Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon
First version of the 2001 tour speech to be given at:
November 26, 2001 -- University of Bridgeport, CT
November 27, 2001 -- New Jersey
November 28, 2001 -- Texas
November 29, 2001 -- Los Angeles, CA
November 30, 2001 San Francisco, CA
December 1, 2001 -- New York, NY
December 2, 2001 -- Washington, DC
December 15, 2001 -- Chicago, IL
Respected leaders, ladies and gentlemen.
At this transitional point in human history, we have gathered as leaders who are concerned about the unification of Korea and world peace. The tragedies that took place in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania on September 11 truly shocked the entire world. Along with the concern over peace and safety, we came to reflect upon fundamental and serious questions of modern civilization and future of humanity.
The Inter-religious International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) and World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) held a timely and significant conference in New York City this October 19 to 22. These two organizations, both of which my husband founded, brought together more than 400 participants from 101 countries. The participants included current and former heads of state, the highest leaders of major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism, and representatives of academia and non-governmental organizations. The participants debated seriously on how to find peaceful solutions to today’s crises.
My homeland, the Korean Peninsula, as the world’s last divided country, is a troubled area that, along with the Middle East, attracts the world’s attention. In my husband’s opening address at the New York conference, he communicated a vision for lasting and fundamental peace, and today I again would like to share this view with you leaders assembled here. The title of my address is "The Nation and World of Peace Sought by God and Humanity."
Resolving the Root of Conflict
Throughout history, human beings have continuously aspired for world peace. However, we have never realized that dream. We can look back at the end of the Cold War, at which time fierce political and military conflicts and struggles concluded. Many people expected that the long-awaited era of peace and stability would arrive based on the foundation of highly developed science.
Nonetheless, we came to realize that conflict, hatred and selfish desire are imbedded deeply within each of us and are still active. These are creating ever more serious disasters in new shapes and forms. Violence wreaked upon innocents is certainly an inhumane criminal act, and we must bring it to a halt. However, what can eradicate those inner conflicts and struggles, and resolve the fundamental human problems at their root? Where was the seed of hatred, conflict, and struggle sown, and how did it come to be rooted deeply within us?
The seed was planted in the family of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve. The conflicts and struggles that resulted have continued from generation to generation until the present time.
Then, where is the path to resolve those conflicts and realize peace on Earth? Historically, human beings have been attempting to overcome conflicts and pursue peace through economic, political, diplomatic and military means. However, such methods obviously do not provide fundamental solutions, as we are still struggling with many unresolved problems.
There is but one fundamental way and it is simple. It is to restore the family that the first human ancestors lost; that is, the ideal family of God. This is the family with God at its center, the family that has achieved perfection in true love both vertically and horizontally.
God exists as the Original Being of true love and the invisible True Parent of humankind. Nonetheless, love cannot exist alone. It exists in relationships and it can bear fruit only through relationships. That is why God created us as His children, through whom He would seek to realize His true love.
The Three Blessings of God
The First Blessing of God to human beings, "be fruitful" (Genesis 1:28), called God’s children to become the object partners of His true love by becoming true persons. When we love someone, we want our object partner to be better than ourselves. Thus, in love, God, as the Father, wants His children to be better than Him. That is why God repeatedly invests Himself in human beings, the object partners of His love, and nevertheless constantly forgets about what He has already given and desires infinitely to give love more and more. This is so because love has its origin in the desire to live for the sake of others for eternity.
God then bestowed the Second Blessing, "multiply" (Genesis 1:28). The first human ancestors were to have grown to maturity as the children of God. After having reached perfection, as one with God in heart, they were to have become True Husband and Wife. Then, they were to have become substantial True Parents to their children, inheriting and passing on true love, true life and true lineage from God.
As such, God’s ideal of creation was to perfect true love both vertically and horizontally, beginning in the first family of our common ancestors. Since God’s love is absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal, that family also was to have become the absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal family, centered on true love. Human beings would have become substantial embodiments of love, totally united with God in heart. Then they would have obtained perfect freedom, happiness and the realization of all ideals.
