The Realm of the Child begins with Parents

Dynamics of Love; The Realm of the Child begins with Parents If you pray and ask God, “What is the center of heaven and earth, and what is the root of the universe?” He will say that it is the relationship between a father and his sons and daughters, the parent-child relationship. People who are ignorant of this will think that this refers to the relationship between a physical father and mother and their sons and daughters, but we are talking about the fundamental relationship with God. (CSG: 19-158, 1968.1.1) A child is the fruit, the manifestation of the parents’ love, an extension of their life, and the embodiment of the parents’ ideals. Children are born on the basis of the parents’ love, life, and ideals; thus, the more the parents see them, the more lovable they become, the more they become ideal people to relate to, and the more vibrant life becomes. (CSG) I have realized more deeply than ever before that the Purpose of Creation is first 'Object Partnership', or from God's point of view, finding True Parents, God's partners on earth.  Then and only then can his 'True Love' expand to the world and cosmos.  It begins from a point, much as science teaches us how the physical world was created; from a small point. We may feel a bit left out after this realization (I know I do at times).  God doesn't love like a fish, fertilizing all the eggs in the sea at once.  We may naively feel that God's love is like the sunshine pouring down, and our daily affirmation of this is enough to make the magic of restoration happen.  Then we look around and see such meager results, and problems growing exponentially larger.  We can only conclude that something like this must be the case. We have a 'God connection' problem and must honestly realize it is true and seek to solve it. Love requires one hundred percent devotion. When God was creating the universe, He invested Himself one hundred percent through His love. That is why true love begins with living for the sake of others. (CSG: 189-202, 1989.4.6) God is the Absolute Being, but He needs another being to be His partner in love. That partner is none other than a human being. Once human beings, who are His partners in love, appear in front of God with perfected love, He can then become the God of happiness, and the God who has found His ideal of joy.  (CSG: 145-267, 1986.5.15) God needs one object to fully love, and that object must fully reciprocate that love to reveal what True Love really is.  Only then can real 'Love' be multiplied in our world.  That object has never been found in the course of history.  It is the reason a 'Messiah' or some link to God has been a major theme in all religions and philosophies. Man abdicated his responsibility.  By making excuses and pointing his finger, he left it to the 'angel' to be the center of love or 'luv' as I call it.  That angel is unqualified to fill the universe with 'Love' even if he hadn't fallen.  This reality has generated a race of finger pointers. This explains why human history is not 'God's True Love Story', but a story of humankind's miserable failings.  It explains why God seems something distant and trapped, like a insect locked in amber (see top image). It explains why although our hearts goes out to the starving children of the world, it seems almost impossible to rectify the problem.  Our hearts feel we should have enough, but in reality we don't have 'enough'.  There is a power source that must be plugged in to.  It can't be inserted half way for it to work.  The connection must be complete.  I understand that I am created to be an autonomously loving  sovereign soul.  My identity as a unique child of God is the most important thing to me.  But along with that, I understand that the love meant to bind men together was broken before it could solidify. That broken love is really God's broken heart.  We have never been the true mature loving souls we should be. For the reasons stated above, I begin this study of the 'Four Loves, Love 1: The Realm of the Child' on the foundation of the realization that we need 'True Parents'.  The child's realm of love doesn't exist without the radiant love of his Parents shining down from above him.  The Parent only become a parent when those beautiful, clear, alive and innocent eyes are shining back.   We need True Parents and they need us.  I said that God and human beings are in a parent-child relationship, but what is special about this parent-child relationship? The highest place where father and son can meet is the central point where their love, life and ideals intersect. Then, love, life, and ideals are in one place. At that place, God is love, and so are we; God is life, and so are we; and God’s ideals are our ideals. The first place where these things can be established is in the parent-child relationship. (69-78, 1973.10.20) When God gives us love, how much would He want to give? God’s love does not have a set limit. He wants to give infinitely. Even after giving everything, God still says, “Because of you, I want to live in you.” What is the essential element that makes this possible? It is love.  God would be happy to live as a servant if that life were lived inside love. A father could feel joy even if he sees his beloved son defecate on his dining table. Love transcends law. God has been continuously extending His love to people, but that does not mean He will complain, saying, “I have given you everything without reserve.  Why do you not give back? How can you be like this?” The God of absolute love is still frustrated that He has not been able to give all the love He wants to. God cannot assert Himself absolutely into our lives. If God’s purpose in creating man was to give perfect love, God would still want to pour His love into the human world even if He has been prohibited from doing so until now. The more we think of God as being so unconditionally giving, the better we feel. If God were someone who says, “I have given everything, so now you give back,” we would not need Him. (36-77, 1970.11.15)

Discovering the Dynamics of Love

Our Love Language I attended our Church's webinar the other day.  The moderator ask us to look within to determine our 'Spiritual Love Language'.  Just as our individual 'Language of Love', can be identified, our 'Love Language' with God can be realized.  Some communicate with God in nature, some find God while studying truth,  some experience Him in service for others, and other in religious worship or meditation. As I listened to the discussion, I found that my 'Way' was not specifically on the list.  I found it partially in all the Love Languages, but not complete enough in any one that I could truly identify it as my love language with God.  Later, I realized that I find God in 'Discovery'. One of my earliest memories is gliding across a mirror calm lake in the dark of night, surrounded by the lights of hundreds of cottages on the distant shore.  Each of those cottages were beaming light across that mirror, and as we move forward, those lights were following me!  "I must be special", I thought. "I bet they follow every one else too. All of us must be very special". Feeling the Existence of God Our religious quest, or any internal quest for that matter, is not about a battle of words, ideas and beliefs. First, it is awareness that we are a result of something magnificent that pre-existed us. Second is to realize that we have been designed for the entirety of our being to be a part of every aspect of this experience.  We are fully embedded in this magnificent construct that reaches beyond us. God’s existence is not just a matter of words. From the perspective of the subject-object partner relationship in the Principle, we do not need to prove that God exists. Rather, the position we must establish is that God existed before we had cognition of Him and that He rules over all our senses and over everything to do with us. Awareness of this is more important than anything else. The basic rule is that awareness precedes knowledge, not the other way around. When we are cold, we first feel cold before we think, “I am cold.” We do not first think “I am cold” before we feel it. Isn’t that so? Likewise, because God exists, you must be able to feel His existence with your cells. Reaching that state is what matters. In other words, the issue is how we reach the state in which we can experience these things. (CSG: 58-291, 1972.6.25) Finally then, what matters is to 'feel' the reality of 'God's Love'. Tap into those feelings that brings deep experiences. You should be able to cry out “Father!” even in your sleep and even when you are by yourself. When in your daily life you forget to eat or sleep, and exclaim “Father!” with a deep longing, you will be able to hold His hand. Magical things will happen. When you call out “Father!” He will embrace you. You must know that in your life of faith, the most precious thing is how you tap into those feelings that bring you those deep experiences. The degree and amount of your experience and feel- ing can be the measure of your faith. If you have such a heart of love, when you determine, “I must accomplish this,” God will already be supporting you even before you ask, “Heavenly Father, please be with me.” Feeling His support, you will say, “Thank you, God!” (CSG: 58-297, 1972.6.25) I have begun some adventures that keep the spirit of discovery alive. 1)  The Dynamics of Love: Principles for Safe Sailing   The 4 Loves: 1 Child’s Love 2 Mutual Love 3. Conjugal Love 4 Parental Love 2) The Grow Fiddle:  Experiencing the (4) Position Foundation: Grow Fiddle Work Sheet I will keep you posted on my journey.  I'll be on the lookout for inspiration and insight.  We all need partners or nothing is joyful or worthwhile. Take Care! John

