering on our tribes we can create our nation, and from that point God’s world will emerge naturally. This is the expansion that will take place starting from blessed families. (2, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
God believes, works and lives in attendance; if we live with the same standard, then we will create an environment where Satan cannot intervene in our life. Although we may be within Satan’s realm, if we establish the standard of righteousness that makes an environment where we can be with God, then Satan will withdraw. That does not mean that attendance in the Completed Testament Age is the only thing that will remain after the Old Testament Age based on deeds and the New Testament Age based on faith have passed. We need all three: the works of the Old Testament Age, the faith of the New Testament Age, and the attendance of the Completed Testament Age. Even in the Completed Testament Age we need to have faith and do good works. They are inseparable, by the same logic that tells us that growth occurs based on the formation stage, and completion happens based on the growth stage. This is particularly so at this time because justification by attendance means developing our lives in order to usher in the era of the kingdom of heaven. (12, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
What does the age of justification through attendance mean? It means this is an age of living in attendance to God. Doesn’t the first of the Ten Commandments in the Bible tell us to love God? In the Era after the Coming of Heaven, however, God manifests Himself to all people in the form of the True Parents. Therefore, the stature of the Unification Church, whose members attend the True Parents, will reflect Heaven’s power and authority, a power and influence without equal in the world. (13, Section 3, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
How will history unfold? The Lord, the bridegroom, will come and meet his bride. This will bring forth the era of the religious realm of the bridegroom and the bride. This can be viewed as the religion of the True Parents, but it is not really a religion. When this happens, what we know as religion will disappear. We will receive salvation by attending the True Parents. This means that the age of salvation through attendance is coming. Therefore, True Parents’ words should become the root of our words. All True Parents’ feelings, physical and emotional, should become our feelings. True Parents’ lifestyle should become the basis for the tradition of our own families; that is, it should become our family culture. (12, Section 4, Chapter 2, Book 2, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Attending Heavenly Parent and True Parents
Until now we have called upon God based only on a concept. We have referred to God as our subject partner only in a religious sense. Yet God is the subject partner of our very existence. Furthermore, He is the subject partner of our daily life and the subject partner of our philosophy of life. However, no matter how deep and wide our philosophy and view of Him as our subject partner may be, if we cannot explain and experience God in daily life, emotionally and practically, what good is it? If there are people whose philosophy of life enables them to experience the value of God as their subject partner in daily life and to be so united with God that they would not exchange Him for the world, they must be the people for whom God is seeking. (32, Section 2, Chapter 1, Book 1, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
When you get out of bed in the morning, you should offer your first words to Heaven, and you should offer your first step out of the house to Heaven as well, by stepping first with your right foot. By cultivating habits like these, your life becomes a life of attendance. In your attitude every day, you have to adopt a principled standard. (2, Section 2, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The Unification Church does not talk about the kingdom of heaven based on faith alone. We say that the righteous are justified by attendance, that we are saved through attendance. But to attend God you need to know Him. It is not a problem to attend Him once you understand the teachings of the Unification Church. Once you truly understand them, you will know God and find it natural to attend Him. Having said that, I ask you: how regularly do you feel God’s presence? How many times during your twenty-four hours day do you feel His presence? Can you expect to be saved through attendance if you attend God two hours a day? You should need God more than you need to breathe and seek Him more desperately than a choking person gasps for air or a dehydrated person craves a drink of water. God is more essential than food. (3, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Faith means living in attendance to God, living together with God and attending Him. If we do not walk such a path, we feel uneasy. We feel physically uncomfortable and we meet obstacles in our environment. A life of faith is a life of living together with God and attending Him. The sun rises in the morning, reaches its zenith at noon and sets in the evening. This is unchanging. It will not change in tens of thousands of years. If an orbit goes awry, everything goes awry. We need to go out and find the mind of love, the