---
title: "ORIGINAL PALACE OF UTMOST HAPPINESS"
type: "speech"
published: "2018-06-23T15:17:10+01:00"
updated: "2018-06-23T15:17:10+01:00"
source: "/blog/2018/06/23/original-palace-of-utmost-happiness.html"
speechYear: "1983"
categories:
  - "Speeches of Rev Sun Myung Moon 1983"
tags: []
---

<h2 align="CENTER">REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON</h2>
<h3 align="CENTER">December 1, 1983<br />
Belvedere<br />
Translator &#8211; Sang Kil Han</h3>
<p>Happiness is the common desire of all mankind. Each individual wants to be happy, whether he is white, black, or yellow. What constitutes happiness? We can say that things and events of value making relationship with each other give us happiness.</p>
<p>What are the things of value? They can be traded for something else which also has value. Most people regard money as something of the utmost value. Likewise knowledge and power are things of value. These things are in the object position to the subjective position of man&#8217;s life. They are things which man can consume, spend. and then derive value from.</p>
<p>When we cite money, knowledge and power as things of value, is man included in their value or does he exist somewhere outside of them? We already know that man gives value to things by recognizing them. What about the value of man himself? We often bestow the greatest value on the things we mentioned, but we don&#8217;t even consider humans as more valuable than them.</p>
<p>When the universe itself seeks value, it does not seek money, power, and so forth. It is obviously humans who have the greatest value. Why does the universe view man as the most valuable being? We can understand this easily. Man is in the position to make relationships within his environment. Because man is the center of the creation, he can classify it, bestow values upon the universe and so on. Therefore without man, all things would just stand where they are and their value could not be recognized.</p>
<p>Imagine the world without man. Would gold, diamonds, or pearls have value if human beings didn&#8217;t exist? What about knowledge? Would it have any meaning without man? Power might exist, but without man there is no one to exercise it. The lion is very powerful within the animal kingdom but he is restricted to certain activities according to his instinct. He has a certain time to eat, just as do rabbits and deer. In that sense, each animal has its own limited power.</p>
<p>There is no consistent exercise of power comparable to man&#8217;s. Man can plan, allocate, and act according to his own thinking. The animal kingdom doesn&#8217;t have this capability. The lions just eat whenever they get hungry. They chase their prey and in that way exercise their power. Most of the rest of the time, they just sleep, not thinking about anything else. Imagine if the lions prowled twenty four hours a day, then the other animals couldn&#8217;t be free to live their lives!</p>
<p>It is truly man who serves as the center of the world, recognizing and exercising values. If a person saw a big mountain of diamonds, he would want to do anything to get it. But a lion might be sleeping on a mountain of diamonds and not feel any differently about it; he certainly wouldn&#8217;t feel any special happiness to be there. If a lion had an opportunity to gain instant knowledge about something, would he recognize it? No, he couldn&#8217;t care less.</p>
<p>We take it for granted but it definitely requires man to recognize these values. Animals are not interested in money, power, or knowledge: it is only humans who are. In that respect, when we ask the question, &#8220;Is man included within the things of value, just like money, power, or knowledge?&#8221; we must answer yes. In fact, man himself is very much the center of these values.</p>
<p>There are many similarities between animals and human beings; both must take in food, for example. But the standard of value within the animal kingdom is rather simple, whether we speak of lions, rabbits, and the like. The value system for human beings is complex and varies according to the time in history and according to the culture.</p>
<p>There are all kinds of people. What kind of person is most precious? What are the criteria to determine this? We know that people have two elements-one is spiritual and the other is physical. Combined, they create a whole person. The person who lives entirely according to his physical impulses is almost indistinguishable from the animals.</p>
<p>What truly differentiates man from the rest of the animals? We can reason that if man has some quality distinctly different from the animals, that quality must be the determinant of man&#8217;s value. We can logically see that such a thing must not be within the physical aspects of man, which are not that much different from the animals. Whatever makes man different from the animals must lie within his spiritual side.</p>
<p>Something spiritual must be, in itself, very different from physical things. In order for something to be high, there must also be something low. If we consider spiritual qualities to be high, then physical qualities must be allocated to a lower place; they cannot both be high. On the other hand, if we place the higher emphasis on physical values then the spiritual values must be in the lower place.</p>