How to Gain Spiritual Help

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15-44 Rev. Sun Myung Moon has spoken to private and public gatherings worldwide over the last 50 years. Though often misunderstood, controversial and persecuted, he has, however, never wavered in his endeavor to emphasize the value of a spiritually disciplined life. He delivered the talk on November 27, 1978.  What attitude do we need to nurture in order to move the spirit world? We need to change our concepts. Our attitude is an environment that must be prepared in order to receive spiritual help. We must use holy words and make ourselves channels to receive spiritual power. Actually, the spirit world wants to be part of everything we have and do. They want to be involved to such a great extent. So whatever we may look at, we must search for the nobility in it, and treat it as if it were owned directly by royalty. Then everything becomes like an expensive antique, a God-given treasure. Each object is waiting for your touch, hoping to feel the vibration of God through you.  Consider all things holy. Why does a handkerchief owned by a holy man become so valuable? Because of the vibration of the holy man. So you, too, should give all things a holy value. When you touch something, feel that you are giving it glory. The same holds true for the people we meet and live with. When you see another person, how much do you care for him or her? How do you feel towards that person? You must really love each person you meet, because he or she is the temple of God. When you touch another person, feel that through your touch, both of you will be blessed. We have two aspects, mind and body. Our true mind wants to touch our body with heart and give love to it. We should think of our mind as God's mind, because God loves it and that is where He dwells. Look at each man or woman as a holy person. Regard each person's body as sacred and their mind as hallowed.  If you live like this, you will soon hear a small voice inside of yourself, the sound of your mind. Wherever you walk, no evil or darkness can remain. Only good spirits can touch you if you create such an atmosphere. If you place yourself in such a position, then spirit world will pour down upon you its abundant blessing and power. You must attract this power from the spirit world and then weld yourself to it. Make it one with your body, so that even your arms and legs feel special. When you are in bed, even if it is a sleeping bag, your surroundings will become like a king's palace; your body will be resting in a king's bed. You must name yourself as the dwelling place of God. Then all good spirits will touch you. When you go to bed, lie down with a beautiful mind. Remove all ugliness from it. In the morning when you wake, come before the deep bosom of God, and then, when you go out to work, you will embark from the throne of God. The spirit world is always around you, listening and attentive. Always be aware that it is within your reach. If you keep thinking this way, then you will be able to control your circumstances. Make yourself a tuning fork, resonating with and vibrating along God's frequency. Resonate with God's unselfishness. If you partake of this resonance with God, then when you see someone, you will automatically be able to sense what type of person he is. Sometimes you will be able to see your own spirit man with your own eyes. Train yourself and discipline yourself to develop this capacity. If you live this way, you will be always able to act in the right way when an emergency arises. You are in competition with the spirit world, so you must be determined to surpass it. The position of a true man or woman is to control the spirit world, not the other way round. With prayer coming from deep within your mind, you can move a person from outside to inside. Become a magnet, a mover of people's spirits; become a spiritual magnet, drawing people with love. Maintain this condition or attitude, and then your prayer will become a reality.  Pray with all your heart, focusing your mind and soul on the object of your prayer, otherwise your mind will become restless and hasty. In the life of prayer, you must make the time to pray. Sit down-even if it takes eight hours-and pray; this time will never be wasted. Then you can go out and work eight hours for God. Therefore, be prayerful now and then go out, you and God together. If you have to write a sermon, for instance, the spirit world will help you prepare it. If you go out, the spirit world will lead you. You will discover the feeling of breaking through; you will become selfless, feeling the power of your mind and body pulling together in harmony. So the key word for this kind of life is respect. Respect all things as holy things. Respect all men as holy men. Respect yourself as a holy person. Respect your mind as holy. Respect your body as holy. Pay deep respect to all people, no matter what kind of person they may be. As a child, be respectful towards an elderly person. Think over your words three times before uttering them and always have a humble attitude. Always share with others the best thing you have. Empty your pocketbook to give; then you will deserve the best result. If you do not do good for your fellowman, you will have no sleep; if you have done good, then your mind will rest in peace. Unpack the dirty elements inside yourself and cleanse them. Open up the baggage of your mind and look what you find there. Don't harbor selfish feelings; repent publicly for any selfish feelings you may have entertained. Practice the virtue of meekness. If you push yourself to develop these attitudes, then the spirit world must descend to assist you. The spirit world is using so many channels by which to come down and participate in God's providence; they will choose the best one to use first.  In any church a true leader must be able to mobilize the spirit world. When you touch it, all kinds of phenomena start to occur-some very strange, some very wonderful. Don't be manipulated by them. You be the subject. Don't let yourself be driven by strange phenomena; before this, you may have had to face these challenges all alone, but now you have a clearer understanding. You already know the secret of tapping power from the spirit world; witness to others, pouring out all your heart, soul and mind for them. When I was in prison camp, I would pray, and prisoners would just come to me and stand there. When they were introduced to me through the guidance of spirit world they would cling to me. You, too, can develop that energy. The problem is that you are often too distant from thinking about the spiritual dimension: holy things, holy mankind, holy temple, holy mind. When I was in the worst of situations, lonely and hungry, a revelation would come or an important guest would appear before me. When I needed money, the spirit world would guide someone to me. Spirit world is never far away; they can cooperate with us. We should always feel that we are not doing quite enough, and that we always have to try harder. Act with the support of the spirit world. If they are behind you, you will never be lonely, you will always have energy and power. Even though you may be penniless, still - have no fear. You can be adventurous and bold. On the road of success, the more you walk, the further you yearn to go. Who knows how long he or she will live? Maybe tomorrow you will die, at a mere 25 or 30 years of age. Do you have some guarantee from God as to how long you will live? No one has such a guarantee. A wise person thinks like this: "I have only a short time to live. Within this time I must prepare myself for eternity. The way I live in the next two years will be the model for my eternal life." Then explode your sense of love. Love God, and love another person as God. For an entire day, 24 hours, pour out your entire energy for someone. If you love a person like this, even though you may die early, you will have made the highest accomplishment in all eternity. Then when God gives you more time to live, your response will be immense gratitude. Push yourself to live more fully. The person who expects death and then is given life dwells in the fullest gratitude. Leave behind something that God can praise. Each moment is so precious-there is no time for worry or frustration. The person who recognizes that earthly life is short compared to eternity and, therefore, condenses his accomplishments is a wise man indeed. Think about what "label" you wear spiritually on your forehead. Ask yourself how many people, how many clans, how many tribes, how many nations you have loved. Seek to become that master of love. Program your life like that, and you will never be a loser. Plan as if you only had two years to live, and then by the third year, when you are still alive, think of the joy of living! This is "resurrected" living. I still have so much to do-love my wife, love my children, love all mankind. I have to love my church; I must pay indemnity for all mankind; I need to liberate man from sin. I am determined to leave behind tremendous assets. When you work, you must love that business, love the products you work with, and, of course, love the people. Always give honor to the other people. God created us, but we are also shaping ourselves and restoring our original value. Return a portion of what you earn to God as a tithe. Give one-tenth to the local church, one-tenth to the national level work and one-tenth for the worldwide level-three-tenths in all. When you give to others, don't think that you are giving to them out of your own pocket. Give out as though it were coming from a heavenly treasure. Then the person who is receiving through you is actually receiving from God. The spirit world can then help you, and God will remember everything and return it to you ten times over. Make your company a dwelling of God; don't just feel like a worker or supervisor. Invest your heart in your work. Determine to make it a business that will serve all people. Then wherever your business goes, it becomes God's "love extension." Whatever you are responsible for, give it your heart and soul on a 24-hour basis; feel like you are the parent and it is your baby. Whatever you do, think that you are carrying it out in partnership with God. Feel that you are the second owner and pour all your love into it. The one who loves something the most is the ultimate owner. When you give love, you will attain infinite value.