path of true love. The person who inherits true life and true lineage becomes part of God’s family and always lives with God. Living with God also means living happily with nature and coming and going happily in our daily lives. (16, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 8, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Up to now you received salvation through a life of faith, but from now on you will find salvation through attendance. If humankind had not fallen at the outset, you would attend God as your way of life. Attending God is something you do with your whole heart in your daily life. Wherever you go, you should always feel that your father is in front of you and your mother is behind you, and that Heaven is with you at every moment, to your right and left, above you and below you. (1, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
From now on, you must live with True Parents. God is in the position of the grandparents. True Parents are in the position of the mother and the father, and you are in the position of the first son. The lesson is that three generations should live together. You should live with the feeling resounding in your heart that God is with you and True Parents are with you. (1, Section 3, Chapter 1, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
You must actually live a life of attending True Parents. Since there is only one True Parents and there are many of you, I can’t go to all of your homes and tell you to attend us, can we? However, in your daily life, when you wake up in the morning, you should start your day by saying “Thank you” to True Parents. When you eat breakfast, you say, “Please eat first, True Parents,” while holding the first spoon of breakfast, and before going to bed, you say, “True Parents, I will rest tonight for tomorrow and start anew. Please take a good night’s rest, True Parents.” This kind of life is the life of attending. In this way, 24 hours a day, True Parents must not be absent from your minds and hearts. Only in this way can you say that you are children. Isn’t it right? Such an attitude of mind that enables you to advance to the position of a true child must be practically expressed in your actions. (True Mother, December 20, 2014)
Attending Each Other in a Family
You must guard well three kinds of love: your love for God, your love for true parents, and your love for your future spouse. Can you casually treat these relationships based on your whims? If you strike any of these kinds of love and cause damage, you are damaging God and your parents; moreover, you are damaging your future love partner. You have to relate to your partners with great love. This is the teaching of the textbook and the formula of love that God’s children need to keep. Resenting your brother or sister is the same as resenting God and your parents. It is also an act of denying and destroying the realm of your future partner. It is the same as detaching yourself from love. Hence, doing this is an offense against God and also against your parents and the entire creation. Anyone who does, stands as an enemy to God, True Parents and the entire creation. God could not educate Adam and Eve to live according to this way. Yet this is the standard of the principle within Heavens textbook for children, which can liberate God’s bitter grief. Thus, brothers and sisters ought to be good to one another. They should live this way in front of God and the creation, with the Parents at the center. (23, Section 3, Chapter 2, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The love between husband and wife is the force that implants God within them. Originally, parents are to stand in God’s position, with the husband and wife each representing one side of God. Their sons and daughters also are small embodiments of God. Once they connect to the true love of God, the origin of true love, all of them become part of the same body. Parents are living representatives of God on earth. The husband and wife represent God, as do the children and the grandparents. In this way three generations stand in God’s position, centered on true love. Parents, husband and wife, and children are each in this position, but for this they need true love. A family structure centered on true love like this is the foundation for the kingdom of heaven. Without achieving such a foundation we cannot build the kingdom. This is the formula. When this becomes reality, the family will be the center of the world. (15, Section 4, Chapter 4, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
You have to become completely one with God’s love and True Parents’ love. At that stage your mind and body are one through true love, and you and your spouse are united. You couples must become one with True Parents and then become one with God. This is how the realm of three generations can be realized. Three generations of couples, with the heart of true love, embody God’s love and True Parents’ love and love each other faithfully. Real love can take root for the first time in human history only when that is accomplished. We have to progress through these stages: we unite our mind and body, we love our husband or wife completely, and we become one with the perfect love of God and True Parents. (5, Section 5, Chapter 3, Book 8, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
What is True Love?