<p>Man generally tends to prefer the higher, rather than the lower, values. Likewise, people generally prefer to be on the summit of the mountain rather than in the depth of the valley. Why is that? Why don&#8217;t we value the lowest of all low points? The answer is very simple. When you go up to higher and higher points, you can see more and more and look out over wider and wider distances. Everything in the world is beneath you and you can see it. Whereas the lower you descend into a valley, the more limited your vision becomes. Ultimately when you are at the rock bottom, you can hardly see anything. Thus you cannot connect with anything else and cannot bestow value upon anything else.</p>
<p>We can conclude that people like to move up to higher and higher points so that we can command the widest view, in order to actively create relationships. Some people prefer the lower positions. Why is that? It is because life is simpler there; one hardly has to do anything and can easily rest in that position. We can see that the man who is constantly searching to relate with higher things and loftier things is more valuable than the man who is satisfied to remain at the lowest level.</p>
<p>Thus we can more easily classify the different kinds of people. One kind of person strives to maintain relationships with higher and higher values and is therefore a more spiritual person. Another kind of person is satisfied with relating with the lower, more physical things in life. The physical needs of a person remain the same&#8217; regardless of his interests in life; the spiritual side, however, is the variable side. Thus the spiritually higher person is the one who is the most valuable because he has the highest aspirations. This is the distinguishing line between people.</p>
<p>In other words, the man who has the largest concerns is the man with the highest value, while the man who has the smaller concerns, specifically himself and his immediate surroundings, is the one with lower value. We can say that people are either more animalistic or more spiritually oriented. The animalistic person is the one whose life is centered upon himself, disregarding the whole as the center of himself. The spiritually oriented person thinks of the whole as his own center, not himself.</p>
<p>The members of the Unification Church have a clear goal-to become spiritually oriented people, constantly thinking about the benefit of the whole and not worrying about themselves. This kind of character is very distinct in our church. That has been my teaching all along-for you to learn to live for the sake of others. That means you must become the kind of people who are so spiritual that you live for others before yourselves.</p>
<p>What is so good about living for others and what is so wrong with living for yourself? The person who lives for others becomes the center of the whole and takes responsibility for others. Is the self-centered person the center of the community, society, or the nation? Or isn&#8217;t the person who thinks about the country first and himself last the one who becomes the center of the country? The person who wants to live for his own sake will exist somewhere on the outskirts of society. The one who lives for others will be welcomed by all other people. What quality is it that is welcomed? That quality is something good to behold, something which is nice to be near. It is something which is pleasing to people.</p>
<p>Harmony, wholeness and a lack of conflict are desirable situations. When two people are dwelling in conflict, their world is unhappy. If one person says, &#8220;You must live for my sake and I will live for my sake, too,&#8221; all activity and exchange stops. There can be no excitement, joy, or satisfaction.</p>
<p>The eyes on your face belong to you, but do your eyes exist for you alone? Don&#8217;t your eyes exist for the sake of looking at other people? Was your mouth created to give you joy by speaking about yourself or is it there to address other people for their sake? If someone is all by himself, talking and laughing, he is considered insane&#8217; The ears, too, exist for listening to others. You don&#8217;t have ears just to listen to yourself singing a song; you want to listen to other people singing and talking. Your nose doesn&#8217;t function to smell yourself but to smell the world around you. The sense of touch, as well, focuses on others. Of course, you can feel your own touch but primarily you want to touch and be touched by another person.</p>
<p>When we seek something beautiful, what are we seeking? Is it beautiful for a person to say, &#8220;Everything should be for my benefit.&#8221;? The beautiful person is the one who says, &#8220;All my senses are directed to giving for the sake of other people.&#8221; All of our senses agree that the person who gives for the sake of others is beautiful and the selfish person is ugly.</p>
<p>The eyes on a person&#8217;s face exist to see the beauty on another person&#8217;s face; that is their normal function. We can say that our five senses are originally created to do good for the sake of others rather than for ourselves. We can also understand that doing good for others, showing concern for others and thinking about their welfare instead of our own will cause other people to welcome us and enjoy our company. When we see that people universally respond to this standard of unselfishness, we can conclude that it is part of man&#8217;s original mind. Likewise, it is the original mind of man to reject selfishness.</p>
<p>Suppose you could ask a man&#8217;s feet, &#8220;Where would you prefer to go-to a person who is always doing things for your sake or to a person who wants you to serve him?&#8221; Anybody&#8217;s foot would say, &#8220;I would prefer to go to the first kind of person.&#8221; The hands of any person would also answer the same way.</p>