Then they would have become the Lords of true love whom all beings in the universe would have loved and welcomed. This was God’s Third Blessing (Genesis 1:28). This is the Blessing to create a living environment in which we can experience joy and happiness, having dominion over the creation. This includes the care for and preservation of the world’s ecological balance as true masters of the creation.
Not by Power or Knowledge, but by True Love
Tragically, our human ancestors could not inherit the Three Blessings of God and establish the family of true love. That means they failed to become true persons, true spouses, true parents, and true Lords centered on true love. Instead, they disobeyed God, and He expelled them from the Garden of Eden. As the fallen human ancestors, they became false spouses to each other, with false love that has nothing to do with God’s Blessings. They gave birth to children and those children multiplied to populate the world of today.
Since the fall at the beginning of human history, human beings have not been born on the foundation of true love, in the attendance of God. Instead, we have lived in conflict, with struggle between mind and body. This conflict manifested as a tragedy of hatred and murder between two brothers, Cain and Abel, in the first family. That was the miserable reality of a family that left God.
A family built upon the basis of human relationships alone cannot become a family of the original ideal of creation. An ideal family is one that connects to God vertically and has a true person as its axis. Under the true love of true parents, among siblings who own and share a common axis, the family finally can establish the relationships of ultimate harmony and peace. We can experience true love within an ideal family that bears good fruit. The family is the original and best school of love. Power or knowledge can never create true love.
The Loss of God’s Blessings
Honorable leaders! What do you feel when you look at the reality of human society and at the youth of the contemporary world? Do you feel hope for a bright future? I believe that you experience agony over the increasing rates of crime, violence, drug abuse, immorality, corruption, teen pregnancy and so forth. These arise out of a confusion of values and foretell darkness enveloping our youth.
How did we arrive at this point? Better school systems and social improvements would have delayed the onset of these problems partially, but these do not address the fundamental cause of these problems, which is the breakdown and loss of families. This breakdown is a product of the time we are in, a time when humankind is harvesting the fruit sown by the loss of the first family of true love.
The destruction of the foremost school of true love leads to the phenomena of family breakdown, with enormously destructive side effects. This breakdown not only causes personal anxiety but also manifold problems on the national and worldwide levels. Of particular concern is the emotional instability of youth, which leads to changing life goals, spiritual wandering, and even deviation from healthy lifestyles.
Leaders who are concerned over the future should be very serious in order to solve the real problems of youth avoiding marriage, rampant divorce, and so forth, which destroy the fundamental foundation for families.
Having lost the First and Second Blessings, humankind does not understand how important it is to perfect one’s individuality, through which we can experience sacred and eternal conjugal love. We do not educate most of our youth in a thoroughgoing way about the importance of keeping purity before marriage and reaching individual maturity through true love. This is why they do not understand the value of true love, which is the fundamental root of joy, happiness and all ideals.
The tendency to make light of trust and fidelity between husband and wife, and to ignore the sacredness of marriage, is an internal cause of indescribable disasters and tragedies for humankind. True love has no place in the so-called free sex culture, in which people seek only the physical love between a man and a woman as the cardinal but momentary pleasure. The rapid spread of HIV-AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) threatens the very existence of the human race.
It is said that there is no safety zone against the AIDS virus. A greater terrorism than that over which the entire world is now trembling is before our eyes, allowing us no safety zone. Once contracted, its victims gradually give up their dreams for happiness, ideals, and life itself. Unless we resolve this catastrophe plaguing our planet, how can we claim that we are leaders?
Nor have we taken responsibility for the Third Blessing endowed by God, to "have dominion over the creation." This requires that we take care of all creatures with true love. What would happen if the natural world were to rebel against the abuse and misuse it suffers at the hands of human beings who lord over it? Are not those symptoms beginning to appear? Before the natural world punishes our intolerable arrogance, we should stand before nature in true love as people of restored integrity.