The "Family Love Model" and the Spirit World

Mysteries of science and religion are together resolved in understanding the "Family Love" model.   We cannot really know this Universe without including and making it central to our quest.

Our entire universe is birthed from masculine / feminine pairs.  From the Original Parental Relationship flows the omni-permeating conscious energy we call "Love".

That River of Consciousness has been tweaked to form "eddies (in-turned love)" that again rotate with other "love eddies" to form structures.  Those structures then have been purposed to build the temples for our individuated souls.

Each of us have been birthed through this principle and each of us are responsible to weave that Love vertically, horizontally circling and surrounding us.  We create this sphere by our loving. parents, spouses, brothers and sister, and the natural world around us.

Those realms of love then bind into the larger spherical Universe through which we feel, think, speak and move.

Here is our environment for continual stimulation and joy.  As we engage these invisible dimensions of love, our spirits grow through our knowing them, and they become, not only our life on earth, but our eternal realm of existence beyond this life.

Because of our many inter-personal failures, we avoid this most central "family" truth, and struggle in confusion with the many puzzle pieces of science and religion.

 

Earthly Life is Training to be in Rhythm with the Spirit World – from the Cheong Seong Gyeong

“I have a depth of spiritual experience. The spirit world is a place enveloped in the elements of love. On the earth, we breathe air, but in the spirit world, people live by inhaling love. The love you share in the spirit world is not secular human love but true love.

When you go to spirit world, you will find that those who have fully loved their parents, brothers and sisters, spouse, and children– that is, those who have experienced deep love in their family life – will be able to enjoy great freedom. They can go everywhere without restriction. Conversely, those in the spirit world who have no experience of love are narrow-minded; they find themselves isolated and alone, with no freedom whatsoever.

The love between parents and children is a vertical relationship, the love between husband and wife is a horizontal relationship, and the love among brothers and sisters is a relationship that circles and surrounds. These three relationships differ from one another. Therefore, only when you experience deep love through these three mutually distinct interactions on earth can you circulate freely vertically, horizontally, and in a circle.

Those who have not tasted parental love because their parents died early are in a rather tragic position because they are missing an important experience of love. Likewise, those who have not experienced the conjugal love relationship of husband and wife as well as love in the family, become poor people in the spirit world because they lack a crucial experience of life. Those who have no brothers and sisters will also be in a poor position in the spirit world because they lack this experience.

The reason to marry is to deeply experience parental love, conjugal love, and children’s love. We need these experiences because the spirit world is filled with the air of such love. You need to have a family to train yourself to be in rhythm with the spirit world. Those who go to the spirit world without these experiences of love cannot follow the rhythm there. They will be as one without a nose to inhale such air of love.

You are born from your father and mother. What is more fundamental is the fact that you are born from God by having borrowed your mother’s womb. You find true parents through the universal parents and through your physical parents. Your physical parents are temporary, so the moment of your death is a time of jubilation when you go to meet the True Parents. The true love of the true parents is there.

This is the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, where the atmosphere is composed of love and filled with parental love. That love is not for me; it is a love that is in keeping with the unilateral law under the principle of service and sacrifice. In accord with this principle, you must love the universe and humankind. Your life on earth is the training ground for the development of such love.

How important is your life on earth? You only live it once. It is a short moment that only comes once. When compared to eternal life, the earthly life is but a point. It is too short a moment. At this moment, we must go beyond our physical life and make preparation for the spirit world.“

(Cheong Seong Gyeong)

Prayers relating to the life course:

“Beloved Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your grace, and for having shielded me in my struggles from my childhood until now; during those years I have been apprehensive of any humiliation or shame that Heaven might suffer. Among all the good things on this earth, there is nothing more precious than connecting to Your original heart. Knowing this, we must infinitely long for that relationship. We must keep in mind that those who experience Your love will have no regrets even if they forget about all the things of this world. Now we must seek the ideal world, the original homeland where we live by Your love. We must prepare today on earth for the day of our birth as liberated children endowed with the authority of freedom of our third life.