<p>Now we are in the position to determine what is a good person and what is a bad person. Likewise we are ready to think about the better person and the worse person. The better person is the one who tries the most to live for the sake of other people. Going one step further, we can say that if a man likes a certain person and does many things for that person. it is good and the man has a certain standard of goodness. But what is even better? The better person is the one who does the same good things for the person he doesn&#8217;t like. A good person does good things for people he likes but the better person does good things for everyone. regardless of whether he likes them or not. The best person is the one who loves his worst enemy.</p>
<p>Thus we have a logical basis for stating that Jesus was the best person of all because he was a man who loved his enemies and taught others to do the same. Jesus was such a spiritually lofty person that he perceived a world in which nobody hated anyone else, in which there were no enemies. If there were not just one person like Jesus but if all of humanity tried to live like him, it would be a world in which everybody was living for the sake of others. That would be Heaven on earth. Just thinking logically we can see this.</p>
<p>What could be the place of the utmost happiness? It must be the place where happy people get together and live. What would draw happy people together? Would it be lots of money or power? Can we imagine that money or power could ever live for our sake? What is the central element which draws happy people together? Is it some special food that emits happiness, or some magic power that automatically causes happiness to come about? No, it is love which is the central element of happiness and causes people to serve each other.</p>
<p>We can conclude that living for the sake of others is not only the way to happiness but it is also the way man was originally intended to be. When people live together in that fashion. everyone finds happiness. The person who gives more and more for the sake of others finds himself being raised higher and higher spiritually; he will naturally be pushed upward. And when he goes down, other people can go up. This is the law of motion.</p>
<p>Since Reverend Moon is a smart man, I concluded that the most profitable way to live is for the sake of others and inevitably, whether I sought it or not, people would welcome me and cherish me. Is that a correct or a faulty conclusion? I can assure you that I have tested this method and it never fails. No matter how many different ways you may try, this is the best way to live.</p>
<p>If love itself were looking for a place to rest, where would it go? It would go to the home of the person who is living more than anyone for the sake of others. Love would be comfortable in that home and would not want to go anywhere else. It would rest totally relaxed, with limbs widespread and mouth snoring.</p>
<p>Wouldn&#8217;t you like to be so thoroughly bonded to love that you could not break loose? Your eyes, ears and every part of you would be totally attached. Would you still want the freedom to go off somewhere and live alone? No, you would want to stay stuck to love forever and ever. Wouldn&#8217;t you prefer to be even a slave of love rather than be free in a place devoid of love?? Ideal love allows a husband and wife to want to be slaves to each other.</p>
<p>When I first began to talk today about living for the sake of others, I could see in your eyes that you didn&#8217;t like the idea so much. But now. after I have explained the reasons and you can understand with your original mind why it is the right way of life, you are coming to agree with me.</p>
<p>A woman naturally wants to embrace the person who loves her the most. How can you know that one man loves you the most, more than any other? The man who loves you unconditionally, regardless of what you do, is the man who loves you the most. The man who is determined to love you even at the cost of his life will be the man who will win your love. A woman will want to settle down forever with such a man who has eternal, unconditional love.</p>
<p>I would certainly choose to live forever in a place of love. even if there were no money. knowledge or position there. I would never choose to live in a place of great money. knowledge and power but without love. Don&#8217;t you also feel the same way, regardless of whether you are men or women?</p>
<p>Now we know that the original palace of utmost happiness is none other than this place of true love. When a man sees a woman who is willing to dedicate her whole life and career to him he feels love for her. He will be able to look at her forever and never get tired of her. Every time he sees her, he feels a fresh and new sensation. Even though he may stare at her for ten years, he would never get bored. The object of our love is that valuable. We never get tired of hearing expressions of utmost love, even after ten or a hundred years. We are ready to hear even more! These kinds of things happen to the person who lives for the sake of others.</p>
<p>Who is the ideal man or the man of utmost value? We can say that the person who gives himself totally throughout his life for the sake of other people, for the sake of nations and the world, for the sake of the cosmos and God, with no moment in his life when he just focused upon his own desire, is the ideal man. Suppose such a man happened somehow to die in outer space, where there is only a vacuum. The whole universe would want to go to where that man is. This is possible because spirit men don&#8217;t need air to breathe.</p>