The Perfection of "I"
Respected leaders, in order to examine today’s problem at a more fundamental level, I would like to consider the relationship between the true "I" and the true "we" in the context of God’s ideal of creation.
As a result of the fall, human beings did not achieve the position of the true "I." For this reason, God has never been able to use the word "we." That is to say that God has never been able to stand within the realm of the consciousness of His ideal of creation and establish a relationship that would allow Him to say, "This is mine" or "This is my child."
So our present concept of "I" has no relationship with the original ideal of God’s creation, and it is for this reason that we should deny ourselves absolutely.
God has conducted His restoration providence so that He could establish true men and true women, that is, His sons and daughters, whom He could freely include within His concept of "we." Because God is the subject body of love, the subject body of life, and the subject body of lineage, He sought true sons and daughters who would live eternally with a complete and unbreakable standard.
We first are to perfect our individual character through the unification of mind and body. Then, on that foundation, we can build a vertical parent-child relationship with God. A vertical relationship by itself, however, is not sufficient to bring the word "we" into being. We also need to create a horizontal relationship in harmony with the vertical. To do this, man and woman form a husband-wife relationship through a true, blessed marriage, bear children, build a true family, and form a four-position foundation over three generations. Only then will God use the word "we" in reference to a family unit.
God’s Image in the Family
How, then, can we advance to such a position? God created all things from a position in which His mind and body were completely one. His creation was an act of total investment involving absolute love and absolute faith. There was no possibility that He would consider His own interest or situation. This was the fountainhead of the love that seeks to give one hundred percent and then still continue to give. This is true for God and it should be true as well for our families.
Parents, who stand in the position of God, are to invest themselves completely and absolutely with true love. In terms of the logic of origin-division-union, they should give birth to and rear children from the position of the origin, thus establishing a vertical axis for the concept of "we." If the husband and wife, who stand in the position of division from the origin, become one with each other, centering on true love, they will establish the horizontal axis. Then the children, who are in the position of union, will align themselves automatically with the vertical and horizontal axes and become one. They will establish a new axis reaching from front to back. The first family that accomplishes this substantiates the concept of "we" that is complete vertically, horizontally, and front to back.
This is the reason the family is so important. The family is the most valuable gift given to us from Heaven. If the environment we call the family did not exist, how would we establish this absolute standard of "I"? If not for the family, we would never even dare to think of a "we" that is complete vertically, horizontally, and front to back. The cradle of love, peace, and happiness is nothing other than this family.
How, then, do we establish the true "I"? This is possible only through a life of true love for the sake of others. The person who denies him or herself completely, to the point of nothingness, and begins to live for the sake of the family, for the sake of the country, for the sake of all humanity, and for the sake of God, will automatically be able to establish the true "I." We should never put ourselves forward arrogantly and use the word "I" in a casual manner. God has worked, steeped in grief in the back alleys of history, to push forward His providence of restoration. His only desire has been to establish children who could speak of the true "I." Anyone who knows this heart of God can never claim the word "I" for him or herself in a casual manner.
When we establish God’s original idea of world peace and the ideal families for which God has been waiting tens of thousands of years, we will have the starting point for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Beginning there, we will be able to resolve the grief of the piteous God. I would like to call upon everyone here to join with me. First, let us work to establish the true "I" that can look at the sun without shame, look at the ocean with a clear conscience, and has nothing to hide before nature. Then let us establish the family to which God will refer as a part of His "we."
God is Our True King
In this way, we can establish a relationship of true parents and children between God and ourselves. Furthermore, God, who is the true parent of humanity and the origin of love, life, and lineage, is the Ancestor of humanity and the True King who reigns over all. God lost the positions of Ancestor and King as a result of the human ancestors’ fall in the Garden of Eden.