We must know that just as we need ed to be healthy in the womb to be born to lead a healthy life on earth, we need a wholesome earthly life to have a whole some life in heaven. As the world today is one of conflict under the dominion of evil, we must we must be resolved to fight to the death in order to be blessed with the cooperation of heaven and earth and to keep in step with the dynamic fortunes of the universe. We must resolve that our descendants will never be placed in the same position as we have been.”

“Beloved Father, when we think of how you exist and have toiled unremittingly to usher in a new spring, we must become Your infinitely grateful and joyous sons and daughters who lament the fact that we have yet to offer our entire life and love to You. In our predestined relationship with You, our lives are meant to be harmonized, and completely absorbed in and by You so that we too, may greet the new spring.

We must realize that only when we greet spring for the first time will the flowers bloom. We must not become such pitiful souls who have never done so. Just as a flower goes through sum mer and autumn before blooming and bearing fruit, we too are to undergo a similar process to bear fruit.

We know that for a tree to bear fruit, it first absorbs life elements through its roots, trunk and branches in sum mer, concentrating a perfect life force to bring forth a second life. Similarly, we must become the sons and daughters who are introspectively determining whether we have a life force welling up in our hearts – one that is capable of rebirth in a new world even if our bodies should die.

No matter how much time flies by, no matter how fiercely the storms rage, our inner life force must withstand the intrusions of the environment and persevere persistently on the path of growth. Only in this way, can we welcome the new spring and become a seed, the original source of a second life, which can be planted again.

Likewise, no matter how pathetic we may look externally, if we maintain our value as the original essence that can enhance the spiritual life force and as a seed that can be planted in the infinite world, we are not miserable people even though we may think we are. Please allow us to realize that the more miserable we may appear externally, the more our internal value is complete and guaranteed.”

“Father, we have realized that with out the desire to serve and bow down humbly to You, we can have no relationship with You in the eternal world. Open the doors of our hearts to feel Your heart and hear Your voice welling up from the depths of our hearts, and guide us to regain our lost bodies today. Help us to appreciate Your historical course of toil and trouble to find each one of us, that we may humbly bow our heads before You.” (Fr. Moon)

24. Natural Love - II

The "Central Truth of the Universe" was discovered in solitary confinement.  A righteous, religious man, was unjustly placed in a communist prison camp for many years.  He prayed continually to understand the purpose of life, and the reason for mankind's suffering.  After shedding tears for many hours, he would be comforted by the most heavenly music.  As time past, he began to realize that the music was not in his mind.  He searched and discovered that the sweet music came from a dark corner of his cell.  It was the sound of "cockroaches making love."  He realized that God was revealing to him a deep truth.

All things in the universe have been berthed from love between masculine and feminine pairs.  These pairs are a reflection of God's True Love.  Even though he now suffered alone, he understood that his purpose would be to form the best of all couples and family.  Although his spiritual path began in utter loneliness, it's conclusion would be to restore the broken love of a man and woman. He would be God's good seed, and reach out to engraft all into that linage of True Love.  He would rebuild the "Natural Family Love" intended by God's purpose of creation.  In our new age, not only will men be restored by the victory of one man, families will be saved by the victorious Love of one couple.  God's natural love will finally be realized.

 

(Read more at www.WisdomInWorldScriptures.com Send Nature Stories to JohnKeiko@gmail.com)

 

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From "World Scriptures":

SEPARATION FROM FAMILY

While the family which is imbued with God's love can realize one of the great purposes of life, and it is indeed a joy to be a member of such a family, oftentimes the person who is called to follow a spiritual calling finds attachment to family and relations a hindrance on the path. The members of his family may not understand his passion for the spiritual life. They may not respect his lack of concern for material wealth and worldly success--which they take as the all-important values--as he pursues what he regards as a higher purpose. Hence they may come to oppose him and seek to tempt him away from the religious life. The passages given below describe this most painful struggle between the aspirant and the possessive and ignorant members of his family.  He is commanded to love God and his religious teacher more than his father and mother and brothers and sisters. He is warned to beware of other family members who would betray his trust and tempt him into sin. Entry into the religious life may even require the aspirant to leave his family,divorce his wife, and abandon his children and property. Some scriptures describe family ties as attachments, which partake of illusion and which are to be overcome in order to achieve tranquillity, enlightenment, and union with God. To reject one's family is an extreme position, and several more moderate courses are suggested in the last group of texts. Believers may constitute new families which are devoted to God. Or they may find a way to live within families yet maintain a detached perspective, "in the world yet not of the world."

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have come not to
bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his
father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household.
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who
loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

                   Christianity.  Matthew 10.34-37


O believers, take not your fathers and brothers to be your friends, if
they prefer unbelief to belief; whosoever of you takes them for friends,
those--they are the evildoers.

Say, "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan,
your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken,
dwellings you love--if these are dearer to you than God and His Messenger,
and to struggle in His way, then wait till God brings His command: God
guides not the people of the ungodly."

                   Islam.  Qur'an 9.23-24


You who believe!  Among your wives and your children there are enemies for
you; therefore beware of them....  Your wealth and your children are only
a temptation, whereas God, with Him is an immense reward.

                   Islam.  Qur'an 64.14-15


Put no trust in a neighbor,
       have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
       from her who lies in your bosom;
for the son treats the father with contempt,
       the daughter rises up against her mother,
       the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
       a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
       I will wait for the God of my salvation;
       my God will hear me.

                   Judaism and Christianity.  Micah 7.5-7


The thin skin that covers the stomach
Does not allow us to see the interior of a treacherous person.
Keep your secret to yourself; never share it with any man.
There's no honest man nowadays,
All people are now deceitful.
The person we asked to help us rub our back with a sponge,
Added thorns to the sponge in his hand.
The person we asked to help us blow dust from our eyes,
First put some pepper in his mouth.
The man on whose generosity we rested assured
To obtain and enjoy sweet oranges,
Gave us sour oranges to suck.
The man we wished to confide in,
Turned out to be a garrulous person.
When people make themselves your close associates,
Be cautious; confide only in yourself.
Only in yourself.

                   African Traditional Religions.  Yoruba Song (Nigeria)


Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and
your father's house to the land that I will show you..."

                   Judaism and Christianity.  Genesis 12.1


Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother
or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and
inherit eternal life.

                   Christianity.  Matthew 19.29


He who forsakes his home in the cause of God, finds in the earth many a
refuge, wide and spacious; should he die as a refugee from home for God
and His Apostle, his reward becomes due and sure with God: and God is
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

                   Islam.  Qur'an 4.100


In awe of my lord's command,
I skirt the coastal borders and
Traverse the plain of the sea,
--Leaving father and mother behind.