A life of true love simply means living for the sake of others. It is a life of giving to others first, for their sake, before wanting others to give to you, for your sake. It is giving to others and then forgetting what you have given to them. It is not a matter of wanting something in return for what you have given. Rather, you feel sorry that you were not able to give more. It is a life of taking a humble position, even as you give to others and live for their sake. That is the love of parents and the love of an owner. Such is the heart of God, the True Parent of humanity. (1, Section 3, Chapter 3, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
What is true love? It is the combination of parents’ love, husband-wife love and children’s love. Unless we set up the tradition of making sacrifices for one another, relationships of love will not last for long; they will break down. Because parents make sacrifices for their children, this bond never breaks. Further, children who have grown up receiving genuine love from their parents can never be disloyal to them. Moreover, blessings will come to the family of the husband and wife who relentlessly strive to serve and sacrifice for each other, with each saying to the other, “You have lived for my sake.” Such a family is the blessed land that God can come to visit. (33, Section 6, Chapter 4, Book 5, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The essence of the absolute God’s true love is not found in having others serve you. Rather, it is when you serve and live for the sake of others. It is love that you give, forget that you have given, and continue to give endlessly. It is love that you find pleasure in giving. It is the love of a mother nursing her baby at her breast. It is the love expressed when a child happily serves his or her parents out of filial piety. It is the love God expressed in creating humankind; an absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal love, given unconditionally. (17, Section 3, Chapter 1, Book 13, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
If you enter the realm of resonance of true love, you will be able to see heaven and earth clearly. The Buddha said, “In heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one.” He said so because when he entered the core of that realm of resonance, he found the entire world in his hands, God residing within him, and heavenly law connected to him. That is why he could say this. Once you enter the realm where true love resonates, you do not need faith. Since you live with God, you do not need a savior. You are free. Everything is finished. (8, Section 2, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Living for the Sake of Others
The central philosophy we uphold in the Unification Church is to live for the sake of others. If you do so, you will become the center. Without the process of living for each other, there will be no peace in the family. And if you cannot build peace in your family, there can be no peace among your people, no peace in your nation and no peace in the world. This is to tell you to live centered on a realm of love for the entire world. That will absolutely be the foundation for peace among humankind. (1, Section 4, Chapter 2, Book 10, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
In order to build a world of lasting peace, we must each apply a simple, basic principle. This principle is God’s essence, the core of God’s original nature, namely, the principle of “living for the sake of others.” When we apply this principle to daily lives, families, society, workplace, worship, governments and businesses, we begin the process of transforming society, the nation, and the world. (True Mother, March 1, 2015)
When we consider our lives based on this principle of existing for the sake of others, the most positive view of life would be one that says we exist for all humanity, for the entire world, for the nation, for the society, for the family, for the husband, for the wife and for the children. (3 Book 1, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
God and parents stand in the position to care for others before anyone else does. God thinks of you before you do. And your parents think of you before you do. This is why you love them. This is why they stand in the position of subject partner to you. When two people live together, each should think, “If my partner does not do what he or she is supposed to do, I will do it.” This is the kind of being God is. The person who thinks this way becomes the center. The person who lives for the sake of others surely becomes the center. (14, Section 1, Chapter 4, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
You may think that if you sacrifice for the sake of others, you will lose everything. In truth, it is the opposite. If anything, you become the subject being of love and the owner of everything, and you also are elevated to a higher dimension. A person who sacrifices and serves for the sake of the class becomes the class president, and a person who sacrifices for the sake of the village becomes the leader of the village. Furthermore, a person who sacrifices and serves for the sake of the nation becomes the owner of the nation. The principle of love is that when love sacrifices for something that is greater, the level of that love is elevated. When you sacrifice for something greater, rather than being absorbed by it, you can stand at its center and face a new dimension. (4 Book 6, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
By himself or herself, a person cannot realize love. From where does love come? Love does not originate from me; it comes from my spouse. Since love comes from my spouse, I must bow my head and serve her. This is where the heavenly principle of living for the sake of others originates. We must practice the philosophy that teaches that when something highly noble comes to me, I must honor and serve it in order to receive it. (14 Book 4, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