<p>The ideal person can live anywhere in the whole universe and harmonize with everything. The center of love is the essence of life and the origin of all power. That place is where people laugh the heartiest and weep the deepest for the sake of their love. Regardless of whether you were laughing or weeping, you would be happy there. Sometimes you cry when you are ecstatically happy-you may laugh and cry at the same time.</p>
<p>You don&#8217;t mind whether you laugh or cry when you are living for the sake of others. Why is this? It is because God is the subject and He created His object to live in that way. God is the one who loves others the most and who created the universe according to His ideal. Heaven is the place where people who lived this way of life on earth get together eventually. You may think that is just one way of creating Heaven but the truth is that Heaven can be formed only when people live and work for the sake of others.</p>
<p>Until Reverend Moon brought this solution, you people had your own individual ways of life. The American society has been the most prosperous in human history, but now you have something to compare it with. Instead of thinking that the American way of life is the greatest in history, you can see the difference between that and what I have been teaching you as the ideal. Is America far from Heaven or not? If the American way of life is far from Heaven, with its individualism and so forth, what is it close to? It is close to Hell. You did not know you were living in Hell until you found Heaven. Do you want to continue to live in Hell?</p>
<p>Do you women spend hours in front of the mirror, thinking, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to attract the attention of a lot of men by looking so pretty&#8221;? Or do you think, &#8220;I want to look as pretty as possible in order to spread joy to others&#8221;? Is your thinking a little bit of both? The first way of thinking is the way of Hell, while the second is the way of Heaven. Even though two women may be doing exactly the same thing-spending the same amount of time putting on makeup-their motivation determines whether they are on the side of Heaven or Hell.</p>
<p>The individual who seeks to serve the needs of his family, rather than just his own needs, is a better individual than the one who seeks to serve only himself. And an even better individual is the one who loves his family but is willing to serve the needs of the country above his family. After he gives himself to the country, the truly valuable person is willing to give himself for the benefit of the world. Ultimately he will give up everything he has done for the world for the sake of God&#8217;s love. That is the way of life which I have been pushing you Unification Church members to pursue.</p>
<p>There is no loftier way of life for any human being than this one. We are pursuing the highest, most ideal way of life. I have been pushing you, day in and day out, never allowing you to settle down with any lower goal. How do you like that? Will you tell me, &#8220;I am content to be just moderately happy. I don&#8217;t want to work so hard to become the happiest person.&#8221;?</p>
<p>When the time comes for you to go to spirit world, will you be able to say, &#8220;I have lived for the sake of others; I have no regrets.&#8221;? Or will you say, &#8220;I wish I could live longer and change my ways. I didn&#8217;t live fully for the sake of others.&#8221;? What would you choose as your dying attitude-one of satisfaction or one of regret??</p>
<p>Suppose there is a man who says, &#8220;I have no regrets about my life,&#8221; and another person who says. &#8220;Yes, I have done my best in my life but maybe I could have done more.&#8221; The second person may weep as he approaches his death, while the first one would not. Yet which is the preferable attitude to have? The person who has given himself to the utmost yet still wishes he could have done more is the person of the greatest value.</p>
<p>Suppose there is a Christian person who says, &#8220;I did everything I possibly could have for the sake of my country and my Lord. Now I am tired and I want to go to Heaven. I will stop giving now but whenever I die, I am certain I will go to Heaven.&#8221; Will such a person go to Heaven? Perhaps he will be expecting everybody to respect him, since he did so much in his earlier life for the nation and for others. But to his dismay, he will not end up in Heaven at all. This is because he didn&#8217;t genuinely live for the sake of others but rather for his own rewards and self satisfaction.</p>
<p>This illustrates the clear contrast between the concepts of Heaven held by established Christianity and the Unification Church. One says, &#8220;I will work very diligently all of my life so that I can gain a reward for myself in the afterlife.&#8221; But the Unification Church way says, &#8220;This is my destiny to live for the sake of others and I will continue this way for my whole life. Even after I die, I want to continue to do more.&#8221; That is the humble attitude of one who does not believe that God owes him something great, but is ready to go wherever God directs. Will he go to Hell or to Heaven? Certainly, he will go to Heaven.</p>