                   Shinto.  Man'yoshu XX


One day she who was formerly the mate of the venerable Sangamaji came
towards him, drew near and said, "Recluse, support me with our little
child."  At these words the venerable Sangamaji was silent.  So a second
time and yet a third time his former wife repeated her words, and still
the venerable Sangamaji was silent.  Thereupon she set down the child in
front of him and went away, saying, "Here is your child, recluse!  Support
him!"  But the venerable Sangamaji neither looked at the child nor spoke
to him.  When from a distance she saw this, she thought to herself, "This
recluse needs not even his own child."  So she turned back, took up the
child and went away.

                   Buddhism.  Udana 5-6

---

Qur'an 4.100: The Companions of Muhammad had to leave their homes and families
in the face of persecution, particularly in the emigration (hejrat) from Mecca
to Medina.  Udana 5-6: Cf. Vinaya Pitaka i.43, p. 605.

---

How could I be diligent, good Shariputta, when there are my parents to
support, my wife and children to support, my slaves, servants and work-
people to support, when there are services to perform for friends and
acquaintances, services to perform for kith and kin, services to perform
for guests, rites to perform for the ancestors, rites to perform for the
gods, duties to perform for the king--and this body too must be satisfied
and looked after!

What do you think, Dhananjani?  Suppose someone failed to live the holy
life because of his parents [and so on]; because of this failure... the
guardians of Niraya hell might drag him off to their hell.  Would he gain
anything by saying, "I failed to live the holy life because of my parents
[and so forth]?"

                   Buddhism.  Majjhima Nikaya ii.186-87


We have instructed man to treat his parents kindly.  Yet if they should
strive to make you associate anything with Me which you have no knowledge
of, do not obey them.

                   Islam.  Qur'an 29.8


If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and
wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he
cannot be my disciple.

                   Christianity.  Luke 14.26


>From concern with family, all the concerns of life, arise attachment.
Discard attachment from which arises doings that are totally evil.
Brother! discard your detachment and illusion--
Then will the holy Name in your heart and body disport.

                   Sikhism.  Adi Granth, Asa M.1, p. 356


Free from selfish attachment, they do not get compulsively entangled even
in home and family.  They are even-minded through good fortune and bad.
Their devotion to me is undivided.  Enjoying solitude and not following
the crowd, they seek only me.  This is true knowledge, to seek the Self as
the true end of wisdom always.  To seek anything else is ignorance.

                   Hinduism.  Bhagavad Gita 13.9-11


If a man does anything for the sake of his happiness in another world, to
the detriment of those whom he is bound to maintain, that produces evil
results for him, both while he lives and when he is dead.

                   Hinduism.  Laws of Manu 11.10

---

Majjhima Nikaya ii.186-87: Cf. 1 Corinthians 7.32-35, p. 948.  Luke 14.26: In
this hard saying, the injunction to hate one's parents is understood in the
same way as to hate one's own life: it is a matter of hating any ties and
attachments which have become fetters to the disciple's devotion to God and
Christ and his will.  Cf. Sun Myung Moon, 4-3-83, p. 898.  Bhagavad Gita
13.9-11: Cf. Kularnava Tantra 2, p. 879.  Laws of Manu 11.10: This is a typical
expression of ambivalence about the path of the shramana.  Cf. Mahabharata
1.220, p. 950.

---

I have always been solitary; I belong to none else; I behold no one whom I
can say I belong to nor do I behold one whom I can designate as mine.  The
path of worldliness is nothing but disaster.  Who, whose, and where are
one's kith and kin?  Who, whose, and where are strangers, all going round
in cycles of birth and death?  At times, the kith and kin become strang-
ers, and vice versa.  Ponder thus, "I am all alone.  Nobody was mine in
the past, nor will ever be in the future.  It is because of my karmas that
I delude myself and consider others as mine.  The truth is that I was
alone in the past and will ever be all alone."

                   Jainism.  Acarangasutra 4.32


He who is kind toward much-beloved friends loses his own good from his
mind, becoming partial; observing such danger in friendship, let one walk
alone like a rhinoceros.

As a spreading bush of bamboo is entangled in various ways, so is the
longing for children and wives: not clinging to these, even like a bamboo
just sprouting forth, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros....

If one lives in the midst of company, love of amusement and desire arises;
strong attachment for children arises; let therefore one who dislikes
separation, which must happen sooner or later from these beloved, walk
alone like a rhinoceros....

Having abandoned the different kinds of desire, founded on child, wife,
father, mother, wealth, corn, relations, let one walk alone like a
rhinoceros.

Let a wise man, having discovered that such is attachment, that there is
in it but little happiness, that it is but insipid, that there is more
affliction in it than comfort, that it is a fishhook, walk alone like a
rhinoceros.

Having cast off the bonds, like a fish which breaks the net in the water,
like a fire that returns not to the spot already burned up, let one walk
alone like a rhinoceros.

                   Buddhism.  Sutta Nipata 37-62: Rhinoceros Discourse

---

Acarangasutra 4.32: This is the declaration of the Jain who leaves home
for the life of a solitary monk.  It is also an ontological statement
about human existence which is held in some form by all the religions of
India; cf. Laws of Manu 4.238-39, p. 338; Gauri, M.5, p. 330.  Sutta
Nipata 37-62: Vv.37-38, 41, 60-62.  The rhinoceros-like aloofness recomm-
ended by this discourse is meant for monks still in training, for whom the
attachments of family and friends might be distractions and obstacles to
Nibbana.  For those firmly established in enlightenment, family and
friends should be no obstacles at all--see the excerpt from the Garland
Sutra, below, and Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2, p. 965.  Cf. Parable of
the Mustard Seed, pp. 381f.

---

And [Jesus'] mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent
to him and called him.  And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said
to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you."  And
he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"  And looking around on
those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."

                   Christianity.  Mark 3.31-35


It is not for the sake of the husband, my beloved, that the husband is
dear, but for the sake of the Self.

It is not for the sake of the wife, my beloved, that the wife is dear, but
for the sake of the Self.

It is not for the sake of the children, my beloved, that the children are
dear, but for the sake of the Self.

                   Hinduism.  Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.4-5


Enlightening beings at home
Should wish that all beings
Realize the nature of "home" is empty
And escape its pressures.

While serving their parents,
They should wish that all beings
Serve the Buddha,
Protecting and nourishing everyone.

While with their spouses and children,
They should wish that all beings
Be impartial toward everyone
And forever give up attachment.

When attaining desires,
They should wish that all beings
Pull out the arrow of lust
And realize ultimate peace.

