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1Religion exists for the sake of the world. The purpose of religion is to establish the framework of peace for humankind. That is why religions pursue world peace. Yet world peace is not only for human beings. God too must rejoice in it. This must be a world in which the peace that God desires is in accord with the peace that human beings desire. These two goals come into accord not centered on the people of the world alone and not centered on God alone. There is only one way that God and people both want to be governed; that is the way of love. God's bitter anguish up until now is that He could not be governed by true love. Since God is the true King, He wants to be governed by a person with true love, even if that person is of the lowest rank. There is nothing that true love cannot permeate. There is no gap in true love. The Fall gave rise to gaps between light and darkness, front and back, and left and right, but true love can traverse them all.
2Philanthropy as we witness it today originated from a central trend of religious thought in history. Religion in a broad sense refers to the mainstream of life that centers on God's side. That is why it advocates love, benevolence, civic virtue and goodness. Religion does not pursue its own ambitions. Rather, it radiates goodness by benefiting the public. Through this it transforms the spirits of the evil world and restores the evil world to the side of Heaven. It does not directly fight evil, but promotes harmony and peace centered on goodness and so creates an atmosphere of reconciliation. In order to deal with this evil world, the religious world needs to make a new beginning. That is, in order to influence its environment, it has to invest something new. Harmony, unity and peace can come only when religions continually work for each other's sake, rather than telling their believers to work for them. This is the mainstream thought that has guided good religions throughout history.
3Where will God find the stronghold of peace? It is not in America, nor Russia, nor any other nation. That place is the original mind of human beings. That means we should discard everything having to do with the fallen world and return to the standard of our original mind. It means to return to our inner self. That is why Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within us. It means that unless we liberate the goodness in our heart, it will be impossible for us to realize an ideal world, a world of happiness. In history, it is religion that has established this standard. God needed to guide people to the way of peace. During the course of history, His efforts to guide people to the way of peace must have left traces. The traces of God's activities are found in religion.
4True peace starts from me. From where in me does it start? It is not from within my heart by itself, but from my heart when it unites with God. Therefore I need to control my body. No matter how you look at people, it is clear that we are not causal beings but resultant beings. That being the case, we need to be completely one with our origin, God. But we have not been able to become one with God. Cause and result need to be one; they should not oppose each other. From that perspective you cannot take yourself, who are a resultant being, as the starting point for oneness. The cause is the starting point. The historical mission of religion has been to create that relationship.
5God's objective is world peace. Whether you ask Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, Jesu, the founder of Christianity, or the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, you will get the same answer. The purpose of religion is peace. It is to bring about one world, an ideal world.
6From the viewpoint of the Will, we are in a situation similar to that of Jesus in his relationship with Israel and Judaism. In other words, the environment that exists in front of us now is similar to what existed in Jesus' time. Because this is such a time, it is a given that we should develop a supradenominational movement. Having this conviction, we need to carry out operations on two fronts. As much as we have been dedicated to restoring our people, we also must do our utmost to promote a supradenominational movement. We already have established the standard this requires.
7God's Will is to save the world. In order to save the world, we need to pass through the stage of being supranational and supra-denominational. Look at the founding spirit of America. That nation was established from all nations, based on Protestantism. That is, it was founded with a standard that transcended nationality. However, America did not establish a supra-denominational standard. Even though it was international, it was not supra-denominational. Hence, it falls upon us to create that supradenominational standard. As we do, we are bound to develop a teaching that transcends nationality and even the world.
8In terms of electricity, my role is like that of a power distribution station. As long as the power plant does not break down, the electric lights will come on. I am here to power the light bulbs in everyone's home. If I illuminate their homes, they are bound to be pleased. What I am saying is that following this principle is the way we should make one world. We should not be vague in making one world. That is why I need to present concrete measures in leading a movement to unite religions.
9As the Last Days approach, the movement to unite religions will grow and develop. People on earth may not know about God's work that is being carried out behind the scenes through religion. Nonetheless, God is leading the advance toward one united world, and the religious realm must form structures to cooperate with such work. That is why a global movement called the International Religious Foundation has appeared. In opposition to this, Satan has formed a single system that stands opposed to religion. That system, which centers on the evil god, arose based on an ideology that opposes religion. It denies God and advocates materialism, which treats matter as absolute. It also advocates humanism. It has formed a world that has nothing to do with God.
10I have devoted my entire life to practicing God's love. I have walked that course in the position of a true son of God. You have to pass through the same course. If we can be completely successful in that course, there will be no problem that we cannot solve. That is why I founded the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace. With the founding of this organization, it is now possible for religions to cooperate in realizing ideal families and societies with God at the center, a united world.
11Mind and body are divided, and the global expansion of that is the division between the political and religious realms. The political realm is in conflict with the religious realm. The body-like political realm always strikes the mind-like religious realm. This conflict has spread even to the United Nations. In order to overcome this, I founded the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace. I also created the Federation for World Peace. If the political realm in Satan's world does not listen to us, then we have to create an Abel-type political realm to encompass it. The purpose of the Federation for World Peace and the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace is to unite the political and religious realms.
12Just as the body and mind are divided, two worlds are fighting. We now need to unite the religious world, which represents the world of the mind, through the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace. Also we have to deal with the fights between the various nations of the world, representing the world of the body, and for this I founded the Federation for World Peace. These organizations already are established. When they have a joint meeting and I direct them to mobilize to fulfill the responsibility of building a world of peace, it is the people of faith who should take the initiative. I call the people of the Unification Church and the representatives of every religious body to take the lead for the sake of world peace. They have to lead people in the same way that the mind has to lead the body. Otherwise, the world of peace will not come.
13Throughout history, the political world persecuted religion. Politics is in the position of the body. The arena of activity based on the body does not recognize God. While focusing on the original mind takes one into the realm of theism, focusing on the body leads to the realm of atheism. These two realms are fighting each other. But the religions must not fight one another; rather, they must come together. In God there is no concept of struggle; there is only the concept of peace. All religious groups that fight other religions are destined to disappear. Humankind will not sustain their existence. They will dissipate entirely.
1When, from the True Parents of the families, mind and body become one, the couple becomes one, and the children become, peace is realized. Peace begins only when True Parents emerge and, centering on them, true families emerge. The world and its nations are secondary; the kingdom of heaven on earth begins with True Parents and true families. This is the basis of humanity. This is where the kingdom of love begins, where the kingdom of life and lineage begins, as well as the kingdom of heaven on earth, the kingdom of heaven in heaven, and the kingdom of happiness, hope, unity and peace. That is why we have to unite our mind and body. Man and woman and Cain and Abel need to become one. Due to the Fall, the mind and body divided, Adam and Eve divided, and sons and daughters divided. Now all these that were divided have to unite. True Parents are the ideal model for the oneness of mind and body, for oneness as a couple and for oneness among children. You know everything because you learned from True Parents, who brought victory on the world level. All you have to do is build the kingdom of heaven in your family.
2The unification of the world is simple. In the Unification Church we practice cross-cultural marriage. If enemies become in-laws, the universe will quickly enter an era of peace. That is why I have conducted the cross-cultural marriage Blessing between Koreans and Japanese. Among the Blessing candidates were people from all kinds of backgrounds, but God's love goes beyond these differences. Even Jesus has to bring his enemies with him in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to love those in the position of our enemy more than we love our sons and daughters, more even than we love our parents. Only when we reach such a state can we prepare the royal grounds of peace and lead the people to the royal palace where we all can live together. Koreans and Japanese have been relating to each other as enemies. They have not wanted to marry each other, but the Unification Church has overcome this.
3No path to world peace is shorter than international marriage. Human beings became enemies and created national barriers. Enmity arises among those who live in close proximity; those who live far away from one another do not become enemies. Accordingly, to hasten the realization of a peaceful world, I marry people from enemy countries. In this way we are Overcoming the boundaries between nations. This will bring us halfway to the world of peace.
4The responsibility of the religious world is to stand at the forefront in the quest for world peace. It is a mission that God requires of it absolutely. I cannot imagine that anyone here would disagree with this. What is the shortest path to peace, the one closest at hand? It is to marry young people across religious boundaries. The conflicts in the world will move halfway to resolution when young people from warring religions marry. If this process is repeated in the second generation, the conflicts can be resolved. That is why I am trying to bless young Unificationists in marriage with young people of other religions. If all religions of the world participate in the cross-cultural marriage Blessing, then those that have related as enemies will unite, and enemy nations will also unite. This is the direct way to achieve world peace. Religions have to fulfill this mission; otherwise there was no reason for God to establish them.
5At the recent Assembly of the World's Religions, participants discussed a proposal that members of different religions marry. The representatives of thirteen religions gathered there concluded that marriage of believers from different religions is the only direct path to world peace. Religions have to take the lead in this. The mind has to take the lead for peace and, when it comes to world peace, religion represents the realm of the mind. There is no track faster than marriage to bring oneness among enemies divided by national boundaries.
6How shall we achieve world peace? The gist of it is simple. A world of peace begins with the sons and daughters of enemy nations who marry each other, and whose parents pray that as married couples they will live blessed lives. Unless this happens, world peace can never be realized. If people continue to allow themselves to be divided by national borders, they will remain enemies.
7Once people marry transcending nationality, national barriers will naturally disappear. When a British woman and a Frenchman marry, the national boundary between the two will disappear. Both will change without being aware of it. We need to understand this. Marrying a Frenchman does not make a British woman French; nor does marrying a British man make a French woman British. What, then, does it make her? She becomes simply a Unificationist. What are Unificationists? They are the group that can launch the ideal world, the ideal world of peace that gives rise to the world of freedom.
8Our first human ancestors came together in marriage in the wrong way, and this eventually led to barriers between nations. Therefore their descendants have to receive the Blessing and abolish those barriers. There are Cain nations and Abel nations; they stand as enemies to each other. Because of wrong marriage, these brothers were divided. That is why we need to receive the cross-cultural marriage Blessing. Without it, a united world will not come about. Those who fixed on boundaries as a reason to divide can return to oneness by exchanging positions. In other words, the elder brother becomes the younger brother and vice versa. Without the cross-cultural marriage Blessing, peace cannot emerge. This is the meaning of God's exhortation to love our enemies.
9In the Unification Church there are no barriers between nationalities. Difference of cultural background is no barrier. We are eliminating all such barriers. This time, many who participated in the Blessing joined in interracial marriages between black and white. I blessed hundreds of Japanese-African couples. When we are able to bless millions, tens of millions and even entire nations, humanity will affirm that it is of one lineage. On this foundation the world will leap toward global peace. What happens when twelve nationalities are represented within our one family and they are united? What happens when they become one? Even without making it their agenda, they will form a world of peace. How marvelous! Then I shall become the King of Peace. This is why I am called the Messiah and the True Parent.
1If human beings had not fallen, they would have ushered in the ideal spring garden. In that ideal spring garden, they would have grown up to be people with whom God would have lived while rejoicing. Having reached maturity, they would have created a God-centered new culture and new world on this earth. And at the center of the world and culture that they created, they would have lived in peace and happiness. Just as all things revolve following the four seasons -- spring, summer, autumn and winter -- in the world they created, which would have continued forevermore, each human life would have passed through stages corresponding to the four seasons. Instead of this, human beings fell. As a result, they were unable to see the beginning of joy. It was to have come when they welcomed the one day of glory into the world. That would have been the time of formation, when human beings could have rejoiced.
2God desires to see His purpose fulfilled through human beings. That purpose is only one, the one world of creation. The conclusion is plain from both sides. Human beings need to pursue that world and God also needs to realize that world. Throughout history, both God and human beings have been pursuing that one world, the world of one culture and one sovereignty, the one world of peace and unity. We have to pursue that world, for it is a condition necessary to the life of all humanity as well as to each individual.
3The World Culture and Sports Festival is a history-shaping event. It exalts the true values that make for human happiness, and promotes the culture of heart for all humanity. Its founding purpose is to present a new, peaceful world culture in which God, humankind and all things can be in harmony. People of all walks of life the world over, including scholars, religious leaders, journalists, public servants and youth leaders, will gather in one place for the festival. There, as citizens of the global village and members of one global family, they will pool their wisdom and experience, and celebrate life in harmony with all humankind.
4It is part of the original human nature to both pursue and express beauty. Human beings embody God's ideal of creation. Their internal world manifests the three faculties of emotion, intellect and will, and the physical body acts in response to the commands of the mind. As a result, human beings continually pursue beauty, truth and love, which they express by means of art, science and religion. In the end, the universe and all things in it are but external forms expressing the internal nature of God, the Creator, in a variety of substantial embodiments.
5The ultimate goal of artists, and those who work with the arts, is to reach the world of God's heart. God, the Creator, wants to feel boundless joy through all the different things He personally created with His own hands, one by one, as works of art. God's heart is such that He wants to give again after He has given. After doing things for others He wants to do more for them, and even after investing unconditionally He wants to forget what He has done. That heart is the basis of the world of true love. God's ideal of creation for the created world arose from that heart. The starting point of art is the desire to represent that heart. Accordingly, in the world of art there are no national boundaries. The purpose of art is not to serve as a tool of an ideology or an agenda. Its fundamental principles are harmony and unity. Divisiveness and conflict are fruits of fallen nature. Therefore the world of art demonstrates universal characteristics in all directions, bringing the East to understand the West and the West to accept the East.
6To usher in the age of peace, we cannot exclude the roles of the arts and sports. With this in mind, it is amazing that we have achieved world-class standards in those fields. First it was in the soccer world. Next it was in the world of art and culture, where our ballet company is almost as well-known as the Bolshoi Ballet. In the future, when we enter a world of freedom and peace that is free from war, sports and the arts will be absolutely necessary.
7I have a plan to inspire the general public through the arts. Dance is a vehicle by which women are moved, and sports are a vehicle by which to inspire men. I have a dream to elevate these two vehicles to the highest global standard. Sports and the arts have the power to move the public in an instant. In them lies enthusiasm and vitality. Once we link this enthusiasm and vitality with the spirit of the Unification Church, God will surpass Satan's world. How much has God toiled to surpass Satan's world, while harboring bitter sorrow in His heart? He suffered because we human beings were unable to climb over that wall. However, once the age comes when we can climb over that wall, we will be unstoppable.
8We need to renew the worlds of sports and the arts. Ballet is the greatest of all dance forms from the West, but its value has not been appreciated enough. I intend to elevate it to a new level. The same goes for sports. The arts and sports need a philosophy behind them. Ballet is like gymnastics with respect to the splendid technique it requires. Yet in addition to technique, it should have a noble spirit. Then its attractive power will draw in even those people who had no interest in it. In the contemporary world of the arts, however, that noble spirit is moribund. The world of sports also requires a spirit of complete dedication.
9Societies originally promoted sports in order to maintain physical health and public safety. Today sports are spreading worldwide, bringing pleasure to billions of people and enriching their lives. Therefore, from various angles we need to find ways to contribute to peace for all people through sports.
10I plan to bring sports and the arts together. I am trying to integrate dance and music with exercise. I want to create something that is not simply an exercise, like gymnastics, but dance-gymnastics combined with music. I am planning to transform even something like karate into an art. I am actually doing such exercises every day; they are exercises that integrate sports and art. In them God's spirit is reflected.
11People may wonder why Rev. Moon, a religious leader, takes an interest in sports, soccer in particular. Sports will be absolutely necessary in the future, for the purpose of enhancing the vigor of young people in cultural festivals or a cultural Olympics. The flourishing or perishing of a nation depends on the vigor of its young people. No matter how knowledgeable, brilliant or handsome a person may be, it is all for naught if he or she lacks vigor. A nation that has young people of high spirit and increasing vigor will flourish. Therefore, this philosophy is crucial.
12The World Culture and Sports Festival is not just for sports. It also includes culture. It will be a great meeting, where men and women of all callings and religions can demonstrate their talent. Consider how wonderful it would be to participate in this event. Every soul must create unity between yin and yang, centering on loving others. How awesome it is to hold an event that promotes this harmony!
13Since religion is the center of culture, the Assembly of the World's Religions and the InterReligious Federation for World Peace will stand at the center of the World Culture and Sports Festival. The ideals, wisdom and values of religion should be embedded in this world's education, academics, arts, sports, media, politics and economy, and become their standard. The World Culture and Sports Festival is a history-shaping event. It advances the culture of the human spirit and exalts the true values that make for human happiness. It promotes a new worldwide culture of peace, in which God, human beings and all things are in harmony.
14Sports fans participate in a world of emotions that transcends national boundaries. If the Ilhwa Cheonma Football Club were chosen as the team to represent Asia, it would become the focus of Asia. If it went to South America and swept all the teams on that continent, the team would rivet the attention of all soccer players and fans across the world. Everyone would welcome this soccer team and relate to it independent of religious considerations. Everyone knows that when it comes to soccer, South America has the best teams. Therefore, if the Ilhwa soccer team can attain a standard higher than South America's teams, the world will naturally pay attention. People will follow this Ilhwa team, and in the short time of ninety minutes, billions of people will applaud and cheer for it. This sort of thing can only happen in sports.
15Why did I make a soccer team, and why am I taking an interest in sports? Sports are instrumental in promoting harmony and peace. When a famous soccer team plays, the entire world watches. Boxing requires only one player, but soccer requires eleven players. A soccer team needs to play in harmony. The players first need to unite and harmonize with one another. When a soccer team attains peace and harmony, free from conflict, the crowd can find even more enjoyment setting aside their mundane existence and watching them play. Right there, unity is created between the players and the crowd. The soccer team itself symbolizes harmony and unity, namely, total oneness. That is what we need in our families, societies, nations, and in heaven and earth. Peace is needed everywhere. In order to bring about peace, we need unity. Without unity, we never will attain peace.
16As early as the 1960s, I founded the Little Angels to exalt Korea's beautiful performing arts across the world. On that foundation, I established the Sun-hwa Arts School with the founding philosophy, "Love God, Love Your Nation and Love Humankind." I also founded the Universal Ballet in Korea and the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, D.C., and revived the New York City Symphony in New York.
17Look at how the entertainment world spearheads the destruction of true love. Consider the singers and athletes in that world. Even in the luminous world of the Olympics, athletes are involved in fallen activities that contradict the spirit of the Olympics, such as taking drugs. With the intention of putting an end to this in the field of performing arts, I founded the Little Angels and the Universal Ballet to represent something totally opposite. I created a school for the arts that includes the dramatic arts and even sports and martial arts. They center on original love, which is needed in order to turn around the entertainment world.
18In the 1960s it became my dream to introduce the Korean culture to other countries. At that time I founded the Little Angels, a Korean children's dance troupe. Since then the Little Angels have performed in more than sixty countries. Their performances have been broadcast on television more than three hundred times. I formed this dance troupe of children because, in my opinion, children can express the world of the heart better than anyone else. On seeing those children dance, even the coldest person removes his or her mask of formality and experiences purity and love. It puts that person in touch with the essential pursuits of all human beings.
19The media wield overwhelming influence and power in society, to such an extent that after the executive, judiciary and legislature they are called the Fourth Estate. I believe that the media should use their immense power for good, and should contribute to world peace. Respected journalists, before you are professionals, you are essentially children of God. You are champions of peace who are called to the special mission of building an ethical world, the world of true peace that God desires. The World Media Association is an open forum in which journalists such as you can discuss issues freely, with the ultimate goal of realizing an ethical world. At this point in time, as the people of the world head toward the ultimate world of true peace in God's providence, God is calling the media to carry out an important mission for the realization of world peace. They should join forces with others who are yearning for peace and contribute their immense power of influence. They must play a leading role in making humanity one great family in the age of the global village, to realize the ideal of true world peace and ethics. Please advance bravely and boldly for the sake of this cause.
20The mass media have an educational function. They must take responsibility for society from a moral standpoint and thereby develop the nation. To do this, journalists should have personal integrity. I am fighting against the media of the United States, which dance to the tune of corrupt ideologies and beliefs. How have the media treated me? They have thought of me as their punching bag. And yet I did not utter even a word against them. One can manifest real capability even without speaking words. No one has yet adequately defined the role of the mass media. No one has stated standards for media professionals, who will weave the record of history. That is why I am continually holding media conferences. I created the World Media Association to awaken journalists and all media professionals to their responsibility, and I have been working along these lines to this day. I am calling journalists and all media professionals to be responsible. As representatives of the media, you should go forward with conviction. You should stake your life as you shoulder this responsibility.
1On the eastern edge of Asia lies the small Korean peninsula. Its people have been oppressed and belittled. However, God is working through this oppressed people to establish a new global realm of providence in order to begin a new age. What led to this nation standing at the frontline in the conflict between democracy and communism, even as humankind is embroiled in the calamities and distresses of the Last Days? The answer lies in the pivotal role that Korea plays for both the communist and democratic camps.
2Korea is destined to bring together and harmonize all religions of humankind that have existed throughout history, in accordance with God's Will. It is the nation that bears the responsibility to build a united world and united kingdom of heaven. When North and South Korea unify on the basis of their shared cultural background, they will influence the world's religions and peoples to manifest a harmonious religious sphere. Then they also will establish the harmonious spheres of people and nation, fulfilling the Will that God had when He chose Israel. The Korean peninsula is divided into North and South Korea. This is like the division between mind and body at the Fall. The North espouses materialism, while the South is inclined toward idealism based on the mind. The two Koreas reflect this division internationally. We see this situation throughout the world as the fruit of the mind-body conflict that erupted with the fall of Adam and Eve.
3Korea is divided into North and South. Claims about being one people notwithstanding, it's one sovereignty has not been restored. As long as the nation is divided, its people should unite and struggle to restore their one sovereignty. But their task does not end with the recovery of sovereignty. Once it is achieved, the nation has to advance a global vision. Unless the Korean people go through the path of struggle to recover the world, willing even to sacrifice their hard-fought sovereignty, the unified world of peace will not come.
4Korea is divided at the thirty-eighth parallel into an Abel nation and a Cain nation. Unless North Korea, which is in the Cain position, voluntarily surrenders to South Korea, in the Abel position, the world of peace will not come. Today's world as a whole is divided into democratic and communist camps, and the Korean peninsula is the frontline between these two blocs. Therefore the unification of Korea will serve as a model for world unification.
5If Korea is to be a nation that the world welcomes, the Koreans must become a people who willingly take the lead by shouldering the cross of the world. Koreans have to be willing to sacrifice their nation and its sovereignty for the sake of the world. The kingdom of peace will be built on the victorious foundation of the cross. On that day, the nation that carried the world's cross will be granted a position of glory.
6As Unification Church members, we should be willing to sacrifice for Korea as if we were one of its clans. If we sacrifice for Korea, we will change this nation. It will not remain divided as it is at present. It will become a unified nation, a nation with an ideal so high that even the people of North Korea will wholeheartedly welcome it. We must build such a nation, guiding North Koreans to practice virtue and show reverence for God. If we succeed in this task, the peninsula naturally will come together as one nation. Once unified as a nation, it will not seek to exploit the world. Rather, it will be a true nation, one that sacrifices for the world.
7It is indisputable that restoration comes through indemnity. It is based on the law of cause and effect. Then which nation bears the responsibility to pay the miserable indemnity for the world in the Last Days? It is none other than Korea. As a result of the Korean War, Korea was divided along the thirtyeighth parallel. Even though it took no sides in the global conflict between the left and the right, it became a sacrifice and had to shed blood. Surely, its situation was miserable. Nevertheless, today Korea ought to stand once again as the nation representing the tragic destiny of the world. From this perspective, we ought to reflect deeply upon the reason Korea is driven into the circumstances of this destiny.
8Communism and democracy are confronting each other on the Korean peninsula. Both sides argue their case at Panmunjom, yet their actions are but a manifestation of a larger battle between Heaven's world and Satan's world. Externally both camps are fighting over Korea, but internally God and Satan are engaged in the ultimate battle over the past, present and future. Therefore, as Koreans, we have to set the internal indemnity conditions whereby history can advance, carrying with it these two camps.
9Korea is divided into North and South along the thirty-eighth parallel. Based on the Divine Principle, we understand that a sacrificial offering must be divided. When a high priest presents an offering before the altar the people, regardless of their position, bow their heads. Even the sovereign of a nation bows his head before the offering. Therefore, the Unification Church henceforth must establish a foundation before which all people of Korea will bow their heads. Until it accomplishes this, the Unification Church will not have completed its mission.
10Soon after its liberation, Korea was divided into North and South. This happened because Christianity failed to unite with me. The division of Korea occurred because Christianity opposed me and the nation did not unite with me. Since the representatives of the nation and the representatives of religion separated from me, I needed you to unite with me as I endeavored to establish the foundation to indemnify their failures. Now we have established that foundation. We have reached the level where South Koreans throughout the nation can align with me.
11Korea is the homeland of the world. In order to protect and liberate this homeland of humankind, God mobilized many countries in the Korean War. The veterans of the Korean War sacrificed themselves for the liberation and independence of their homeland. When viewed from the perspective of God's providence, the Korean War was a global call to the nations to mobilize their forces and shed blood to liberate their homeland. The report that Jesus' face appeared in the sky during the Korean War supports this view. Yet more than an apparition of Jesus, the Korean War was sacred in the sense that it was fought to recover God's temple. As a providential nation, Korea was meant to become the ideal homeland of the True Parents when they appeared. Therefore, God mobilized the nations representing the democratic and Christian world and had them fight to liberate this nation.
12Human civilization first emerged along the Nile River in Egypt. It then shifted to Greece, a peninsular civilization on the Mediterranean Sea, and culminated in the civilization of Rome. Why did the development of civilization gravitate toward the West? It was unavoidable, and the reason goes back to the Fall. Originally, a unified world civilization would have taken root in Asia. However due to the Fall, civilization emerged without a root and moved in the opposite direction. This is in accord with the view of the Principle. Accordingly, the Mediterranean cultural sphere emerged from the Nile River, expanded as the Roman Empire, and developed into modern Western civilization on the islands of Great Britain. Those islands are the cradle of modern civilization based on the Christian cultural sphere. However, civilization cannot settle there. It needs to complete a full circle and return to Asia, where it should form the sphere of a unified civilization. This is God's plan for the fulfillment of the Will. It is natural, therefore, for civilization to move toward that destination. The last step in this development is when America, the global miracle of modern civilization, links with Asia on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. This will commence the era of the Pacific Rim civilization.
13In what environment should Western and Eastern civilizations meet? Where will the two connect? It will not be in an island nation, but on a peninsula. As a peninsular nation in Asia, Korea is situated in a most unusual position. In terms of its location, it neighbors Russia, China and Japan, and it has strong ties with the United States. Scholars assert that history is moving toward the era of the Pacific Rim civilization. Those around the world in the fields of politics, economics and history agree that this era is imminent.
14Civilizations emerge on peninsulas. Peninsulas provide the venue for an oceanic civilization and a continental civilization to fuse together and develop into a new civilization. This is how civilizations flourished on the Greek, Italian and Iberian peninsulas. Currently, Indochina and Korea are the world's two peninsulas that are raising global issues. In the flow of global fortune, Western and Eastern civilizations are merging and are bound to meet. (Where will they clash? Based on the worldwide flow of fortune, they will dash in the sphere of Pacific Rim civilization, particularly at a central point where an island, a peninsula and a continent meet. The Korean peninsula is the central point defined by these geographical components. It is an undeniable fact of geography.
15The trials and tribulations of the Korean people do not just have to do with them as a people; they are also providential. Therefore, God is eager for this people to overcome them. It can be said that all the strands of world history meet on the Korean peninsula. East and West, North and South, spirit and matter, idealism and materialism -- the entire inheritance of world history converges there in a confrontation fraught with confusion and chaos. The maelstrom on this peninsula is like the contractions of a woman in labor; she is carrying a new age in her womb. My view is that the difficulties the Korean people and nation currently face cannot be resolved apart from God's Will and providence. Furthermore, Korea cannot resolve them on its own but only by relating with the world. Hence, the Korean people should awaken to God's Will. They will overcome their hardships if they follow the one whom God has sent, the one with the mission to lead the spiritual spheres of the world.
16Global civilization most certainly will come to Asia. The era of the Pacific Rim civilization is approaching. Today eminent scholars, not only in the field of social science but across the scientific disciplines, assert that a Pacific Rim civilization must appear, that it is the trend of history. Yet I have been teaching about the coming era of the Pacific Rim civilization for more than forty years now. These scholars still do not know which nation will take the lead in creating that civilization. To my mind, it is Korea that will have to take the lead.
17Now the Pacific Rim civilization is rising. In a situation in which the United States, Japan, Korea, China and Russia are drawn inexorably onto the battlefield, the countries that are unprepared for this civilization and culture will fall behind. I am the very man who has made preparations. I am standing on the front line. That is why I brought together Japan, the United States, China and Russia. It gives us hope to think that the American people will walk hand in hand with me and we will do great things together, as a condition for the United States and for the world to build a realm of common destiny with the Pacific Rim civilization
18We are living in the time of the Pacific Rim cultural sphere. History moved from a river culture through the Mediterranean cultural sphere to arrive at the Atlantic cultural sphere. We now are entering the Pacific Rim cultural sphere, and the time is coming when we can leap into the unlimited cultural sphere of outer space. How these will link together is a question for the world's strategists to explore, but they will not be able to find an answer. When I have gathered prominent strategists in numerous international conferences, they have concluded that my teaching is the only hope for this age.
19Throughout history peninsular nations have been the birthplace of new civilizations. This is true of Greece and Italy. On the global level, throughout the world, peninsular nations have shaped history by assimilating their surrounding cultures. Korea is now situated in an important position in Northeast Asia. It emerged under the U.S. sphere of influence. The United States, based on the Christian cultural sphere, has become the leader of the world. Now is a time that recapitulates Jesus' era. In this time Korea must indemnify the early Christian church in Roman times. Thus the Republic of Korea became dependent on the United States, which stands in the position of the Roman Empire on the world level, based on Christianity, which has reached the stage at which it can support a unified world.
20What is our vision as we look toward the twenty-first century? It is a vision of world peace and unity, a vision of one unified world. The world's people are seeking a new, unified and peaceful world. The Korean people are seeking the unification of North and South Korea. What about each of you? Suppose the world were peaceful and flourishing, but our nation remained divided and under threat of danger. In that case, our nation would have nothing to do with the world's peace. Likewise, suppose North and South Korea were peaceful, but our minds and bodies remained in conflict. In that case, the unified Korea would not be our ideal nation. That is why we have to attain peace on the national level before we talk about world peace; likewise we have to attain peace on the individual level before we talk about it with regard to our nation.
21The Unification Church needs to fight for the people even before the nation does. We have to fight for our people. However, look at the Korean people, divided between the South and the North. When a people is divided, each side upholds only a one-sided sovereignty. The most important issue is how to generate one unified spirit that transcends the political division of North and South Korea. From now on, the Unification Church should strive to accomplish this task.
22Once we recover the nation that God is seeking, the restoration of the world will take place rapidly. After restoring one nation we can restore three more nations; this adds up to four nations, which will form a four-position foundation. It will be a wall of global defense facing all four directions, which Satan cannot penetrate. Only then can a world of peace be built, a world with the fertile soil for heaven to finally flourish. Such is the original homeland that the Unification Church is striving to recover. We Unificationists are gathered to invest our passion and youth for this cause. Although the evil forces that are attempting to block us are strong, we will shatter them, dismantle them, and uproot them completely. Let us resolve to do so, and eradicate them once and for all.
23Sometimes a leader has to push his people to challenge their limitations so that they can achieve their best results and display the highest of values in daily life. We in the Unification Church need to create a standard of achievement that the nation and the world will publicly recognize. Unless we attain this standard, we will not have accomplished anything, let alone God's Will. Accordingly, we must be ready to deal with any situation that befalls Korea, including whatever affects its national fortune and international relationships. Let us resolve anew with absolute faith not to die before we save the nation and world. If we can create a movement of solidarity with such a conviction based on our own Ju-che (subject-partner) thought in the Unification Church, we can move North Korea and South Korea. Then, even if Korea declines, a path to save the world will remain. This is why I have been emphasizing that we need to bring substantial results and supporting materials that can convince the Communist Party that the Unification teaching, which emphasizes love for the nation and love for its people, is superior to their way. They have to acknowledge this.
24The path of history is stained with blood. Your life as a pioneer on that path may have been sorrowful and miserable. However, if you walk that path not for your own sake but as Heaven's emissary, seeking to liberate people and build peace in the world, you will be remembered for eons. Your achievements will shine brightly as the foundation upon which North-South unification will naturally take place. Then a new sound of freedom will ring out across Asia. From that point will spring a new energy that will bring liberation to the world.
25I suffered bitterly when I went to North Korea. Enemies pummeled me, tortured me mercilessly and incarcerated me in Hungnam prison. I endured death-dealing hard labor at that chemical fertilizer factory. But I thought, "I shall not perish. The time will come when the young people of the world will inherit my burning heart, and at my word they will advance toward North Korea with explosive love that casts out fear." I nurtured this determination in my heart during those times of tribulation.
26When I crossed the thirty-eighth parallel to go to North Korea, I offered a prayer to God: "Heavenly Father, the next time I cross this thirty-eighth parallel, South Korea will have to come with me." I offered that prayer with tears, and I have not forgotten the vow I made that day. After crossing the border, even though I longed in my heart for my hometown, I stopped at Pyongyang, but was unable to go home. Unless I fulfilled the mission I had vowed to accomplish, I could not return home, even if on the verge of death. That was my destiny. That is why, although my path began in prison, and although my walk on this miserable path led my own people to brand me a public enemy, I have been able to establish this foundation today.
27Where is our finish line? It is at the thirty-eighth parallel. We have to cross this finish line. It is the ultimate finish line that the Unification Church must fight to cross. To cross it, we have to outshine everyone. We have to surpass the Communist Party and exceed the achievements of all religions. This was my heart when I prayed to God while crossing the thirty-eighth parallel. I came back to South Korea without having seen my parents, or my brothers and sisters. When I was released from prison I was consumed with the desire to shout, "Mother!" and run into her arms. I wanted to see my older brother, who had sacrificed himself for me, as well as my other brothers and sisters, who also had sacrificed themselves for me in various ways. I am a human being, not a dumb animal, and these feelings surged in my heart. Nonetheless, I had to deny this surge of emotions. I could have visited them all, since they were only two days' walk away. Yet instead I spent my time looking for the people I had met through my ministry. Then, turning my back on North Korea, I headed for the South.
28When I crossed the thirty-eighth parallel, I resolved to unite North and South Korea with my own hands. Together with your family, you need to make a similar resolution on behalf of your tribe. Ideally your father and mother should be a blessed couple. Now is the time to resolve that with three generations of your family, including your children, you will unite North and South Korea and all of Asia. Resolve that no matter how arduous and difficult the path to unity may be, you will accomplish it with your own hands. You need to understand this well.
29Our task is to unify the homeland. It is our destiny and the great task for which we must devote our entire life. I have dedicated myself to this great task, according to God's Will. For the remainder of my life as well, I shall devote myself entirely and exclusively to accomplishing God's Will. I appeal to you, the seventy million people of North and. South Korea who wish for unification, to stop the discord and fighting, and from this time forth to devote yourselves to recovering your identity as one people through harmony and love. Now is the time to melt your guns and swords and turn them into hoes and plowshares, and hasten preparations to welcome the bright new era of the unified homeland.
30The world is currently divided into the communist and the democratic blocs. The democratic world, on the side of the mind, advocates idealism, while the communist world, on the side of the body, advocates materialism. In this way the world is divided into two camps, whose conflict is causing great unrest. Where does this commotion begin? It begins within each person. Each of us is the seed of this problem. This is why we should never think that a politician can unite the world. Where is the solution that leads to unification? It lies not with external institutions, but within you. The way to unity lies in establishing peace between your mind and body and having the mind take the lead. As an individual, you have to follow the mind's lead. It is the same for the family, the society, the nation and the world. When that happens, unity comes naturally.
31The unification of North and South Korea cannot be discussed simply as a national issue. If you look at it from the broadest perspective, it is linked to the entire globe; viewed from the most fundamental perspective, it is linked to the problem of the individual. Before we can unite the world the nation must be united, and before we can unite the nation the family must be united. No matter how much a couple desires happiness, unless they are united, neither they nor their family can be happy. No matter how much a family wishes to be happy, unless each person is happy, that family's happiness will be nothing but a dream. We have an old saying, "When all is well in the family, everything else goes well." The most important thing is for couples to become one and establish families of peace. That is the starting point of all solutions.
32How do we achieve unity? It is by living for the sake of others. Wherever love dwells, that place is good and desirable. Hence, if we stand in a place of goodness and give continuously, we will make the North and South one. But to discredit communist propaganda, the South must be able to give to the people of the North and improve their current living standards. If our living standards are below theirs, the people in the North will refuse our gifts. We have to improve our situation and then give. The way for Korea to sustain its life is very simple. If South Korea excels in all fields, in its economy, living standards and education, and then continually gives to North Korea, the North Koreans will unite with the South without hesitation.
33God placed me in the position to walk a path that is bound to Heaven. God has led me to walk this path my entire life. He did not intend for me to destroy the Communist Party, but rather to save its members. After concluding the Washington Monument rally, I called for a rally in Moscow. I did not make my proclamation holding a sword or a gun. I said, "You may drag me down and trample on me, but I will stand up again." And that is what I did. In the same way, the reunification of North and South Korea cannot be accomplished with swords and guns. It can be achieved only through a heart that beats for the sake of God. Peace has an original path. We cannot achieve peace if we deviate from that essential path. If we do so, heavenly fortune will not accompany us.
34On behalf of God, I went to visit Kim Il Sung in North Korea. There I stirred up the mud at the bottom of the pond by announcing, "You must obey God!" I concluded with a crystal-clear message: "All of you must follow Godism, which is head-wing thought! There is no other way!" I fulfilled all my responsibility, placing my life in the hands of Heaven. Even now, God has the ability to exercise His power of creation. He works in mysterious ways.
35As I walked this path, both ideological blocs, the democratic and the communist, opposed me. I faced opposition at every level: individual, family, tribe, people, nation and world. Nevertheless I overcame all those obstacles, and now I have even won over Kim Il Sung. I knew that it was impossible to bring down Kim Il Sung's fortress by human effort alone, and that only Heaven's love could penetrate his stronghold. With this victory, I could clearly recognize that the path I have been taking is the true one. It reaffirms my conclusion that only true love brings total victory; no other way is possible. That is why the miracle of re-creation took place during my visit to North Korea.
36The ultimate reason that Korea is divided into North and South is because one man and one woman failed to become one in love centered on the love of God. Consequently, couples are divided, parents and children are divided, and brothers and sisters are divided. It is the absence of true love that leads to bloodshed between peoples and even within a people. Hence it is with true love that we are now trying to unite what is divided. Once our foundation emerges, the world's political climate, beyond North and South Korea, will push the two nations to integrate. That is, North and South Korea will unify not through national processes, but by those prompted by global fortune.
37When each of you with your family brings total oneness in your tribe, the unification of North and South Korea will not be a problem. Party or factional politics will not work. Our strength will be based on an organizational system. Who loves not only this nation, but also, cares about Asia and loves heaven and earth? There is no one other than us. Where should we lead this nation of Korea? We should lead it to the garden of love, not to the garden of power and scheming. When we lead the North and the South to the garden of true love, the issues between them will be resolved. This cannot be achieved without approaching them as siblings born of the same parents. This is the only way to realize a world of peace.
38South Koreans cannot achieve the independence of their homeland on their own. The four great powers that are involved with the unification of North and South Korea need to cooperate to resolve this issue, based on the power of love. This is possible only through the power of true love, which is eternal and unchanging. For hundreds of thousands of years our ancestors yearned for true love. Billions of people today seek true love, and so will future generations. Humanity's common denominator is true love, which surpasses the national level and reaches the world. True love will make us one for eternity. The world governed by God's love is called the kingdom of heaven on earth. That is the world we are striving to build together.
39There is not a single spot on the Korean peninsula where my spirit is not embedded. I have invested everything for it through the Unification Church members. The results of this investment are coming to fruition. The time has come for our investments to be brought forward and be recognized in this era of history. Our Juche thought is not the same as that of Kim Il Sung. It is neither communism nor democracy. It is a truth that teaches us to become a subject partner of love centered on God.
40Ours is a new Juche thought. It provides clear direction to individuals, societies, nations and the world, preventing them from going to ruin. It safeguards those whose views are in accord with the providence but are not centered on God. There is only one correct formula: the principle of living for the sake of others. Remember this truth. It is the principle that was present at the beginning, when God created the world, and will remain to the end.
Fin de The Means to Realize World Peace