In accordance with the progress of the providence of restoration, my husband declared the return to the ocean, to the land, to the cosmos, and to the heartistic realm of the fourth Adam. Then, on January 13, 2001, my husband and I performed the historic "Coronation Ceremony of God’s Kingship." Adam’s family, as the first human family, was to have been the ancestors of humanity and to have set the foundation for the institution of the family. Originally, the king of the family someday would have inherited the positions of king of the country and king of the cosmos. Humanity was to have connected to the heavenly realm of the original ideal in that way and that way only.
We will establish national level kingship, because the age of indemnity is ending and we are entering the age of settlement by the process of family registration. This will develop and connect with the kingship of the world. This is why, on the occasion of True Children’s Day 2000, my husband declared that the Parents of Heaven and Earth now reign as King of the family in the Unification Church. This means that we now are able to enter the age in which families that have been registered can attend the Heavenly Parent as our King. Thus, each blessed family should be aware of its responsibility to establish the tradition of humanity attending the King of Heaven and Earth. This is the reason that the age of the church has ended and the age of the family federation has begun.
The entire universe is linked as one connected body centering on one nucleus. Each and every family should stand in the position of this nucleus. To be such, love the creation and consume it. Love all creatures that God created in love. They exist in His love, and by loving them you will fulfill the position of their true master.
You should feel as if your family is becoming one body, that your family constitutes a realm of true love before God. , In that way your family will create a settlement, a cornerstone for attending the King, the Parents of Heaven and Earth. This is how you become a blessed family and inherit the realm of victory.
Steps to World Peace
Respected leaders! Now is the time for humanity voluntarily to repudiate all pride, ignorance, selfishness and hatred. Let us follow the laws of Heaven and be humble before God. Ever since God called my husband at the tender age of 16, he has committed himself totally to the realization of world peace, which has been God’s deepest wish. And at this time, I would like to set forth several crucial steps that are necessary for bringing peace to the world.
First, we are to live for the sake of others. A self-centered life not only causes discomfort to others, but also violates the laws of Heaven. Living for the sake of others, on the other hand, is the way we can resemble God. Loving our family, our community, our nation and the world is the way to inherit God’s true love. It is the way to live in accord with the fundamental order of the universe. Only through practicing true love can we become true individuals, true parents, true teachers and true Lords. Only then can we finally become the leaders who can bring about peace on Earth. A life of living for the sake of others is the first gate to peace.
In this sense, the path to peace ultimately will be based on "Godism" and "Head-Wing Ideology." This is the teaching that can reconcile and embrace all actors in a conflict, from their thought to their fruit, by dealing with the starting point of conflict in the relationship between Cain and Abel. How can we break the chain of hatred and violence we perpetrate against one another? Returning hatred in response to hatred only leads to more hatred, terror and destruction. This is certainly not the path to peace. We can touch, educate and reconcile the conflicting parties only by true love.
True love that places God in the center disregards national boundaries; therefore it is international. True love transcends the high walls dividing religions and races; therefore it is inter-religious and inter-racial. True love centered on God’s ideal of living for the sake of others can generate the power to touch a person’s heart and spirit. By true love alone can the various reasons and causes of conflicts on Earth be overcome, whether the confrontation is between right and left, front and rear, above and below, or inner and outer. By true love alone can we establish a world of eternal peace.
Marriage as an Instrument of Peace
Second, the family is the fundamental unit for building peaceful nations and ultimately a peaceful world. As I already mentioned, the root of conflict originated in the first family. Therefore, until the family of the True Parents appears, it is impossible for us to enter the era of world peace.
The international Blessings that my husband and I promote worldwide are not the wedding ceremony of a particular religion. They are a movement to save all nations and the world. We teach youth to keep their purity before marriage and, when they reach adulthood, to marry under the Blessing of God. However, as a condition to receive the marriage Blessing, they first pledge to their spouse that they will maintain absolute trust and fidelity as husband and wife. Thus, the Blessing is a holy movement to build true families and lift up true parents who live centered on true love.