                   Buddhism.  Garland Sutra 11

---

Mark 3.31-35: Jesus spent long hours teaching his disciples, to the dismay
of his family.  When they tried to call him out, Jesus rebuked them thus.
The Gospels reveal that Jesus was misunderstood and alienated from his
family.  At the marriage at Cana (John 2.3-4), when Jesus' mother asked
him to perform a miracle and provide wine for the wedding, he said to her,
"Woman, what have you to do with me?  My hour has not yet come," suggest-
ing that she had but a shallow understanding of his mission. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.4-5: The Self refers to
Ultimate Reality immanent in the heart, and certainly not to the egoistic
self. 

---

Loving One's Enemy

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

^38-48  "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

---

From "The Holy Way of the Couple (Family)" Book 3 - Chapter 2:

Section 4. Conjugal Love

4.1. Conjugal love is the flower of the whole universe.  Man is a being having God’s yang image, and woman is a being having God’s yin image. A married couple is like the wrapping of heaven and earth in a cloth. They can feel the heart of God’s ideal love. (13-67, 1963.10.17)

God is a being with dual characteristics vertically aligned, and human beings are physical beings with dual characteristics horizontally aligned. As such, the ideal of husband and wife is for the two to become one and form a completely rounded, apple shape. This would serve as a parent body able to pull and attach the ideal of love in the four directions, having the form of their four characteristics. (127-79, 1983.5.5)

When the husband and wife love each other explosively on the basis of the heart of loving God and loving humankind, God and the universe will be enraptured by this couple. This love cannot be anything other than that for the sake of God and humankind. Where does the root of this love lie? It does not lie within oneself. God is the source of love. He is the source of love for humankind. (35-239, 1970.10.19)

What is an ideal married couple? It is a couple who can realistically manifest the highest art and a couple who can manifest the highest literature. When we encounter the highest ideal and highest world of culture, we can see that the sweet love shared by a husband and wife is the highest love and the most sublime work of art in the world. The life of a husband and wife should be a most sublime work of literature; it should become the subject of a literary work. (22-269, 1969.5.4)

People always need stimulation. Happiness does not come without stimulation; there has to be stimulation. Just as our hunger makes each meal taste like something new, the love between husband and wife should always be fresh. The more the husband and wife see each other, the more they should long to see each other and want to be together all day. In light of this, you need to do a study on me and do a study on God. (23‑57, 1969.5.11)

Establishing a family where God’s love and the three great kinds of human love can blossom together is the desire of the world, the desire of humankind, and the desire of the future. You should know that the love of husband and wife is a precious and beautiful thing that can finally spread the fragrances of history in front of the principles of heaven and earth and appear as a new flower. (35-241, 1970.10.19)

Love is eternal. There are not two kinds of such love. There is just one. When a man and a woman are joined together in love, they must live together on earth for a hundred years, and even after they die they are to live together eternally. Although they have two bodies, they become one body, and as they rotate together they create oneness. When their two bodies become one, they come to rotate with God and establish a four-position foundation of love. This is nothing less than the ideal world. False love cannot invade; only true love can dwell there. (Blessed Family - 344)

A husband and wife who are joined together by the love in their hearts should create a family whose members’ mutual affection has, through a lifetime of experience, surely gone beyond the sphere of their own daily lives. That love should merge without fail into oneness with God’s purpose. Otherwise, they cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the dwelling place of God. (35-179, 1970.10.13)
The perfection of the love of a man and a woman is the perfection of the universe. The day this love is shattered, the order of the universe will be destroyed and the entire vertical world will collapse. (Blessed Family - 544)

Through their becoming one in love as husband and wife, a couple attains the capacity to create in the same position as God, and their child is the result of that attainment. (52-314, 1972.2.3)

Heaven is looking for a husband and wife who are bound together as a pure man and woman and can represent heaven and earth with a passionate, crimson-colored heart of love. You should have such a love as a husband and wife and raise your sons and daughters in that love. (127-100, 1983.5.5)

The scene of a man and a woman hugging and kissing is one of the opposite poles of a flat plane colliding and generating the light that is to illuminate the path to finding love. When a white light appears there, colors should be added to create a light of colorful brilliance. You should know that when these lights are mixed by the vertical love of God, they will be transformed into a splendid, ideal world of brightness – like the colors of the rainbow. (134-170, 1985.4.7)

In these times people everywhere are engaged in love that is like instant food. Love does not deepen just because you take a bath in a bathtub filled with its fragrance. I would say that the love shared by a couple from the countryside who wash in cold water before going to bed, is purer and becomes deeper with the passing of time. (Blessed Family - 353)

A bride and bridegroom should not unite through money, power or honor, but through the original love of God. They should create a family that loves God, with the wife living for the sake of her husband, and the husband loving his wife. (Blessed Family - 880)

A man is an incarnation of the True Father and a woman an incarnation of the True Mother. Therefore, when the husband looks down on his wife, he looks down on True Mother; and when the wife deceives her husband, she deceives True Father. (Blessed Family - 869)

The power by which the man can have dominion over the woman and the woman can have dominion over the man is love. No power other than love can enable them to take dominion over each other; only love has dominion. (Blessed Family - 344)

In terms of physical strength, women cannot match men, but when love is involved, the wife and the husband push and pull each other and become one. If a person becomes an object partner of love before God, will God like it? He will. (270-242, 1995.6.7)

The melody God likes most is the laughter of a husband and wife who are happy in their love for each other. When such a couple lives a life with the heart to embrace the world and accommodate the entire universe, that laughter will spring forth naturally. In God’s eyes, the beautiful sight of such a couple would be like a flower. This is not just an ideal or abstraction. I am talking about the original world. (Blessed Family - 877)

A conversation between a loving husband and wife is more beautiful than any poem or painting in the world. Furthermore, how beautiful and splendid are the words that people who are in love exchange – “just the two of us”! (Blessed Family - 887)

When a man and a woman receive the Blessing and experience joy while giving and receiving perfect love, God looks at this as if it were a flower that has bloomed on earth. Moreover, all things of harmony that come into being through their love are like fragrances to God. God dwells here as He wants to live surrounded by such beautiful fragrances. The foundation upon which God’s love can enter is the place of love between husband and wife. This will be a place where all things of creation and the universe come into harmony.
(Blessed Family - 887)

4.2. Conjugal love cannot be fulfilled if it is shared with another person.  According to people’s original nature, they do not want their partner’s love for them to be divided. The completeness of the horizontal love relationship between husband and wife is destroyed if that love is shared; whereas, this is not so in the vertical love relationship between parent and child. This is because of the Principle of Creation, which mandates that the husband and wife attain absolute oneness in love. In love, people have the responsibility to absolutely care for their partner. (277-200, 1996.4.16)