If you go ahead with a self-centered attitude, you will decline, but if you practice life for the sake of others, you will develop. Absolutely, there must not be anyone who suffers because of you. We are people who give life. We must embrace our brothers and all people with love. (True Mother, September 23, 2013)
Unity of Mind and Body
Our ultimate goal is to create Cheon Il Guk in attendance to God. The first thing we have to do for this goal is to examine ourselves. According to Father, Cheon Il Guk is established when two people become one. Therefore, in our life of faith, the most important thing is to live in a place of one hundred percent unity between mind and body. What do we have to do to live in such a place? Begin with what I have said: “Before you criticize things that are wrong, you should say these words with a pure and sincere heart: ‘I offer thanks to Heaven.'” If you can stand on a foundation of oneness on the individual and familial levels, at church, in your tribe, in your country and the world, then the unified world centered on God will be realized naturally. If you live with this mindset, Heaven will always be with you in everything you do, and blessings will pour down upon you. (25, Section 3, Chapter 4, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Love is essential for the unity of mind and body. When parents come to love their children, they willingly endure hunger, hard work, ragged garments and going places they don’t want to go. While walking the path of such love, the mind and the body take the same unifying direction. It is the only way to unity, the only means to unity. If you take this as the standard for daily life and for your entire life, you will not perish. This I guarantee. (2, Section 6, Chapter 2, Book 8, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The problem lies within the self, not within society. If there is a problem in my family, it is not because my elder brother is bad, my elder sister is bad, or my father is bad; it is because I am bad. I must first attain a certain standard before I can be in a position to criticize the standard of others. Only after attaining unity between my own original mind and my body can I proudly enter the one unified world. If my original mind and body are divided, how can I participate in a world where everything is harmonized? I would automatically retreat from it. Therefore, I should not allow my body to become my master. I should not allow my body to suppress or ignore my mind, to exhaust or distress it. I can be happy only when I control my body and direct it to serve my mind; then God will come and dwell within me. It is said that “Family harmony makes all go well.” If I want peace in my family and within myself, I need to unite my mind and body. (21, Section 1, Chapter 3, Book 5, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
You each need to unite your mind and body. Then you need to achieve unity as couples. When you live for the sake of each other out of love, unity will blossom. Until now, your mind has lived its entire life for the sake of your body. However, the body has not lived for the sake of the mind. Just as the mind has lived for the sake of the body, however, the body needs to live for the sake of the mind, and they must achieve unity. Centered on what should this unity take place? Unity is achieved with true love, altruistic love. We need to become people with united mind and body and unite as husband and wife centered on true love. This is how we can form new branches and grow. Each of us knows this. This is the key to the mind’s happiness. If we do so, the creation will delight us, work will not exhaust us and, even if we don’t sleep, we will not feel fatigued. (22, Section 2, Chapter 2, Book 8, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The way to achieve unity is simple. All you need to do is to unite your mind and body. When someone who has attained mind-body unity becomes one with his or her family, there is peace in that family. When a family that is united in this way becomes one with its society, that family will be so happy that its members will not envy anyone in society. When a society united in this way becomes one with its nation, it will develop a realm of unity that is so strong that no one in the nation will deny it; everyone will respect it. Furthermore, when such a nation becomes one with all the world’s people, the kingdom of God will be realized on earth. (11, Section 1, Chapter 2, Book 10, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Conscience
Where would God’s dwelling place be? God would nestle in the most precious place of all — love. Speaking of a man and a woman, where would God be? He would be at the point that stands perpendicular to their deepest love, based on their complete and unchanging unity. Where man and woman come into oneness, that place becomes the central point. If you reach a mystical state in prayer, enter the realm of spiritual experience, and call out to God, “Heavenly Father,” you will hear the answer from deep inside, “Why are you calling me? I am right here. Here!” “Here” refers to the center of your heart. It is the central point of love where you are totally united in mind and body, the perpendicular space where God can dwell. Where is the center of the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world and cosmos? That center, no matter how small, is the conscience. One’s conscience upholds the place where the axis of universal love resides. Such is the conscience of one who has attained unity of mind and body. (21, Section 1, Chapter 1, Book 1, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The original mind guides you better than God does. It existed even before you did. As a guide, this mind or conscience is better than your parents, better than your king, better even than God. It is that precious. When you are about to do something wrong, it does not say, “Hurry up and do it!” No, if you are about to do something perverse, it says, “Don’t do it, you rascal!” Therefore, you absolutely need to listen to your conscience. Once you make it a habit, you and your conscience will be in constant dialogue. (21, Section 2, Chapter 1, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Your