Ep 384 - New Hope For China Part 1
New Hope for China #19
♦ KEY POINTS: Because our movement has “experienced challenges” in mainland China, in 2019 True Mother established the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace (CPFWP) in Taiwan, where she also launched the Asia-Pacific Union at the same time. She said the Pacific civilization should become “a civilization characterized by filial piety for Heaven (hyojeong), and true love, living for the sake of others… embracing and putting into practice the sacrificial and altruistic heart of the mother, and discarding our inherited fallen practices of seduction, conquest and exploitation.” ♦ Unified science and Unification Thought, including religion, need to unite to form the prosperous, ideal world. ♦ In Genesis 15 Abraham’s three sacrifices symbolize the three growing stages of human beings. At the formation stage (~0-10 years) the dove signifies having a pure heart and attitude as a young spiritual child. In the growth stage (~10-20 years) we become like sheep who need a shepherd; we need to receive guidance and education from our parents and/or Abel in order to grow. At the completion stage (~20-30+) the heifer signifies loyalty; we need to become a true owner who is completely loyal to and absolutely lives and works hard for heaven; in this “age of the heifer,” a couple marries and completes the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships and goes on to take responsibility for God's will and realize it; we console and comfort God; we become Abel and find and care for Cain; we take responsibility for our tribe and ultimately nation. In this relevant albeit symbolic biblical anecdote, God shows us what our life course should be.♦
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Dr. Yong: Today is my final day in Hawaii. I am happy to have stayed in Hawaii.
Yesterday we had a breakfast meeting with Pastor Chal(?) and Jeff Nakama couple together with the Kevin Thompson couple with the ocean(?). Then we visited the Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm. We prayed together at the holy ground where there are two trees that True Parents planted. This is True Father’s tree, and this is True Mother’s tree planted next to each other.
Finally we successfully completed the holy ground tour of the United States yesterday. I would like to express my gratitude to Heavenly Parent and True Parents as well as to the North American family members and leaders who have led this 50-state tour to a successful completion -- in particular Subregion 5’s director, Rev. Thompson’s couple, who put in a lot of effort so that the last tour could be completed safely. A heartfelt thank you to the Rev. Kevin Thompson’s couple. Thank you for your incredible support. We are living together, traveling together, sharing together. It was an incredible time.
This is part of the Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm. This is a coffee tree. I saw coffee trees for the first time in my life. Wow! They were really beautiful. These are the fruit of the coffee tree. As you all know, Kona coffee is very famous because it is the highest quality coffee produced in Hawaii from our farm.
Today I would like to speak about “New Hope for China.”
<Mother of Peace, Page 329-330> Since ancient times, in many cultures and traditions, the ocean has been seen as a mother. The Chinese characters for the Pacific Ocean translate as “great ocean of peace,” and in English, “pacific” means “peaceful in character or intent.” The Pacific civilization can become a great mother of peace by opening the era of a civilization characterized by filial piety for Heaven (hyojeong), and true love, living for the sake of others. It can do so by embracing and putting into practice the sacrificial and altruistic heart of the mother, and discarding our inherited fallen practices of seduction, conquest and exploitation.
The Pacific civilization arises in the latter stages of the providence centering on the True Mother of humankind, the only begotten Daughter. At this time, through the only begotten Daughter, the feminine aspect of God, the Heavenly Mother hidden throughout history, must be revealed. God can no longer be seen solely as the Heavenly Father; God is the Heavenly Parent, the harmonious, perfected union of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.
The Pacific civilization is defined by the ideal of one family of humanity, which manifests naturally when we attend Heavenly Parent as our vertical parent of humanity.
In 2017, I proclaimed this culture of heart based on true love at 12 Rallies of Hope held in Korea, Japan, the United States, Thailand and beyond. Hundreds of thousands of people attended these events. I continued to proclaim the Pacific civilization and the culture of heart throughout 2018, starting with the Africa Summit in Senegal and concluding with the Asia Pacific Summit in Nepal. But in order to firmly establish the age of the Pacific civilization, the participation of the Greater China region, with a population of 1.7 billion people, is essential.