If you are a couple that is bonded by the strong power of love, you should feel joy and have love for your partner no matter what he or she does. If a wife says that she hates her husband’s smell, or a husband thinks or feels that he doesn’t like the way his wife’s body moves, this is because the couple has not realized complete love. Such a couple has come together for a certain purpose that is to their own advantage. (Blessed Family - 887)

When a husband and wife live together, they are happier if they experience hurricanes, rain storms and thunder as part of the ups and downs of life, and pursue the ideal of love while experiencing such diverse feelings, rather than living comfortably throughout their whole life. (167-212, 1987.7.19)
Rather than money or knowledge, we need love in order to solve the problems between man and woman. (161-293, 1987.3.1)

When you listen to people’s voices, you will find that women’s voices have a higher pitch than men’s. Why were women’s voices created to be higher pitched? In terms of physical strength women are weaker than men; but in terms of heart and affection women are higher. Then, what about men? Men love broadly. Women are higher in terms of the love for their husbands and children, but men have a deeper heart of love for their relatives and country. This is why we learn from our mother how to love our sons and daughters and our family, and from our father how to love the world. To lean too much to one side creates instability; a balance is struck by linking these two kinds of love together. (129-55, 1983.10.1)

In the first three years or so, you won’t fit together well. How can a man and a woman with different family backgrounds, customs, and norms of propriety fit together? They should make effort to fit together until they become one. (Blessed Family - 895)

Only through love can greater things come forth... The level increases only through a love that lives for the sake of others. Therefore, fighting couples will produce children who will lead the nation to destruction. However, loving couples that live for the sake of others will produce God-like, wise princes and princesses who have extracted the full essence of heaven and earth. (204-106, 1990.7.1)
Why do a husband and wife fight? It is because each of them tries to receive love from the other. Those groups whose members try to receive love cannot last long. A family where everyone tries to receive love will be shattered, but a family where everyone tries to love others will not be shattered, no matter how much someone devotes himself to breaking it down. The love whereby each tries to give to the other is eternal. (36-75, 1970.11.15)

Love is simple and foolish. It does not care about any situation. If I truly love someone, I am not concerned whether someone is watching us from the side. A love that is conscious about someone watching is a love within a certain limit. How simple and foolish is the love that does not care whether someone is watching. (33-113, 1970.8.9)

Economic difficulties cannot be allowed to create a rift in the husband and wife relationship. Neither knowledge nor ignorance can dilute the love of husband and wife. (Blessed Family - 880)

Heaven is looking for a husband and wife who, bound together as a pure man and woman, can represent heaven and earth with a passionate, crimson heart of love. (127-100, 1983.5.5)
Why do you think the problem of divorce could come up between people who love each other? Considering the fact that those who have divorced or who want to divorce all once had a love relationship transcending life and death, there is something wrong. There can be many reasons for divorce, but it ultimately signifies that something has changed – something between two people. It happens because they fail to maintain and cultivate their love. Love itself does not change, but people’s hearts change. (Blessed Family - 351)

In marriage relationships throughout the world, power comes when the husband earns and brings home money. The wife is naturally strengthened upon seeing the money he brings home, and the husband naturally gains strength seeing his wife so empowered. But if they are unable to earn money they become agitated, and their relationship may even break. A true husband and wife, however, should create oneness in love with God at the center. (Blessed Family - 880)

Some men, when they see a pretty woman, wish that she were his wife, even if he has his own wife. Of such a man with two minds, we say that he has a thief’s disposition. Since it is Satan who started out with two minds, it is not wrong to call a man “Satan” who has two minds. If there is such a man, he is no different from Satan. (Blessed Family - 348)

A husband and wife can be considered a pair; however just as every face differs, people’s fortunes differ. They have different destinies in life. Even if the husband has a bad destiny, if his wife has a good destiny, her destiny can change the husband’s destiny for the better. Conversely, even if the wife has a bad destiny, if her husband has a good destiny, this can change her destiny for the better. Therefore, we can say that the destiny of husband and wife is like creating level ground by tearing down mountains and filling up valleys. After creating level ground, they can plant trees, plough fields, and pursue a variety of plans for their love as they keep the ideals of husband and wife. From the standpoint of such principles, you should not just see the external appearance when you find your spouse. Marriage is a fearsome thing. (God’s Will and the World - 543)

You thought you would be happy after meeting your husband, but there are bad times as well. You should not hope for good things only. Would it be good to be bathed in sunlight continuously for twenty-four hours? There must also be nighttime. Isn’t it natural that something that is high comes down? (30‑141, 1970.3.21)

A happy family is one where when the husband returns home he discusses with his wife everything that happened while he was out, and this reveals new things to pioneer. A happy family is one where they join their strengths and research together. When the parents do this, the children will contribute their strengths and join in with them, expressing their hope to build such a family. (29-113, 1970.2.25)

A loving husband and wife should not unilaterally stipulate and fix in their minds what their spouse’s face should be like. If you imagine the face of your partner as having only one appearance, nothing could be more boring. When you look at your partner’s face with joy, it will appear to be joyful; and if you look upon it with a loving heart, it will look beautiful. You should always see your partner’s face as new, like that of water swirling when it flows with new shapes appearing at every turn. (Blessed Family - 880)

Human beauty does not just reside in the face. It can be seen and felt from all directions. Beauty is three-dimensional, like a ball. Whether seen from above, seen from the side, or seen from any direction, a person has his or her own perfect beauty. So you should not carelessly evaluate your wife’s face. Many beautiful women are poor, but women who have virtue or good fortune are of a different type. We often see that even in the case of a woman with a pretty face, her face becomes strange after having just two or three children. So we can conclude that those who can maintain their beauty even after childbirth are beautiful women. (God’s Will and the World - 543)

When a husband and wife love each other, each should love their spouse as a representative of God. When they love each other from a humanistic perspective, the shortcomings on both sides will come out, and this may eventually lead to their divorce. (Blessed Family - 880)

Love has value when people miss each other. In asking for love, use your mouth to speak and watch with your eyes open wide, so that you can please the one who gives love. You should know that if you remain dull, love will turn back on the path and run away. If a person giving love is not serious but has a passive attitude, how offended the other would be! (Blessed Family - 887)