<p>Which way would you choose to go to Heaven-the Unification Church way or the way of established Christianity? It is actually self-serving to do good things for the purpose of gaining Heaven. The two ways of life are not really different on the surface; the difference is internal. The difference is in the quality of love. In the Unification Church, we do everything for the purpose of the greatest love. The established way does not think so sincerely about loving others but of many other things.</p>
<p>Another contrast between people can be seen when they discover that they have done something wrong. Those who are motivated by love can quickly change their ways, while those who are lacking in love are not so willing to do things differently. When someone is not motivated by love, he is more attached to his own point of view.</p>
<p>Recently one of the elder members of the Church told me, &#8220;Father, you have worked so hard for so long; from now on you must receive glory.&#8221; For a moment I considered that possibility but it felt very strange to think about. Then I thought to myself, &#8220;No, I will probably continue to do more and more.&#8221; Then I saw that that person was thinking to himself, &#8220;Since I have worked so hard, too, I have some reward coming to me.&#8221; However. that is not the way I think.</p>
<p>Nobody questions the idea that since I have worked hard and long for the sake of the world I deserve recognition. But I immediately reject such thinking: my whole being feels that such an attitude is wrong. Recently Reverend Kwak spoke to me about a certain member in his department. This member had said, &#8220;I have been working very hard for nine years on the Science Conferences so l would like to be able to sit at the head table.&#8221; l exploded with indignation. Such an attitude will put that person into the lowest possible Hell. He will have to work another nine years to overcome the consequences of such a self-serving request, even though he certainly did work very hard for his mission. This is especially true in front of True Father and in front of God, who has spent so many thousands of years working.</p>
<p>After just nine years someone says that he deserves to go to the head table? That is incredible! I thought to myself, &#8220;If I were him and I saw that there was a place at the head table among all the scholars and so on, would I feel comfortable sitting up there? Just in terms of knowledge, those people are much more advanced than I am. It would take a lot of guts to sit up there!&#8221;</p>
<p>Now that I have explained all these things, you are in a good position to judge yourself. Do you think that what I am saying is correct? You can be candid with me this morning. I have been telling you all along that you must live for the sake of others, but did you welcome my words? Or did you prefer not to listen to the things I was telling you? Perhaps you said to me, &#8220;No, I can&#8217;t do it!&#8221; However, you have been living for the sake of others through the Unification Church lifestyle, so do you regret it now?</p>
<p>A few months ago I directed all the women who had less than three children in their care to go out to IOWC. Imagine how close God would feel to the woman who had three children yet still determined to go out to IOWC. That would be going beyond what I directed and she would be giving such a precious offering to God. It is even more precious to see a woman with three children going out than a woman with two children. What about the mother with five children, who knows my direction and still goes out to IOWC? That would be the highest, greatest person. At this time of national emergency, she would realize that there was no room for just thinking about her own family. Certainly if the nation ceases to exist, the family will cease to exist.</p>
<p>This is literally the great emergency time for the entire cosmos-not only for this world but also for the spirit world; not only for now but also for all of history. What exception can we make? What can hold anyone back from concentrating on the central activity?</p>
<p>If I had poured myself out in Africa to the extent that I have here in America and had spent the same amount of time, effort and money, do you think the African people would have responded much better than the Americans? Yes, they would have. So do you think I made a misjudgment to come here rather than to Africa, where I could have made better results? The answer is simple: it is only because of the special position which America occupies. Africa is not in the same leadership position to the rest of the world: it is only one of many areas in the world. On the other hand, America is the single most important country in God&#8217;s dispensation at this time. Therefore, I had very little choice but to come here and do my utmost. America represents the entire world, so by working here I am working for the rest of the world as well. Do you understand?</p>
<p>What if Reverend Moon goes away from the Unification Church in America? What would be the future of the church? I can easily imagine what would happen. The church would probably become very Americanized and far from God&#8217;s desire. That would not be acceptable to me. What must the American Church achieve-to twist the Church into an American image, or to change its American self into the Unification Church image? We must &#8220;Moonize&#8221; the American Church not Americanize the Church.</p>