Families built upon such an ideal and such an education have no need to feel threatened by the AIDS virus. For them, preventing AIDS is easier than preventing a cold or flu. If we educate the youth of the world in this vision and practice it, we will completely eliminate the AIDS epidemic. We will eliminate the scourge of family breakdown as well.
Further, these families of true love will serve as the cornerstone for peaceful nations and a peaceful world. In particular, if individuals of enemy nations, who have lived in discord throughout history, come together in true love as in-laws, their reconciliation will bring nations and races together. It is a high wall to overcome. Nevertheless, here is the supreme formula for bringing true peace to the world: bring together children from enemy families and nations for the "Exchange Marriage Blessing." These inter-religious and international families can build a realm of Blessing, perfecting true families of true love that both Heaven and Earth desire. From that point will begin the world of eternal peace that God and all humankind have desired.
A Challenge to Religious Leaders
Third, inter-religious reconciliation and cooperation is an essential condition for world peace. My husband and I have campaigned tirelessly for inter-religious harmony and dialogue. We always have devoted a far greater proportion of our funds for that purpose than for the growth and development of the Unification Church. Do you think that practicing such sacrificial love with an unchanging heart is easy? By no means! But we cannot expect world peace unless religious people reconcile and cooperate.
World peace is the original ideal of God. Therefore, religious leaders and believers should be the guides who lead people to peace. If religions only emphasize narrow-minded denominationalism and fail to teach true love for God and the universe, we will never free humankind from the horrors of war. In the face of this global crisis, religious leaders have to practice true love, humbly following God’s Will, walking hand in hand beyond the boundaries of their own religion.
The inner power of religion touches our hearts and can recreate us as people of peace. It can cultivate our ability to practice self-control from within. It can overcome historical hatreds and resentments among us. This is the root from which true peace and stability grow. If religions demonstrate love for each other, cooperate with each other, and serve each other, putting the higher ideal of peace ahead of their particular doctrines, rituals and cultural backgrounds, the world will change dramatically.
Beyond National Self-Interest
Fourth, I once again emphasize the proper role of the United Nations in realizing world peace. As a representative organization for world peace, the United Nations has made many contributions. It is a fact, however, that the world’s circumstances have changed and the complex situations in which nations find themselves today are unlike those at the time of the United Nations’ founding. In light of this, last year my husband and I presented proposals to solve the fundamental problems plaguing the planet Earth.
One of these proposals was to establish a special body that would discuss and evaluate the religious, spiritual and moral dimensions of world problems. The United Nations should serve the world and God’s ideal of creation effectively. To do so, it has to transcend the power of politics and national diplomacy, which reflect the motives of nations seeking their own self-interest. Only then can it truly protect the human rights of all peoples and nations and build world peace.
This imperative does not apply only to the United Nations. It will be difficult to maintain order in the world and protect public prosperity and peace as long as political sovereignty operates on the principle of national self-interest and ignores or undermines moral and spiritual values.
What is required is that high-level leaders ground themselves spiritually and morally upon God’s ideal and govern according to universal principles. No political power or earthly authority should stand above God and the laws of Heaven.
Moreover, the United Nations should listen to and embrace many of the views of the Non-Governmental Organizations. This is the reason we established WANGO. I encourage all NGOs and public service organizations, while not losing your original founding spirit, to dialogue and cooperate with one another. I request that you continue serving the world, be unselfish and stay free of corruption.
Our Historical Quest
Respected leaders! A person who only talks about world peace without practicing it is not a true leader. Given the current world situation, we cannot leisurely wait for the arrival of world peace while sitting down. It is an urgent time. God is calling each of us, the Ambassadors for Peace and everyone else, to create world peace by all means. Let us all take active roles as leaders in the movement for peace.
I wish and hope that, centered on the Peace Embassies, all service organizations national and international, including the United Nations, will participate actively in the movement for world peace. It is our historical quest.
Let us be united as one in mind and heart. Let us become pioneers for world peace, by first building ideal families of true love and living for the sake of others.
May God’s hand be upon you and bless you forever. Thank you very much.