Propaganda
Hyo Jin Moon October 1, 2006
Here are my notes from Hyo Jin nim's speech Sunday 01 October 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. To see one of the projects that Hyo Jin nim is working on log on to: http://definingmoment.tv/
Joe Kinney
Rev. Andrew Compton is the MC. All welcome Hyo Jin nim and Yeon Ah nim and offer a bow.
(Hyo Jin nim bows to the audience as he approaches the stage; he brings a small notebook to the podium.)
Be Seated
How are you doing?
Good to see you.
Today's topic is Propaganda.
Is it necessary? Propaganda has been around ever since people started to group together. Leaders and kings have abused it throughout history and you know for organized religion; it's very useful for them and it's necessary at the same time to promote their faith.
Pretty much that is the pattern of what we know today that we see all the time on television; there's infomercials and commercials. The need comes because we do need to propagate the message whether we sell cereal or a message from God.
Having said that, the first thing that we have to think about is how we go about achieving the concept of propaganda for commercialization of the purpose of propagating the faith. There are many countries in the world, first of all, right? Every country has a distinction that they try to put forth that they try to do based on their law and on the unique way they proscribe and actually implement the law the way that they accept as a nation.
When you talk about law you have to go to the beginning and ask God "Did You need law?" Did God need law when he was by Himself? He was almighty. So going back to the pre-creation period when God was still God. He was almighty and omnipotent and omnipresent, you have to ask Him, Did You need law?" I'm sure that He didn't.
Why would you need law when you're by yourself, especially when you're almighty, omnipotent and omnipresent? Was it necessary? So I guess the answer can only be that in the purpose of creation as we know it and allege it is that the law exists because I want an object. The law exists for the sake of the object, not for one's self.
Of course you know God was almighty and he wanted to create something. That is the ultimate something (the creator) that the almighty can be. That's the miracle I guess. That's why we exist. Unfortunately we had a difficult time understanding the value of the law, but that is the essence.
So when you talk about the concept of law which defines us as a group, a nation, or a world, or even a universe ultimately you have to accept that concept that God has intended, that God's intention by having law is to create ultimately a family, something that reflects him and that has volition, consciousness and can reflect what He is. That is the essence.
From that we have to actually start trying to create something that we can showcase to the world because ultimately we have to compete and win it won't be automatic. Even if we have our own laws by having it and being who we are, that has to reveal to the world and through that revelation people must choose because its restoration. Something that is greater and has greater promise greater than yesterday, greater than today.
Making that kind of statement is very challenging. How do you go about doing that? Do think it would be easier to just shine the limelight on a few individuals? I don't think that will work. Not today.
Throughout history propaganda has been abused in so many ways. Mostly it's a kind of psychological warfare tactics. Propaganda really doesn't have a positive impact. It has a kind of negative connotation. We have to try to do it (spread positive propaganda about our movement) systematically.
Unless you can constantly prove something in today's world where there are so many issues and so many questions, unless you can handle all of the volume people put out that can literally go around the world, regardless of who you are, in a few seconds, its very difficult.
What's the best way if you're going to use that concept (Of multi media / propaganda) and we have to use it somehow because others do even to sell cereal? It's better that we increase the standing of everybody in the group. That's the challenge. You can invite people from third-world countries who want to live better. There are still a lot of people out there. I don't like traveling, but if you do travel there a lot of places where the people live miserably. I certain places because of that physical hardship and the challenges that they have to face; some places like it would be easy to bring people in to the workshop and make them committed (into our movement). Why, because they have nothing to loose.
I know that feeling. If you have nothing to loose then you'll do anything. Are we ready to prepare them, take care of them step-by-step, to raise them to the position where we can say "Hey, These are the kind of guys (members) that we've got; Look at their quality; they're better than you."
How do you go from there to there? Does it happen automatically? You pray a lot and things change? It doesn't work that way. As much as we need to disseminate the faith, disseminate properly the information, we have to increase the quality of the faithful. It is the most important thing, if you are going to use propaganda, in the end that is the only way it will work in today's world. There is no other way.