<p>The Unification Church is a unique entity; it is different from any other part of the world, past or present. God has started His own new breed of people, which cannot compare with anything else, including the American society. Everything we have done and everything we have started is from a distinctly different philosophy from the rest of the world. What we are doing has never existed before; therefore in the future, we must expand what we are doing to educate other people in the world.</p>
<p>When this tradition is firmly established in this country, the richest people will be extremely happy to spend their millions in Africa to develop it. So America has only one way to go-simply speaking, America must live for the sake of the world. That is the responsibility of America because it happens to be the center of the free world.</p>
<p>People who live to the utmost for the sake of others will attain not just mediocre happiness but the utmost happiness. If there are eight brothers and sisters in a family, which is the central figure among them? Regardless of who is the eldest, the brother or sister who dedicates himself the most to the others will naturally take the position of center.</p>
<p>The same is true within the Unification Church. The person who lives most fully for the sake of others is the one who is closest to me and to the central figure position. If you have some question about whether to listen to one leader or another, you can evaluate them yourself according to this standard. Who lives for the sake of other people more? Whichever leader fulfills that standard better is the one to whom you should listen.</p>
<p>There is no established seniority within our system -no matter who a person is or what position he has, if he is living for the sake of others more than anyone else then he should be the center of the whole movement. Therefore because of this standard, there is no place for factions or divisions within our Church. We don&#8217;t determine our leaders by vote but by asking our consciences, &#8220;Which person is living the most for the sake of the country and for God?&#8221; Your own conscience can answer that question for you.</p>
<p>Some leaders like to think that they are higher than others simply because they have been around longer or because they have more experience, but that is not the criterion. The leader who is living fully for the sake of other people doesn&#8217;t even have to think about his position within the Church. Anyone who is giving less than another person should humbly follow that other person.</p>
<p>The position of Cain and Abel is not decided by any other standard except by who is working and sacrificing more for the sake of others. Such a person is automatically Abel. Even though someone claims the position of Abel and sits as center leader, giving other people commands, gradually that person will feel more and more uncomfortable and he will be obliged to move out of that position. He is Cain if he is not living for the sake of other people. So we have a very simple criterion for deciding who is Cain and who is Abel.</p>
<p>Who goes to the original palace of utmost happiness? It is the person who will not only do his very best to live for the sake of others, but even after that he cries because he regrets not being able to do more. That original palace of utmost happiness is the place where God resides and such a person will speak with God there. This original palace is not an easy place to reach. But if you have lived your life in the way I have been describing, nobody can ever complain against your going to that palace. Instead everybody will applaud because the standard is clear for going there.</p>
<p>Does your hand exist for the purpose of grabbing things for your own sake or for the purpose of serving other people? What about your eyes and ears? They are there for seeing good in others and hearing good about others. Very exactly, every part of the body must be cherished for the sake of others. A woman must not appreciate her own body just for her own sake; her bosom exists for the sake of&#8217; her children. not for herself You should remind yourself over and over that your body is not for yourself but for your children and your husband- there is nothing you are born with which is just for your own purposes. You must embed this thinking deeply into your mind. The very reason why you exist on this earth is not just for yourself but for the sake of others.</p>
<p>When we realize this, we will know very clearly that we exist for the sake of God. For whom does God exist? God exists for us, for mankind. If you are working in some office for the purpose of earning money to feed your family rather than just yourself, that work is more precious. Since you have to support your family, you must exist as well so you must support yourself, as well. A person who thinks like this is a happy person. But in American society today we unfortunately see the reverse way of thinking. Each person wants to claim more and more for himself, forgetting more and more about his family and other higher purposes. More and more division is coming about and division is the first sign of destruction. If that division continues to grow, destruction is certain. Do you understand?</p>
<p>This is an inevitable principle, not my own personal way of thinking. The laws of creation operate in this way. You American women should think every day about what I am saying today. Whenever you look at yourself in the mirror, think about the purpose of your eyes and every part of yourself. See how much your thinking changes and, as a result, your happiness. This is really the revolution. Only you can determine how much this revolution is needed within yourself. I cannot force you but the more you change, the better. You may say, &#8216;1 am afraid of changing too much.&#8221; But you can benefit the most from the most change. Then your happiness grows until it reaches the utmost level.</p>