If a husband and wife brush their teeth before kissing each other, this is not natural love; the toothpaste smell will keep them from being able to savor the unique human body smell. When I look at those people who brush their teeth before kissing, I don’t know whether they are trying to taste love or taste toothpaste! When we look at the world these days, it is full of calculating, artificial, and hypocritical love to the point that we are confused about what human happiness is; such love is the main culprit leading the world to ruin. (Blessed Family - 353)

Soybean paste soup tastes best when it is served in an earthenware bowl. The rough and thick taste of soybean paste soup is something you can never forget once you have developed a liking for it. Likewise, when people have developed a liking for the rough and thick flavor of love, they will never change. Just as you quickly get tired of instant foods, which are sweet, if you could get love easily anywhere like instant food, you would not be able to call it true love. (Blessed Family - 353)
Who do you think saw Adam and Eve dancing naked in the Garden of Eden? You can do such things when there is nobody around. When a husband and wife dance naked in the room, is this something to be concerned about? Between the husband and wife, who cares what they do, whether they dance naked or do other strange things? What does it matter when a husband and wife do it by themselves? (21-240, 1968.11.24)

Even pigeons call “Coo, coo, coo!” and rejoice together, so if there is a sound of a husband and wife’s meeting, a sound of truly loving people meeting together, what kind of sound would that make? It would be no less than the sound of thunder. (Blessed Family - 887)

The loving words a husband and wife whisper to each other in bed become a tonic to dissolve all fatigue and hatred from the world. Among those words that you whisper, you cannot say, “You have to love me.” Just as love is natural, the secret words of love should be tender and beautiful. (Blessed Family - 887)

When a husband and wife make love, even if the husband’s father or mother may be sleeping next to them, it is fine even if they scream when they reach their climax. They should make everyone in the local villages know about their love, so they will say, “That couple is so much in love, and when they make that funny sound at night, village rats are shocked and roosters stop crowing.” If someone asks why such an incident has occurred that shocks rats and causes roosters to stop crowing, you can say, “Why do you think? It is because of the shouts of love that shake heaven and earth!” (136-32, 1985.12.20)

The place of conjugal love is a flower of the whole universe. In the place where a newly married husband and wife, who appear as an encapsulation of the historical ages, become one, God comes and settles down. How solemn and fearsome an occasion is the first meeting of a bride and groom in the midst of love. When you think that you have created a path to God and take on the role of a complete minus in love, it is from here that the heat produced by the love of heaven and earth begins to increase. After you create a cozy environment for your life and the environment for your ideals, then you should go to your wife’s room. (179-90, 1988.7.22)

These days you do not wear traditional Korean socks, but in the old days people used to wear them for months, until they had holes and the toes showed. Then they came to have all kinds of odors; but still to the nose of a loving wife, those odors were better than a nice fragrance. You will go and lick even smelly toes when you are in love. They will taste crisp, sweet, sour, and intriguing. When you measure like this using an antenna of love, the extent to which you like it will rise way above the extent that you dislike it. (194-49, 1989.10.15)

Is it easy to re-create your sons and daughters? You have to do all kinds of things to give birth to a new son or daughter, all the extreme things. So is the spit of your loving husband dirty or not? If your husband’s spit gets on your palm, and you are wearing a silk dress and have no place to wipe it off, would you be willing to lick the spit off your palm or not? Speak honestly. You have to say “I want to lick it and swallow it” for it to be true love. Love knows no dirty things. (194-165, 1989.10.22)
Chapter 2 • The Reality of Love 361

When conjugal love catches fire, two lives become one and then the lineages unite and start boiling in love. In the midst of that, the owner plants the seed. When the male-life essence and the female-life essence meet this way, and through the combining of centrifugal and centripetal forces that are set in motion through love, everything will turn. Things go up and things go down…. When a seed sprouts in an upward spot, it becomes a son, and when it sprouts in a downward spot it becomes a daughter! This is a theory, but I do not know if it is really true or not. Since this idea resonates with the theory, if you study it and find out whether it is really true or not, you will be a candidate for a doctorate or a Nobel Prize. (300-53, 1999.2.21)

Having children is the act of conquering the upper realm of God. This is an event to lead you to love your child from God’s position and experience the inner heart of God and how much He loved human beings after the Creation. (224-28, 1991.11.21)

A love-centered life will solve everything. Even the tiger eyes of a greedy old man, when he is in love, will take on the shape of the moon as it is in a painting, and his frozen mouth will break into a smile. Love can completely melt down something that has been frozen and love can freeze something that is melted. Love is something that has the capacity to contain two extremes and still go further. If you look carefully at the Chinese character ho (“to like”), it combines the characters for “man” and “woman.” There is a saying that a fight between husband and wife is like cutting water with a knife. When you cut water with a knife, does it leave a trace? It does not. Even after fighting, once a couple puts their foreheads together and smiles, peace returns. (127-245, 1983.5.15)

The love of husband and wife is for the sake of reaching up to God. (127-109, 1983.5.5)

Genuine love is to love with the entire body as one and with the heart and lineage as one. It is a husband and wife who can love like this. If there were no husband and wife in the world, would there be any excitement in living? (26-151, 1969.10.25)

Even in the fallen world, when a man and a woman fall in love, they say, “Ah, there is an electric current here.” The electricity that arises from moment to moment starts from the archangel – it is unicellular. The electricity of love that arises in the original world is the lightning of the love of the universe. It surpasses the former in strength several thousand times; moreover, the sound of the movement of the cells of each human organ is like the sound of thunder. The principle view of love is that the man and woman engaged in true love of the original world cannot meet God unless they concentrate all their might towards the contact point where the lightning of love meets. This is also the completion of the purpose of creation. (Blessed Family - 380)

Do you think God sees you making love or not? Would God, who transcends time and space, close His eyes at night, when the five billion people of the world make love? How would He feel when He sees them? How many good wives and good husbands are there? Think about it. All kinds of things should happen there. Reluctantly playing a wife’s role, reluctantly being dragged along, reluctantly trying to please your spouse – you should not live like that. That is not love, is it? Is that life? How great it would be if the whole world turned into an environment where butterflies and bees flew around freely and we could live in harmony within heaven and earth according to God’s ideal of creation – just as in the Garden of Eden, with the fragrance of flowers – so that God could fall asleep in bliss? Have you ever thought about this? Try living like this. (222-252, 1991.11.3)

Why don’t women have beards? When God saw Adam with a long beard, He was not pleased; so when He made Eve, He made her without a beard. So what is the greatest masterpiece among all God’s creation? It is women. Women are the greatest masterpiece, but who are they for? They are a great work of art for men. Think this way. (38-180, 1971.1.3)