Indemnity
Hyo Jin Moon November 26, 2006
Here are my notes from Hyo Jin nim’s speech Sunday 26 November 2006. My ability to convey what was actually said is limited. These, at most, convey some sense of what Hyo Jin nim said and are not a verbatim record. Hyo Jin nim’s website is: http://www.canaanstation.com/ To see two of the projects that Hyo Jin nim is working on log on to: http://definingmoment.tv/ and http://definingmoment.eu/
Joe Kinney
Rev. Andrew Compton is the MC. All welcome Hyo Jin nim and offer a bow.
(Hyo Jin nim bows to the audience as he approaches the stage. He places a small notebook on the podium)
Did you have a good Thanksgiving? (Last Thursday 23 November was Thanksgiving Day in the US)
It’s a turkey day right? I don’t know if it’s for purely being thankful. (Laughter)
When you talk about indemnity that’s kind of a heavy topic isn’t it? But should it be?
In the beginning God expected us to be something. He had a vision. He had the ultimate divine vision, the purpose of creation, and in that light we had a crucial role to play.
Just based on that reality alone, that’s something significant. That should be something that we should all celebrate, that possibility in itself. Whether it happened or whether it didn’t happen, whether we’re still struggling to make it happen, that’s an afterthought, because hindsight is always 20/20 right?
It gives us something to try to strive for, to achieve that ultimate, the vision of God. We all have that and we all dream that we’d like to see ourselves living in a world where there’s no wars and you can trust somebody even if you never met somebody in your life you just walk up and shake your hand and somehow that alone can have a lasting relationship.
Because even in a personal relationship, if you try to build or even contemplate about making a true relationship, an ideal relationship, it takes a lifetime. You can’t really say to yourself that I can know somebody just because I’ve been with them a few times. I see him do this. I see him do that. I see him in this extreme state; I saw him in the opposite extreme state. So therefore I can conclude that I know. But it’s not that simple. People can change and there’s all sorts of stuff in between that makes us unique.
So even when you try to understand an individual and try to accept the basic kind of religious teaching about an individual being idiosyncratic; that they’re unique, something special in the eyes of God, it takes a life time to really understand it.
Because if you don’t try to understand people based on that kind of common sense based thinking, it’s improper; the conclusion will be false. And you have to bear the responsibility in judgment. Because ultimately in the end what you are doing is a judgment. And that should be left up to God. We should try to understand what God has intended and then try to create an ideal world, in essence, before we try to be God.
Because if you don’t have the basic understanding as to why you are here and what we’re struggling to achieve in creating an ideal world there’s no point in trying to say that I’m great or whatever or whatever that makes you happy, because that happiness, it’s just centered on you. That greatness is just centered on you. That has nothing to do with God. It has nothing to do with anybody else.
So before we try to define ourselves, even though the most difficult kind of concept such as indemnity, and we have to try to understand why that is necessary for us to become what God intended to be.
Talk about indemnity. It’s like you’re compensating for some kind of stuff right? You cause some kind of loss and damage so you’re going to redeem yourself by making compensation. That is the concept so when you think about any kind of situation where a standard is set, and when that standard is breached what has to happen? Because you’re going down the path of conflict; to diminish it, what do you have to do?
You’ve got to do something. You’ve got to do something to make that conflict into zero. If you don’t do that you can’t rebuild, because indemnity is about rebuilding. It’s about recreating. It’s rebuilding, but the process in which you rebuild and you recreate; it has a standard which you have to earn. It’s not automatic. You have a specific responsibility within that kind of give-and-take relationship that you have to earn to complete that process. And because you haven’t done that properly, therefore you are going into a process of conflict.
You have to pay indemnity. You have to neutralize that. You have to make that into zero first to make it true, because there’s a standard. Ultimately my view or concept of indemnity… The important aspect that we have to achieve first is to have that understanding of earning your way to your expectation, or your expected position, especially in the divine relationship, the relationship between you and God.
Unless you address that clearly, and you do it on your own; you earn it, it doesn’t work. It’s a very important process that you have to understand through action, through your deeds. Earn it. Earn that title. That’s the natural way. That is the proper way. That is the Divine way. That is the way that will last and have a meaning after you pass away from this earth, because you don’t live here too long.
I try to tell my self … because it’s important if you want to have any kind of standard, if you don’t remind yourself, it doesn’t exist. It really doesn’t matter, what ever you say, what ever you do. It doesn’t matter, because you’ll never measure up to it, even to your own standard in the end.
When you look at this world, and let’s say this is on extreme and this is the opposite extreme. (Pointing to the opposite corners of the podium) There are takers and there are givers, and something in between. Takers will do anything and say anything to get what they want. For what purpose? You ask those takers. And there’s the opposite and what do you think normal people in general are? I hope you can make an easy model and just take a little sphere and based on the center here everybody just exists here and that’s the world; that’s the kind of bubble we exists in.