conscience or higher mind is your second God. God is your first God, in the plus position to your mind. Your mind, in the minus position to God, is your second God. You need to understand this. Again, the mind is your second God. That second God, the mind, is always with you. It relates to you from deep in your conscience, from within the depths of love, life and lineage. It is ever cleansing and removing anything impure, resolving your inner problems and guiding you to a higher place in life. By doing so, your original conscience is also lifted up. The force of this conscience governs your physical self. This force and the physical self are naturally perfected when they unite and become one, as plus and minus. Thus, your conscience is your second God. It is your center, from which arises a powerful force that governs you all the time. (17, Section 2, Chapter 1, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
High Noon Settlement
You are not to live a life with shadows. Therefore, I proclaimed the high noon settlement. It is a marvelous concept. For there to be no shadows, mind and body must be united and the family must be united as a four-position foundation. If the father did something wrong, he would create a father’s shadow. If the mother did something wrong, she would make a mother’s shadow. If there were four members in the family and the four could not settle down, then the light would be blocked. No one likes the place of shadows. That is why we must achieve the high noon settlement. There shouldn’t be any shadows, even after we go to the next world. God travels through the vertical line of eight stages from the shadow-free individual to the shadow-free family, tribe, people, nation, world, cosmos and God. Can there be any shadow cast on God’s love? It is purity itself. That is why everyone wants that purity, even in his or her flesh and blood. No one likes shadows. The shadow is Satan. This is why whenever we do wrong, we tend to cover it up. That is the enemy. That is the barrier. You must break down that barrier if you are to have the high noon settlement. I am not saying this just symbolically. It must be done. (28, Section 3, Chapter 3, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
I have already mentioned that a life of vertical alignment is like the noontime sun that casts no shadow. If we can all shine as we live in the light, we will not cast the shadow of sin. Those who receive the light will be indebted to it. In order to pay back your debt, all of you should live a life dedicated to wiping away the tears of people in misery and poverty, and lead an illuminated life of eternal true love that dissipates the darkness. (14, Section 2, Chapter 4, Book 13, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The third part of shedding fallen nature is to scrutinize your life every moment of every day. I am sure you all had experiences in school, looking at a problem on a test and not knowing whether a particular answer was right or wrong. The same is true with your overall life. I am asking you to analyze and scrutinize the innumerable different situations in daily life each moment, and determine whether you are right or wrong. In the same way Korean teachers grade tests, give yourself an O if you are right, or an X if you are wrong. When you meet a situation and act in an affirmative and hopeful way, you get an O. By this action you set a vertical axis up to heaven and you lived as at “high-noon,” without casting a shadow. Your life undoubtedly had such depth and breadth that you forgave and embraced an enemy in the spirit of true love. (6 Book 10, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Gratitude
We must always be thankful. First, we must thank God, then we must thank our husbands, our wives, and our neighbors. The more we are thankful, the deeper love flows in, one after another. The more you thank, the more His love for you will grow in proportion to your gratitude. Therefore, when I die, I will leave the world with words of gratitude, and I will return to my Father with nothing but love. I will live forever in love. I wonder how much I will praise and thank God when that time comes. That is my dream. In order to go to the place of the blessing of love, we must live a life of gratitude. If we encounter misfortune, God knows about it. If we encounter the most unfortunate situation in the world, God cannot help but remember it. If you can learn to digest things by being thankful in the moment, God will say, “This person can be trusted.” If you can go beyond that, you will receive blessings that are unique in the world. There are such principles. (May 29, 1977)
I have but one life goal: to live in utmost gratitude. Today I will be more grateful than yesterday; tomorrow I will be yet more grateful. … Father gave a parting word to me at the last moment before he left for Danbury. He said that you must not complain about the situation. Rather, you must live in gratitude about it. When you are completely united in gratitude, this will create a foundation for true, lasting unity. When there is unity a great miracle will come. (True Mother, July 31, 1984)
You must empty your mind and repent. Those in high positions must sincerely descend to low positions and be thankful to heaven in their daily lives, and even about themselves, they must say, “I am thankful that I can make a fresh start like this.” If you live with a heart of gratitude, saying, “Please guide me so that today, too, will be a day in which I can do my best to work for the will that I have not been able to do until now,” then everything around you will look beautiful. And you will be happy. You will be compelled to do witnessing because you cannot keep it to yourself. (True Mother, October 27, 2012)
Tradition
From now, we need to establish a new tradition with the family as its center, based on the tradition of those who lived their lives as patriots, saints and divine sons and daughters. For this, we need to replace the traditions that existed during the age of indemnity. This new tradition is what we will follow for eternity in the kingdom of heaven. Centering on the family, we should establish the ways of true filial sons and daughters, true husbands and wives who are faithful to each other, and true patriots, and prepare the ways of saints and divine sons and daughters. We have to prepare these ways here on earth. (30, Section 3, Chapter 3, Book 4, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