I wish that I could believe that we go to Father's speeches, and I did some of them, and I wish it could change people's lives. But it usually doesn't happen. It is just a condition. I'm trying to be honest with you. There is only one (True Father). It's not going to happen, but he is going to do what he is going to do. So be it. Make that commitment. More power to you. That's His (Father's) prerogative, and there is only one man like Him; Right?
When others start to do that, that's a problem. That's a serious problem. Why the hell do you want to be that famous? Why the hell do you want to be in that focal point? Why? Why do you want to be that important? Why the hell do you use propaganda? This is not the nineteen-twenties. You must be crazy. You have to be beyond stupid using imageries and stupid sentiments and crazy stuff. It's ridiculous. Even a teenager will laugh at that in today's society, never mind grown-up people who have been through that nonsense all throughout their lives.
Everybody sitting here, you know in today's world and in today's media driven world, we are a victim to that stuff (multi-media / propaganda) one way or the other. We can't even use what is obvious for tutelage. We blatantly sometimes just use it for our selves. That's ridiculous. It makes us look so stupid. That's shocking. That's shocking to me. That has to go away because it's just absolutely humiliating. I believe it's better to inspire and uplift. Make other people the star, not yourself.
If you have that capacity; if you have that realization or enlightened heart, you should do that because that is better, and I have something to give that is also great, much better than just a commercial. Even if you consider it as being a cynic, that action of self promotion; that's a better way to self promote.
There are certain things that are basic, that are fundamentally basic and if we don't practice it, well nothing is going to change.
What you see is what you get.
Have you ever thought of the relation ship between ...You think about your desire a lot, right? Sometimes it can be a problem. If we have a problem dealing with our desires then what good is freedom? Freedom can be a problem if you have uncontrollable desires. What good is freedom if people living "in freedom" can't control their lives?
If it's uncontrollable; they'll probably kill each other in the end. What good is freedom? Why do you need freedom for the people when they can't control their desires?
It's that kind of basic stuff. Unless we can address those kind of basic questions all the ideal stuff that we think about and talk about really doesn't mean anything. You can talk about it till the cows come home I guess. It isn't going to happen till you have all sorts of stuff (knowledge ideas) in your head that you want. You have to know how to control stuff (your desires) you had better know why you want that stuff. Think about this week OK.
You're free to do so in America. That's why it's silly in the end. But I live here; I have freedom, but you have no absolutes. Of course you have a lot of laws and regulations, a lot of secondary absolutes. I call man-made laws secondary absolutes. God-made laws like simple physics are primary absolutes. We make our laws because we need to live gregariously. If we don't have any we would probably kill each other or something. There are layers and layers of complicated laws. They will absolutely go after you if you break one of them. It's absolute; trust me! They'll penalize you in an absolute manner. When they come after you it's absolute.
Think about what you want to be and how we want to present ourselves to the world and try to do something to help each other. (Hyo-Jin-nim is in tears) Do something meaningful, something from the heart. Don't do it because someone is watching you or because of your pride. Do it because you are made of something and it's just the right thing to do.... (Hyo-Jin-nim's words become hard to understand because he is in tears.)
Do you know the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey in Buddha's hand? (Explained below) That's how you feel. That's what you are in the end and you know it.
You will die. You want to leave a lasting propaganda? Die well and let somebody else say that "he died well" That's the way to do it. Anyway something like that.
Take care.
I'll see you.
Here is an excerpt from a synopsis of the story of the monkey in Buddha's hand that Hyo-Jin-nim referred to.
Buddha challenges Monkey: He will make Monkey emperor if Monkey can jump out of his hand. Monkey thinks this sounds easy and leaps across the universe. When he lands, he sees five pillars. To show he's been there, he writes "Monkey was here," and in a naughty mood, he also leaves a puddle of pee.
Then Monkey flies back to Buddha and boasts that he has won. But Buddha shows Monkey his hand-on his middle finger are the exact words Monkey has just written and, phew, the smell of monkey pee.
This is a synopsis of one event from the novel: "Journey to the West" which was written by Wu Chen-en, and is considered to be one of the four great classic novels written during the Ming Dynasty (c. 1500-1582).