Simon Cooper
July 8, 2010
Here is a picture from Father's event this morning, a brief personal account, and notes from Hyung Jin Moon's talk a couple of hours ago:
Classic build up: lights went on at 3.45 am (not sure why), had a nice naked wash and shave with a few others in the men's toilets, in the sink. Sat on a coach for 45 minutes, then it moved, went up the hill to the palace/museum. The time was 6 am ish, the 'Convention to proclaim the word that firmly establishes the True Parents' was due to start at 10 am. Thankfully at the top of the mountain there was some breeze and the clouds were mercifully in front of the sun for some of the time.
Father was full of his usual poise and shared both deeply and humorously. He shared how he had just dyed his hair and how he always does before these occasions. I heard he had been up to 3.30 am talking to his close disciples. As the sun grew stronger and I went to find the shade of a tree and take my jacket off in order to sweat less, I reminded myself that Father at 90 years old, had been standing at the podium for more than an hour in his suit.
After we had no buses so we (8000 people) had to walk down the mountain. Our calf muscles felt the gradient. And I was glad I had followed the advice of others and had not brought one of the boys with me. Not sure they would have handled the schedule and not sure how I would have managed carrying one of them down on my back….
Here are my notes from Hyung Jin Moon's message to us this afternoon at the start of a 2 day Original Divine Principle seminar that father asked us all to join after the event today:
"True Father said today we should go back to our roots. Our unification movement tradition has a very short history of only 50 years and in that short time it has spread across the whole world, and of course as a result we have many limitations as well.
We want to go back to the core of True Parents revelation and the essence of the Divine Principle.
When I was in Brazil recently we read Father's autobiography in our morning study and we were discussing about our faith and our fate.
Our fate is connected to the path that we take. There are a series of decisions that we make that determine our future.
If you look back at your life you can see this reality.
WE MUST KNOW where we are heading. There is a biblical verse in Proverbs where king Solomon was looking out of a window and saw a young man walking on a path, and he could see that young man's future. On one side of the path there was a very decadent town with a big red light district, towards which the young man was heading.
King Solomon compared him to a cow that is heading to the abattoir.
However the young man did not see that future as he was thinking about something else, about happy thoughts of a very beautiful woman who had invited him to the town. So the young man was having a very sweet dream, but king Solomon had seen many men walking down this path and knew what fate he would have; that he would become trapped by this town of decadence.
(This is somewhere in Proverbs apparently… no reference was given… but William Haines helped me find it, he uses it in his lecture on the Human Fall. See Proverbs 7)
We can see from this that the path we are taking is always connected to our future. And when there is the opportunity to look down on that path with objectivity we can see where it will lead.
The reason I am telling you this story is that this young man did not realize that this choice he was making would effect his life so significantly. There are many choices that come up in our life: these are essentially the paths that we chose to take in our life.
We have to always ask ourselves what is the path I am taking and where is it leading to. Brothers and sisters, we are seeking the eternal path. We are not seeking the transient or temporary path.
That is the path of seeking True Parents, which is eternal. That is our bright and eternal future.
We are not to center one generation or another. We have an eternal center which is True Parents. If you look at Christianity, there have been many saints and church leaders, but they have always focused on Jesus' eternal love, rather than their own significance.
If we forget that we will find ourselves going on the wrong path with out noticing it…
We will always be True Parents children….
… After my elder brother passed away [Young Jin Moon] I started to doubt whether God existed, and with that kind of mind I started studying religion, and then I started training…
When I go before True Parents I do not go as an adult, regardless of however many responsibilities and positions he has bestowed on me. When I go into the room, Father does not see an international president, but he sees his youngest son, and that is when I feel the greatest freedom and love. I don't feel the need to have to prove anything to them and this is the most precious quality time for me.
We should get rid of thoughts we have that put us in the context of some official position when we are in front of True Parents. Of course it is important to be mature in our actions and in our words, but as Jesus said in order to go to the Kingdom of Heaven we need the heart of a child.
Through this important proclamation today there are a lot of expectations….
It is because of this 120 day workshop which has just been completed that a war could be prevented between the North and South Korea. Even the sinking of the naval ship did not bring about war. Because these leaders who went through the 120 day workshop and united with True Parents and continued through out the 120 days faithfully an important condition could be set by True Parents.
(From UK: Constance Rennie and Haesul Fagcang attended the workshop.)
We do not know what conditions are being set by this 2 day workshop that we are starting now on Father's request, we do not know how big a condition can be made by even the offering of a pigeon.
If we can think like that we will go down one path, if we look cynically and with disinterest we will go down another path. How we take this short workshop is a decision we will make.
That young man thought he was going to be with the beautiful woman for just one night and he did not realize how that one night would have a big effect on his life course… for us this one night, and two days workshop will also involve us making a decision that will effect our path and our future. Let has have that kind of awareness and heart.
Let us look into our hearts and either have king Solomon's perspective, or the blissfully unaware perspective of the young man who was oblivious to the choices that he was making regarding his future.
Let us go on a path of seeking True Parents in our life."
Notes:
The Books of Proverbs, chapter 7
1: My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2: keep my commandments and live,
keep my teachings as the apple of your eye;
3: bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4: Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call insight your intimate friend;
5: to preserve you from the loose woman,
from the adventuress with her smooth words.
6: For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7: and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man without sense,
8: passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9: in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
10: And lo, a woman meets him,
dressed as a harlot, wily of heart.
11: She is loud and wayward,
her feet do not stay at home;
12: now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
13: She seizes him and kisses him,
and with impudent face she says to him:
14: "I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows;
15: so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16: I have decked my couch with coverings,
colored spreads of Egyptian linen;
17: I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
18: Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19: For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20: he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home."
21: With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
22: All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
23: till an arrow pierces its entrails;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24: And now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25: Let not your heart turn aside to her ways,
do not stray into her paths;
26: for many a victim has she laid low;
yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
27: Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.