Tradition

Hyo Jin Moon November 5, 2006

Here are my notes from Hyo Jin nim’s speech Sunday 05 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 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 offer a bow.

(Hyo Jin nim bows to the audience as he approaches the stage.)

How are you doing? Today’s topic is tradition. We talk about tradition. We all have it right? Regardless of who you are, we all have it. We inherited something from somewhere; we belonged to something prior to coming here. Everybody has tradition. To people in general, tradition is important because it deals with survivability. Time ticks forward in the timeline of history. In order to be something, in order to have something, in order to hold on to something, secure something you need to have tradition.

The value of tradition is about that; it is about securing something. It's about prolonging something, defining something, setting some kind of standard that will define you beyond your existence. That’s what tradition is. That’s why it’s important to a lot of people.

Even on a nationalistic fervor it goes to the tradition itself to promote that kind of encouragement or that kind of fervor. You can get galvanized because people can excite you; you can get stimulated because you think you’re part of something great, not just based on survival, but it has to have something…

Just like everybody else in a free democratic society, you want to be something special. It has to have that kind of essence in the end. That defined essence, if that is true, should stand the test of time. It should go on and on and on as long as we procreate, as long as we survive on this planet. That’s why people think tradition is important; because there is a sense of joy in knowing right? Yes, when you define joy, it always has to define a certain understanding, a clear understanding, the more clear the better, then the depth of joy will become greater.

How can we position ourselves or present ourselves to the world in terms of tradition that we want to be part of. That’s the question everybody asks. If they think they belong to something then that’s what we’re competing with. Everybody out there who believes in God or who believes in a higher power… It might not be a monotheistic value; it might be polytheistic. But still they have their own tradition that they want to present to the world and compete. It’s a never ending struggle. Why? Because I think there’s only one God, at least that what I have chosen to believe for the rest of my life. That’s the challenge. That’s where you start. You have to ask your self; how do I fit into this tradition. In what way can I be the best that I can be to represent the tradition?

How many people here clearly can say that I know my absolute true value; I know what give me absolute joy till the day that I die? Why, because joy comes from knowing. Divine joy comes from knowing the divine truth and it starts from you. Do I really understand my divine truth about myself? How do I fit in if I do? What can I do in knowing who I am? The divine truth, how does it configure into the greater picture of creating an ideal world? Everybody, idiosyncratic as they may be, has something that is divine, that is unique to you. You must find that and you must some how figure out how you can fit it into the greater picture. Achieving that is very difficult. It is easy said, but doing that is very difficult. Why, because if you just based on the concept of order, even in a free society like America you have… I guess it’s kind of healthy to a point… this doubt.

Remember, America allows religious freedom. At the same time it separates religion and the state. The state is pretty much secular. Why, just to be fair. That’s the basic premise, the basic fundamental argument because historically speaking religion hasn’t been that much a kind of model institution. The cliché people say is "absolute power absolutely corrupts." Because of that, because of their distain of the founding fathers of America towards the British, their church decided this American system of government.

This is what’s being very attractive more and more to the world when more and more people are starting to empower themselves, and with their empowerment making something, making positions on their own, making definition, defining them selves on their own on the world stage.

It’s becoming more and more easy because of... One thing about today’s world that is different is that in the past it was very difficult to understand the omnipresence of God. In today’s world ubiquity, a lesser word of omnipresence is doable. The internet: You can literally transcend time and space. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you have something to say you can literally use technology as we know it; you can be in one place and all around the world at the same time. That’s the difference. That’s why it’s not going to be that easy to force upon people just by saying that this is the right way, that this is the right tradition. You really have to literally go by the principle. You can’t just have it by faith; you have to have substance. You really need more substance than ever.

If things are complete in terms if restoration conditional sense wise. If that era is over, the new era is not going to be automatic; by nature it’s going to be more substantial in terms of delivery of the idealism. You really have to be careful what you promise. If you don’t deliver it, you can’t stop people from talking to each other on a global scale at light speed.

When you deal with tradition, what is the essence? What is the essence that brings things into focus toward what is good in us? We know that centering on God that we’d believe, if we have to compete, you have to know your game in any competition. In science class get those facts correctly, not history right? You have to know what class you belong to. You have to clarify your category. You have to clearly define what you’re doing and what kind of class that you’re dealing with as a people. Other wise it’s nonsense. It won’t work! Why? It’s obvious.

If you walk down a New York City street it really kind of boggles your mind if you actually think about "how the hell do I change that guy?" Every guy, every head you turn… where do you start?

It might be easy if you just came out of jail. You are walking where you want to walk. You don’t walk where other people tell you to walk. You want to walk the line that you want to and so does everybody else in the free world. How do you achieve a tradition?