We need to establish a new tradition that transcends peoples and nations. That tradition should be established based on the foundation of relationships according to God’s desire, not human desire. This means we shouldn’t cling to our personal habits, past customs or present-day styles. Our way should be totally different. (14, Section 3, Chapter 4, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
we have to take the lead in protecting the pure lineage, the standardization of human rights, and the assets of the nation. On the other hand, we have to become the model for relationships between parents and children, husband and wife, and siblings. If everyone in the village can say, “I want to follow that person,” and, “I want to emulate that person and live with that person,” then he or she surely will become a citizen of the kingdom of God and one who is remembered in the heavenly nation. (9, Book 1, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Instead of observing a traditional day of Sabbath, the Unification Church is entering the age of salvation through justification by attendance. Put simply, it is the age of attendance. The attendance I am referring should not be taken lightly; it should enable God to enter your family and abide there. That is not only a realm of liberation, but a realm of complete freedom in which you live together with God. Until now, we observed the Sabbath every week. Nonetheless, within the range of ten, the eighth day is most important. This is because it marks a new beginning, a day of peaceful settlement through justification by attendance. Finally this day, called Ahn Shi Il in Korean, could come about, allowing us to achieve salvation through attending God. (12, Section 3, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
All families should display True Parents’ picture. The family should bow before it together, forming a four-position foundation. Three generations ought to bow. The four-position foundation involves three generations. Three generations should offer a bow — grandfather and grandmother, mother and father and children. After establishing a four-position foundation, when you bow in the name of True Parents you are outside the domain of the Fall. In this situation, because God has direct dominion over you, you have established a realm of liberation. Hence all the good spirits in the spirit world can come to earth and protect you, just as the archangel was meant to protect Adam’s family. We have entered such an age. (27, Section 1, Chapter 2, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
How beautiful it is to see a mother and father holding their child’s hands and sitting together in prayer! We must set the tradition in our families of offering bows in the morning to greet God and True Parents. Offering three bows signifies that we go to meet True Parents, who then bring us to meet God. (25, Section 1, Chapter 2, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
When you bow during pledge service on Sunday, to whom are you bowing? You are bowing to me, your Teacher, and to your family. You bow to serve and attend the Heavenly Parent and True Parents as the King and Queen. You bow to inherit the kingship from them. You are busy and occupied with many things, yet what could be more important than that? Children should bow to their parents, and parents should bow to each other. You parents must teach filial piety to your children. In this movement, the lives we lead should be models to others. (28, Section 1, Chapter 2, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The mother and father of a family should do pledge service and set an example for their children so they too will be eager to attend. When children see their parents eagerly awaiting this time with joy, they should be able to say, “We want to learn what our mother and father are learning!” We parents should leave such an example for them. Children should also see their parents hold Hoon Dok Hae gatherings. The words shared there are not available anywhere else. Since I am the one who inaugurated Hoon Dok Hae, they exist only within the Unification Church. You should establish the tradition that you enjoy attending Hoon Dok Hae so much that you forget to eat, and that you would pass up meeting a guest or anyone else if it interfered with Hoon Dok Hae. This is how to put your family on the right path. You have to establish such a tradition for your sons and daughters. (4, Section 3, Chapter 2, Book 11, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Hook Dok Hae you are holding on earth are absolutely necessary. You have to land here. The spirit world is already doing this. Everything can be established within a week in the spirit world. Therefore, you cannot understand how urgent it is to do what you need to do on earth. We have entered an era in which families can be established through Hook Dok Hae. That is why Hook Dok Hae are so important. This is a program that liberates your ancestors in the spirit world and liberates your descendants in the future. The past, present and future are one. Also, when your parents become grandparents, you become three generations centered on you and your second generation (children). You will cross over by building a bridge centered on three generations (March 15, 1998)