Over the decades, the Unification movement in China has experienced challenges. Thus, we started preparations for the launch of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace in 2017 by bringing together overseas Chinese and other ethnic Chinese. The former refers to those of Chinese lineage who have left the mainland and moved abroad while maintaining their cultural roots and connection to the mainland. The latter refers to Chinese emigrants who have lost their linguistic and cultural ties to China. When we say “Chinese People’s Federation” we refer to both groups.
In 2019, the task at hand was to establish the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace (CPFWP) and the Asia-Pacific Union. Only after doing so can the age of the Pacific civilization be firmly established. In this historical context, the World Assembly of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace was very significant. This World Assembly was hosted on November 22-23, 2019 in Taiwan after we had inaugurated the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace in eight nations, including Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
It was truly a historic day. The opening ceremony was attended by more than 300 Chinese leaders. President Chang Po-ya of Taiwan’s Control Yuan, who took the stage as the keynote speaker, introduced me with the following kind words: “True Mother is a great woman who has devoted her life for the sake of others, and we have been given a rare and precious opportunity to meet her in person.”
Today let’s study about ...
True Mother’s Speech at 2019 World Assembly of the Chinese People's Federation for World Peace (CPFWP) (Taipei, Taiwan, November 22, 2019)
We will see a unified world centered on Heaven when all 7.7 billion people of the world know the true essence of Heavenly Parent. I know that you want to unite centered on the federation of Chinese people; however, you must know the essence. You must know who is leading us. When you understand the essence of Heavenly Parent, then all nations, large or small, will become like children before Heavenly Parent, and siblings to each other, so there will be no more war or discord.
Next year marks 60 years since the emergence of True Parents. For 60 years, True Parents have guided all humankind so they could be in the position of true children in front of Heavenly Parent as quickly as possible.
All cultures and traditions are good. However, we must make an effort to be centered on the fundamentals. Today's meeting is centered on the Chinese region, which consists of 1.7 billion people; however, the global population is 7.7 billion. I hope you understand this essence and go forward, powerfully, to realize the dream of one human family under God together with True Parents.
In North America the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace (CPFWP) activities are being conducted very actively with Amy Yang as the center. I hope we can connect to many Chinese people through this CPFWP and also that we can educate many of our Chinese ethnic groups in America and Canada. Please support this Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace.
Living Divine Principle: Introduction 5 - “A Principal Cause for the Inactivity and Weakness of Today's Religions”
The Reason that Religious People Have Been Unable to Accomplish Their Mission
♦ What is the reason that religious people, though earnestly searching for internal truth, have been unable to accomplish their God-given mission?
♦ Just as people attain perfection of character only when the mind and body are fully united, the two worlds of essence and phenomena must join in perfect harmony before the ideal world can be realized.
♦ Spiritual joy is incomplete without genuine physical happiness. Religions have made strenuous efforts to deny life in this world in their quest for the life eternal. They have despised the pleasures of the body for the sake of spiritual bliss.
♦ Yet however hard they may try, people cannot cut themselves off from the reality of this world or annihilate the desire for physical pleasures, which follows them like a shadow and cannot be shaken off.
♦ This world and its desires tenaciously grab hold of religious people, driving them into the depths of agony. Such is the contradiction which plagues their devotional lives.
♦ Even many enlightened spiritual leaders, still torn by this contradiction, have met a sad end. Herein is a principal cause for the inactivity and weakness of today's religions: they have not overcome this self-contradiction.
♦ In step with the progress of science, the human intellect has become highly sophisticated, requiring a scientific approach to understanding reality. The traditional doctrines of religions, on the other hand, are largely devoid of scientific explanations.
♦ The ultimate purpose of religion can be attained only when one first believes it in one's heart and then puts it into practice. However, without first understanding, beliefs do not take hold.
♦ Understanding is the starting point for knowledge. Today, however, people will not accept what is not demonstrable by the logic of science.
♦ Accordingly, since religions are now unable to guide people even to the level of understanding, much less to belief, they are unable to fulfill their purpose.
♦ Even internal truth demands logical and convincing explanations. Indeed, throughout the long course of history, religions have been moving toward the point when their teachings could be elucidated scientifically.
Today focusing on the contents of this EDP we will study True Father’s words related to this today and tomorrow.