What’s good in religion? Let’s talk about what’s good in religion. I don’t care what kind of religion, what’s a good teaching that everybody can agree with? Everybody wants to be special. People want to be the messiah. I don’t think that they would want to be the messiah if they really understood how difficult that is.

At least we have to be sure that everything that we do in general is generally good. At least you have to back it up with your body, your mind, and your spirit and you stand alone in judgment for that if you’re in charge, if you’re responsible. That’s where it should start.

In the basic fundamental stuff, if your children go bad then in the end then you’re responsible for your children. That kind of sense of social morality, you have to start with that. You have to be comfortable with that. We have to be sure. If you do have something; if you do represent something the basic fundamental question that you have to face is you’re on your own and you’ll not blame anybody else. You’ll not just shed the tears of forgiveness and beg like a wretched wimp.

You want to go higher? OK that’s up to you, up to those people. That’s the way it should be. Life is short. You have to make those things matter. You have to feel that that matters. That’s the only way. In the end it comes to that. The determination has to fit the desire and the dream. Otherwise you’re only kidding your self.

It shouldn’t be that easy; a thing that great shouldn’t be that easy, something that awesome, that never-been-done stuff shouldn’t be that easy. If you believe that nonsense well you know how it’s going to end.

When you talk about individual people, "this is a rule in my house!" Well OK; if you have a house. Start with that, some kind of little kingdom. What kind of standard do you have there? And grow. As it becomes bigger it will become difficult. Unless you want something as you see it today to exist forever, you want to make changes. You seriously have to think about how things work.

In America next Tuesday (Nov 7th 2006) is Election Day. They are constantly accusing each other of this and that and playing the political game mostly by trying to degrade each other. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could find something in common for a change and actually gave credit to each other? The best man win stuff even if it’s an adversarial two-party system just for the sake of checks-and-balance so be it. Wouldn’t that be a little different? Maybe people would actually look forward that stuff.

That’s the (situation in the) greatest nation on this planet. That’s reality. The funny thing is all this stuff the freedom because the government itself has to be secular for the sake of diversity of religion, and protection of it. It allows all sorts of crap as long as long as you say "well I didn’t force that guy to do it. It’s his volition her volition. In the end its up to them. I didn’t put a gun to their head to make them do things. I didn’t hurt anybody immediately." You can pretty much get away with a lot of stuff that hurts many, many young people.

The government needs to separate from religious values in order to preserve this system which makes America unique separating from religion in order to give freedom to religion.

There are certain perks to religion, like you don’t have to pay taxes. There are a lot of things to use as an excuse to justify the way things are. Mostly the justification comes from historical failures of mankind. It has nothing to do with futuristic stuff.

This is based on the past (experience) that we can’t trust people in the future or present. Based on that kind of logic this will pretty much stay the way it is unless a dramatic change will happen like a catastrophe or some earthquake and Manhattan sinks into the sea or something, like some alien UFO lands on the White House lawn and says we’re going to zap your ass and says listen to this and don’t listen to that. Unless that kind of stuff happens… It’s not going to happen, not any time soon. Unfortunately that’s the case.

They have analyzed all the possible market place, and in America just teenagers spend about forty billion dollars a years on crap. It's just escalating every year in terms of the amount of cash that they spend. It’s ridiculous. It’s a vicious cycle that feeds itself. That’s reality. I’m not making this up.

You have to start (to make change) some where, positive re-enforcement, basic understanding in dealing with human relationships. Knowing about who we are, knowing about other religions, other people who are socially active trying to do some good in society. All those things are a useful kind of information. You have to start somewhere and that’s where you start.

Its better that your children know about those things than you do because that’s the proper way of growth. That’s what’s ideal. People in the past people might have suffered, (because they) might not have had all the tools that your children can have. But if they (your children) do that’s called progress right?

You don’t always have to make them suffer to make progress. Progress can just happen just by knowing. Knowing who you are and knowing who others are more clearly than you. They can have a better chance than you out there. Isn’t that the whole point? Why do you suffer? Why do you sacrifice? What’s the meaning of sacrifice? It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t surmount to that. It’s just words. I’d rather co to a comedy show and get a good laugh than just to hear a bunch of stupid words.

If children can see that, they wouldn’t struggle. I’ll believe that. That’s a good father’s way. There is no other way of being a good father. He has to love everyone. So be it. I know what the essence of a good father’s love is. That’s what we have to practice in general in our reality based on our responsibility and our capability. I want to do so. Do it! That’s the kind of stuff, that’s the only way to start the change. We have to start our changing environment even starting with your individual self. You will change if you try to do that. You have to because you want to win? I want to complete this stuff. I don’t want to give up. If I say it I want to do it. For what ever reason even if you just don’t want to be a failure. If you’re that primitive then start with that! You have to start somewhere.

Not everybody that’s (motivation is) love.

Anyway, take care of your selves you guys.

I’ll see you next week.