(Hyo Jin nim makes a ball with his hands at the middle of the podium)
But do you really think that it is that the dividing line absolutely right down the center. I think the world is a little more to this side. (Hyo Jin nim positions his hands a little more to the (left) taker’s side of the podium) That’s the problem. You would hate to see a world living here (Taker’s side) right? It’s foolish to think it exists like this (Hands all the way to giver’s side). That’s kind of God’s stuff, a long way to go from reality. Would you imagine that it is potentially doable because that we’re the children of God?
So be it, but the reality is there. So how do you deal with people like that? How do you deal with people you can’t really communicate with? There are no words that can transform these people who are addicted to that lifestyle, who are absolutely absorbed into that lifestyle. That’s how they’re going to find their meaning. They aren’t going to change, until something happens.
And unfortunately the only way is can happen for those people to change is for them to hit bottom, loose everything. Crash and burn you know? What if that doesn’t happen in that person’s lifetime? It will pass on to the next generation. That’s the problem. That’s why even in the eyes of Father it will take generations to make that happen, potentially. Why? Because you have to go through that process. Unless you can somehow change that without allowing them to his the bottom, those people that you can’t verbally transform through normal ways of communication. They all have to go through that process, and if it doesn’t happen in their life time then it will pass down to their children, grand children… It will take time. That’s why it’s going to take time.
So how are you going to change something knowing that inevitably that is the only way to assure that changes will happen? What can we do about it? I know it’s difficult, but somebody’s got to do it. Some body has to do it if there’s another alternative. It’s a long shot. It’s very difficult, never-ending stuff. But if it’s a long shot, if there’s a possibility we have to do it and that’s what we have to do. And there’s no other way of communicating.
We have to try to communicate; try to find the best way, most effective way to the generation at hand at present who are movers and shakers in the world, who are elders, and our young people. And that line, that way of approach, let’s keep on trying. That’s the only way. Otherwise you just have to wait for the inevitability to take place. And that would be very unfortunate, because they won’t change until they hit bottom. I know this. They won’t.
It’s too important to them to have what they want. It’s unfortunate. It’s all about them, but that’s just the way it is, and that’s real. I’m not making this up, as you know; all of you understand what I’m saying; I know, but that’s reality. The only option that we have is to keep on trying to do what we believe in and try to make a better way of communication, find a better something… Use what’s out there to communicate and elaborate on it as much as we can.
Give more, more, more, more. It would be wonderful if we could constantly be in the presence of humanity. We could have 24 hour stuff (programming about our ideas) and compete with the big guys. Look at America for instance. When you look at Conservatism and Liberalism, to me Conservatism is about homogeneity, because it has a tradition mostly based on Christianity. There is a sense of a homogenous effect like in a homogenous society like Korea or Japan. It’s easier to unite because there is a kind of nationalism. For the sake of the national interest you put aside your regional conflicts or whatever.
You have a conflict in your own family too. I have a bunch of brothers and sisters. Trust me. (Laughter) You come from the same belly but you still struggle with each other. (Laughter) That’s reality.
In America conservatism is pretty much like that, because it’s kind of Christian based.
Liberals are like "We don’t want tradition, we want less tradition. Push the boundary! Push the boundary!"
"Hold the boundary! Hold the boundary! Push the boundary! Push the boundary!" It’s that kind of conflict. In America even when you deal with that kind of conservatives, as the Unification Church we have to compete with them, and with all sorts of Christian denominations, because they also want to do good too.
These days it is almost fashionable to talk about moral degradation and blaming Hollywood and stuff. It’s fashionable. And they are going to try to do something about it. As much as we do they will do. And how do you deal with that ultimately? You have to outlast them first of all.
So having a standard of something beyond change is good. Father stresses absolute value. That’s good. In what? In us, his blood lineage.
And all the good things that we can commonly share with the other religions who have good intent, we will do our best to support them because we need to support each other, but at the same time we are competing with them.
The extreme Moslems will outright say that conquer with violence, that’s crazy people. They all, in some way, want their religion to be the standard bearer, nicely put.
When it comes to indemnity I believe it is necessary for us to understand the true meaning of indemnity. Everything that we do even if we think that it’s promised by our faith, our discipline, we have to earn it because that’s the basic way that the decent people can communicate with each one another.
Decent people try not to take away from something, right? You don’t just take, take, take, take from this guy, take from that guy, take from your sister, take from your brother, and make yourself fat right? "Because only I have the answer stuff." There is only one Father in my house. You understand me?
You have to first realize that this is a church first before anything else. That’s why you don’t do certain things. You can’t do stupid stuff because of whatever crazy predicament you might run into. If you are systematically trying to do something with consciousness, you’d better be aware of who you are. Your church first before anything else. It’s a fair warning.
We’re asking for it. It’s not a difficult fight. I don’t even consider it a difficult conflict. It’s stupidity. Anyway…
You still here you guys? (Laughter)
Some times, to be honest with you, that’s my way of putting on a defense. I don’t want to be hurt.
Any way… I’m sorry about it. I didn’t mean it to come off that harsh. That’s my fault. It’s not yours.
Take care, OK!