<p>As intelligent, reasonable people, do you think that what I am saying is true and reasonable? Will this way of life guarantee your prosperity? Yes, prosperity will come to you through this way of life. I have maintained this way of thinking and have never faltered in teaching and living this way, even though the rest of the world has tried to make me stop. But who has perished-Reverend Moon or those who refused to live this way of life? Reverend Moon has prospered. We must learn to proudly uphold our utmost way of life; the more people speak against the way you are living, the more you should be proud and confident. Our way of life is the way of victory-not only for ourselves but also for other people. As we live this way, other people will be helped in the future. You must be confident, no matter what.</p>
<p>Many people have not been able to predict their future so clearly, but our future is guaranteed as long as we continue this way. Very soon multitudes of people will want to come and join our movement and our lifestyle. This is not just my opinion; I know that this will happen. You must understand clearly that there is no alternative way of life.</p>
<p>There is only one road and it is very simple to follow in order to progress from the rock bottom of life to the original palace of utmost happiness. It is like a ladder leading from this earth to that palace. When you are living for the sake of other people, you are climbing up that ladder one rung at a time. Eventually you will reach the top; it is inevitable.</p>
<p>Even from my own individual point of view, I can see that the Unification Church is the most precious place. You are my own children and according to the worldly standard, I should not let you suffer. But according to my philosophy, I always push the ones I love the most out to the most difficult experiences. Whenever I meet with you, I never speak just loving kind words. I am the same with all my loved ones. I always tell you to sacrifice for the greater and greater purpose. I have been doing this to the ones I love the most for the past several decades.</p>
<p>What I want for all of you is that you survive-you don&#8217;t have to be fantastic, just survive and hang on to this way of life. Do you understand? Will you continue to complain like you have in the past? This is the undeniable way to go! You must pledge to me that you understand this point clearly today and that your goal is the palace of utmost happiness. You must understand that the only way to the goal is by sacrificing to the utmost.</p>
<p>Today is the first day of December, the last month of the year. As you listen to a sermon such as this, you must immediately think to yourself, &#8220;Oh, I regret that I have not lived up to this standard for the past eleven months. But for this one remaining month I will live this standard to the utmost so I won&#8217;t feel regrets about 1983.&#8221; This month is a special month of temptation, when people naturally yearn to return to their hometowns to visit their loved ones for the holidays.</p>
<p>Your minds tend to float here and there during this time but you must anchor yourselves down. While every one is going home and enjoying Christmas, we are staying in the most difficult, hellish circumstances. While others are enjoying a heavenly time, we continue to serve this nation and the world. Would you prefer to be in this Hell or to go to that Heaven at this time? The wise person is the one who goes into Hell at this time because in the future he will go to that original palace.</p>
<p>When everybody is eating turkey with greasy mouths, you eat your meager meals at the World Mission Center, having only water to moisten your mouths. But we are making history and this is the only source of pride that we can claim throughout all the future generations. If we don&#8217;t live this way, we cannot have pride for the future. Will you be proud to say. &#8220;I had a glorious Christmas, with turkey and all the trimmings.&#8221;? But when you can say, &#8220;I had only meager food on Christmas Day 1983,&#8221; that will be your most precious record for history.</p>
<p>Many Koreans work hard in America for four or five years so that they can return to their country and have a nice rest. On the contrary, I am looking forward to a trip to Korea now because Korea desperately needs a revival. The Korean nation is suffering; there is so much turmoil and the government doesn&#8217;t know what to do. I will go there and inspire them and then I will return to America. My trip to Korea will entail a lot of hard work; it certainly will not be a vacation. Do you understand?</p>
<p>Many people say to me, &#8220;You are not a young man so you should slow down.&#8221; but I don&#8217;t agree. Now that I am over sixty, I am only thinking of how much more I can do. My teaching to you is to live for the sake of others and to start now. during your young years. As you live this way, I know you will achieve a lofty standard by the time you are my age. Therefore I always encourage you to take on suffering and sacrifice for the sake of other people. I know for a fact that this is the very best way of life.</p>
<p>I urge you to live this way to the utmost for this last month of the year. If you do that. you will restore the other eleven months. If you can pledge that you will do this, raise your hands. Thank you.</p>