The Duty of Unified Science
<65-262> The specialization within science is like dismantling machine parts. With the specialization of science, science’s unified function becomes paralyzed and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is unable to completely fulfill its mission as problems arise. However, under the banner of unified science, many scientists integrated developed scientific truth into one centered on a few pioneering scientists. It is an admirable and praiseworthy feat that they have unified it into one coherent new philosophical science system. It is just like the historic event of the emerging Unification Thought integrating all past ideologies and religions in order to establish a modern, new set of values on the spiritual side.
True Father said that the subdivision and specialization of science cannot bring about unified science. However, it is highly appreciated that the scientific truth developed by many scientists in the past has been united under the flag of Unified Science and organized into one consistent new philosophical scientific system. This is a historical event like the emergence of Unification Thought that unified all past ideals and religions into one. In this way True Parents have continued to advocate unified science, religious unification and Unification Thought. That is why whenever I study Father’s word, especially Unification Thought, it inspires me so much. I think we can solve any problem through Unification Thought and the Divine Principle.
<65-262> Nevertheless, as I have indicated previously, science’s original characteristic is to improve the material livelihood of humankind. Therefore, I expect unified science will contribute even more effectively than before to the improvement of material livelihood. However, just as humans are the union of mind and body, society is also a union of material and spiritual lifestyles. Because the ideal world is a unified world of love and creation, I have often repeated that with only the improvement of a material lifestyle, true happiness cannot be realized in this world. Consequently, for unified science to inevitably and completely fulfill its role, we arrive at the conclusion that it must definitely become one with Unification Thought.
Father mentions again just as the original humans were the unified body of the mind and body, social life is also the unified life of matter and spirit, and the ideal world is the unified world of love and creation. Therefore, the ideal world cannot be realized only by improving material life. Inevitably it is concluded that unified science must be united again with Unification Thought in order to fully fulfill its role. So True Parents brought Unification Thought and the Divine Principle. This is really an incredible gift to all humankind. That is why we can say the Divine Principle is eternal truth.
<65-262> When such unity has been fulfilled, the old homework of unification between religion and science will be realized and, true to its name, a prosperous world, a happy world, and a good-natured unified world will be realized. Then, for the first time, the old system and ideology will completely disappear and an ideal, unified world based on a new system and ideology will be realized.
Today’s Youth Ministry: Lessons from Abraham’s 3 Sacrifices
Until now I have spoken about Adam’s family and Noah’s family. From today I would like to talk about Abraham’s family. Let’s learn about God’s providence centering on Abraham’s family. Let’s take the time to study how my life of faith is connected with Abraham’s family in the Old Testament Era.
Genesis 15:8-13: 9 So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young 'pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
Today I would like to talk about the lessons from Abraham’s three sacrifices. This is very, very important.
1. The three sacrifices symbolize the three growing stages of human beings. The dove, as the formation stage, symbolized human’s form spirit; the ram, as the growth stage, symbolized the life spirit; the heifer, as the completion stage, symbolized the divine spirit.
2. It is said that in the formation stage, you must grow purely like a dove. Although it was externally expressed as a dove, internally, it signifies having a pure attitude and mindset.
3. In the growth stage, it means becoming like a sheep and finding a shepherd. Sheep need a shepherd. It means that you need an Abel figure who can help you grow in your life of faith.
4. In the completion stage, referring to the heifer’s mission, you must become a person who is completely loyal to your owner and absolutely live for God. Heifers help their owner to plow the field and are loyal. In other words, it means to become a true owner with a sense of ownership.
5. What was shown through Abraham's three sacrifices is not just an event in the Old Testament times, but it is directly related to our life of faith today.
Many people say, “There is no need to read the Old Testament any more and there is no need to read the New Testament. They (the two parts of the Bible) are not related to my life of faith. These kinds of old stories -- we do not think that way.” I think Abraham’s stories directly relate to our life of faith today.
6. All human beings should have a heart like a dove, fulfill the mission of the ram, and become like the heifer. In your childhood, you must live only with a pure heart, so the Bible says that unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. When you are a child, you are just the way you were born. There are no lies, no fabrication, and no sins. There is no double-mindedness.