You should now set up the Hoon Dok Hae study tradition in your family using the books I have mentioned. That is the tradition where three generations of a family start each day by reading Heaven’s word, and lead a life practicing what they read with a new heart. Let’s create a world where people in the spirit world and the earthly world attend True Parents at the same time, and read the words about the heavenly path together. Once this happens, no matter how hard Satan may try to worm his way in and infest your lineage, when he encounters the Hoon Dok Hae tradition he will have no room to move. If the blessing of God does not come to the family that is living the standard of high noon, where no shadow is cast, who then could possibly receive it? When such heavenly families fill the earth, the world automatically will become the heavenly kingdom on earth and in the eternal spirit world, fulfilling the vision of one family under God. (12, Section 2, Chapter 4, Book 13, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Family Pledge
As the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity passed its 40th anniversary, it was renamed the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and the Family Pledge, which is like an absolute covenant or constitution, was established to complete this. The term “Family Pledge” does not exist in history. It is a Family Pledge that will lead us to Kingdom of Heaven and complete it. If you look at it, it is the content that makes you liberated completely centered on the restoration through indemnity. Therefore, those who recite this are not within the realm of family in the fallen world, but within the realm of the perfect family. Aa a family realm centered on true love is formed, the unity of mind and body, which was divided by false love, occurs. （1994. 11. 3）
I don’t know how grateful I am that the Family Pledge has been revealed. Who do you pledge it to? You pledge it to God, the Creator, Heavenly Parent. You also pledge it to the vertical God and horizontal True Parents, liberating the earthly parents who had resentment in the place of lamentation. Next, the Family Pledge is a statement that we say to all the families of the world, telling them to “follow our example”. You must recite it, uniting your body and mind. Husbands and wives must recite the Family Pledge as one. Sons and daughters must recite it as one. We must repent and pray. （1998. 11. 21）
The teaching of the Family Pledge takes a universal perspective, not an individualistic one. You should not try to avoid the various difficulties the real world presents. You must be valiant to break through that reality and gain victory. Your weapon for this is the family armed with the tradition of the Family Pledge. I am not talking about the family centered only on the first generation, you and your spouse. You need to establish Heaven’s firm and unwavering tradition through a family of at least three generations. Hence, your mission is to establish your household as a family where the true lineage of the chosen people flows from generation to generation. (11, Section 5, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
Cheon Il Guk’s citizens represent heaven and earth. Therefore, wherever you are, you should always live for the sake of the entire planet. If there is a problem at the North Pole, all of you should be concerned about how to resolve it. You should view any problem as your responsibility, whether it is at the South Pole, in the East or in the West. When you say, “owner of Cheon Il Guk,” remember that there is a crucial difference between a leader and an owner. The person in the leader’s position may change from time to time, but an owner’s position is eternal. You cannot be the owner of your family as an individual; your ownership should be as husband and wife. Even that is not enough; you need to complete the four-position foundation and become owners through three generations. Your grandfather and grandmother, your father and mother, you and your spouse, and your children make four generations, but in terms of stages they are reckoned as three. This is how you can become the owners of Cheon Il Guk. (14, Section 5, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
“To strive every day to advance” means we never stop moving forward. We must keep moving forward and developing ourselves. As we advance, we ought to develop in all directions — east, west, north and south. I did not proclaim the Family Pledge for no reason. If you are not united in mind and body, or if your couple is fighting, you should not recite it. If no unity exists between you and your children, you should not recite it. You need to realize how precious your blessed family is. The fact that we have the Family Pledge causes the spirit world to watch us and make our ancestors who have gone to the spirit world envious. (70, Section 5, Chapter 3, Book 12, Cheon Seong Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)
The Family Pledge that you recite is a statement of pledge for you. You are representing your ancestors, representing your present clan, and representing your future descendants. Since you have taken the position of the ancestor, if you do not uphold the tradition correctly, you will not be able to stand proudly even in front of your descendants. The Family Pledge is the center. God’s ideal of creation is the family. It is “one family under God.” You have to overcome everything with this as your foundation. You must not get stuck. Therefore, you must absolutely recite the Family Pledge on the basis of absolute sex. Since the conclusion of the consensus depends on the Family Pledge, when you recite the Family Pledge, you do it with your ancestors, your tribe, and your descendants. You must absolutely recite the Family Pledge on the basis of absolute sex. (2008. 11. 13）
At the heart of the Family Pledge is the true family, which exists within the framework of true love. The Family Pledge serves as a bridge connecting our lives to God. To recite it is like an explosion of true love that completely captivates God. The Family Pledge is the energy and wisdom that brings true love to the center of the connections between the vertical and horizontal, north and south and front and back, initiating eternal spherical motion. The Family Pledge is the key to the gates of the kingdom of heaven. No key made of gold or silver can open the gates to the kingdom; only the key of a true family perfected through true love can open those gates. (15, Book 2, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, The Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk)