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S.M. Moon: Four Conditions of True Peace
Written by Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Monday, February 18, 2002
Presented at Assembly 2002, “Establishing a Culture of Peace: Worldviews, Institutions, Leadership, and Practice; The Search for Solutions to Critical Problems,” February 18, 2002
Humanity is living in an age in which change is taking place at a faster pace than ever before. The world is feeling the need for dialogue among religions, harmony among the races, and understanding across cultures. Given this reality, I would like to take this opportunity to share a part of the philosophy of peace that I have believed, practiced, and taught throughout my life.
What is the fundamental root of peace, which we so earnestly hope for and have shouted for continuously? Where do we need to go? What do we need to do in order to achieve peace, and what is the obstacle that stands in humanity’s path to peace? Is there any hope that we can bring about peace in this confused world where individualism and selfishness are so extremely rampant?
Look at the world of today. Deception and divorce decimate families, which should be overflowing with melodies of happiness and peace. Children, who should cherish their dreams of the future and cultivate their limitless potential under the warm glow of their parents’ love, are running into the streets out of a sense of failure and disappointment, becoming slaves to liquor and drugs, and even throwing their bodies away to free sex. This is the absurd reality that we are witnessing. What do we see when we look at the national leaders, who should be responsible for their citizens and who should guide their nations in the direction of goodness? Many are more interested in the preservation of their own power than in the future of the nation or the happiness of their citizens. Between nations, too, isn’t it our reality today that there is disharmony and struggle where there should be understanding and peace, and that war is rampant? The path to peace for humankind is blocked.
What does peace mean? In human relations, peace refers to the state of total balance or harmony, where there is not even the slightest disturbance. In Chinese characters, the word for peace consists of two characters: one meaning flat, or horizontal and another meaning harmony or reconciliation. Thus, peace is not a solitary peace formed by just one person. No one, no matter how hard they may try, can be happy by himself or herself. True peace only comes when there is harmony in all the relationships of upper and lower, left and right, and front and back, and when there is no leaning to one side or the other, and all relationships are in harmony. When all directions form a complete harmony, the two dimensional plane is transcended, a third dimension is taken on, and an eternal nature is acquired. This is how the permanent peace of humanity can be established.
Peace does not exist in isolation, but has its root in true love. In the same way that freedom and happiness have their roots in true love, so also true peace cannot be accomplished unless we first bring about true love. What kind of love is true love? It is a love that gives and then forgets that it has given—that is, a love that gives unconditionally. It is sacrificial love. In the same way that parents attach no conditions to the love by which they give birth to, raise, and provide for a child, so also true love is a love that gives unconditionally. It is a love that practices even forgiving and giving to an enemy. It is a love that gives, and then keeps on giving. Because it gives without condition, true love does not remember the fact that it has already given. It is a love of unlimited giving. When peace is established on the basis of this true love, then that peace will become true peace, and it will even bring with it freedom and happiness.
What, then, are the conditions that we must have in order to accomplish true peace? First, consider the relationship between your mind and body. The person whose mind and body have become completely one is a true person. Yet, we do not need to examine our lives very deeply at all to feel how distant we are from fulfilling the image of such true human beings. There are many times when the mind is not in the right place, or when we have allowed ourselves to become slaves to our physical bodies, thereby violating the conscience, and eventually committing an unintended mistake. No matter what it takes, we must unite our mind and body and become a true. If we do that, we will become eternally luminous bodies sending out the light of the truth and love.
Second, as members of a community such as a society or a nation, we must practice “a life lived for the sake others,” and through this, we must respect each other’s rights. Under no circumstance should we commit the mistake of violating the rights of another person. People of all races are born with equal value. Racial discrimination, religious struggle, and selfish nationalism give rise to situations resulting in the violation of human rights. The age when people could be ruled by force has passed. The twenty-first century is an age when people live together, transcending races, nations, and religions. Christ said, “For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He made clear that the path to bringing about a world of peace lies in practicing “a life lived for the sake of others.” When we forgive even our enemies and live our lives for their sake, we become able to build a culture of peace on every level from the individual to the world.
Third, we must establish families where the flowers of true love blossom in full glory. Building a family takes more than one person. When a man and a woman enter into a husband-wife relationship, and bear and raise children, they become a family. Peace will expand from this point overflow with happiness. Children should maintain their sexual purity until they meet the mate. After marriage, they must maintain their fidelity to their spouse. This will extend to the next generation and to a lineage composed of true families.
The expanded version of such families is a peaceful world. This is a world of interdependence, mutual prosperity, universally shared values, and mutual love. This will be a world of peace in which we become brothers and sisters to each other, live together, prosper together. This is the reason that the family is so important. The family is the basic unit for peace and happiness among humanity and the basic unit for building a peaceful world. Even if a particular individual reaches a state of inner peace, this will end in a generation unless he or she establishes a family.
Fourth, as leaders of societies and nations, we must forbid behavior involving the misappropriation or embezzlement of public funds under any circumstances. Not only must we refrain from making personal use of public property or public funds but also root out all behaviors that destroy the environment that makes our lives possible and gives us enjoyment. Embezzling public funds and passing these on to one’s child is an act more horrible than feeding the child poison. The environmental destruction that I refer to here does not just include the destruction of the natural environment and the resulting pollution and exhaustion of resources. It also includes the destruction of the social environment that makes it possible for us to live together. We must become persons who feel every time we see even a single blade of grass or a single cloud in the sky. We live before these ideals with humble hearts, living with a heart of gratitude, grateful for the fact that we are alive.