7. If we see the formation stage up to the age of 10 as the age of the dove, the growth stage of the teenage years as the age of the ram, then your 20s and beyond as the completion stage in which a couple marries and completes the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships as the age of the heifer. Going further, when people pass their 30s and 40s, they should take responsibility for God's will and realize it. During the growth stage, you must know the heart of the parent and become like the heifer and be a reliable and trust-worthy person.
Symbolic is not only symbolic. That is why the Bible is eternal truth as well. Even though it is very symbolic, it relates to my eternal life, relates to my daily life. This Old Testament Era worked (?) not just for people living in the Old Testament Age. When God spoke his word in the Old Testament Age, the New Testament Age and in the Completed Testament Age, everything related to our daily life, everything related to our eternal life because God’s truth is eternal. It always relates to us. Without the foundation of the Old Testament Era, how can we build a foundation for the new testament era? Without the new testament era how can we build a foundation for the completed testament era? It is impossible. That is why we always need to study what it means.
8. The three sacrifices shown in Abraham’s course were not only shown symbolically to Abraham nor was it only shown in the Old Testament, but it shows the entire life course that we must go through. Therefore, we need to understand that the providence that God has shown is not something that passes with time, but an absolute principle that we must go through.
9. Until you gradually receive guidance from your parents and receive education that will bring joy, it is the age of the ram. Next, you gradually grow and enter the age of the heifer when you carry the mission of an essential representative to your parents.
10. What level are you spiritually right now?
What kind of level do you have? The level of the dove? Is your level that of the ram? If you are really fully responsible and taking ownership, then your level becomes the level of the heifer. Everything is related. I always have to keep purity. Even though your age becomes 80 years old, 70 years old or 60 years old. It does not matter. You keep the heart of the dove, always you need to keep a pure heart and mind. Whatever I do, I need to keep this kind of basic foundation, keeping a pure heart and mind.
What is the growth stage? The Ram. The ram needs to have the heifer. We need to have Abel. Without following Abel, we have nowhere to go. That is why in your life of faith if you do not have an Abel figure, I am telling you, there is a limitation for you to grow up. We need to have an Abel figure. How can students develop their intellectual part, their studies without a teacher? Students need a teacher. Children need parents. Our life of faith definitely needs an Abel. Without an Abel you cannot pass through the period of the growth stage. We absolutely need an Abel figure. Sheep need a shepherd. Without a shepherd they have nowhere to go. That is why your relationship with your central figure… Sometimes your central figure is younger than you. Sometimes he does not look like much more than you.
God appointed someone as your Abel figure; now you really need to unite with your Abel figure. Of course, our eternal Abel figure is our True Parents who are absolutely aligned with our Heavenly Parent. Through your daily life you really need to have an Abel figure. Ideally if we have three Abel figures … Abel is a kind of a parental figure. You can discuss with him and confess to him. You can ask many questions. You can have many kinds of give and take with him heartistically. That is the way to grow your life of faith.
I truly confess to you that for me if there had been no Rev. Yo Han Lee in my life of faith, I would not have known anything. I would not have known True Parents. I could not have had a deeper understanding of the Divine Principle. I could not have understood what Father is talking about. An Abel figure is very important. Then you can grow up.
The completion stage is what? The heifer. The heifer means what? Taking ownership. The heifer really helps the farmer, participating together, helping her owner and sharing the responsibility together. This is fully taking ownership, not just relying on Abel.
You have to become Abel. You have to take care of your Cain. Take ownership. I need to console God; I need to comfort God. I need to be responsible for my people, my nation and my tribe. Fully take ownership.
The lessons from Abraham’s three sacrifices were not just given to Abraham. God is giving me incredible lessons from Abraham’s three sacrifices. You need to be a dove. You need to be sheep. You need to be a heifer. We need to keep a pure heart and always have an Abel figure, and thirdly fully take ownership. That is in the Family Pledge. Each morning we say over and over “As the owner of Cheonil Guk, as the owner of Cheonil Guk, as the owner of Cheonil Guk…” What does it mean? Taking ownership like the heifer, helping God, helping True Parents, helping all mankind, helping my neighbors. Wow! These are beautiful lessons from Abraham’s three sacrifices.
Thank you very much.