Chapter one
The Meaning of Loyalty and Filial Piety
Section 1. Loyalty and Filial
Piety
Are the Central Thought of Koreans People of filial piety will think of their
parents first when something good happens in their lives. In the fallen world people
think of their spouse first when they see something good. However, unless you
buy something precious for your parents first, you cannot buy something for
your spouse.
In
the same way, a man should first buy clothes for his parents, and then for his
wife and children, before buying clothes for himself. He should attend and serve
his parents when they eat. Even in the satanic world, it was the custom in Korea
for people to attend their parents for a three-year period of mourning after
their death. In the old days, was it not Korean etiquette for a devoted son to
be in mourning for his deceased parents by building a mud hut next to their grave
and living there for three years in order to fulfill his filial duty?
Therefore, in Korea, if people did not attend their parents with devotion for
at least three years, then when they went to the spirit world, they would not
be able to say that they are descendants of Korea.
We
must surpass this standard. Our Blessed Families must enlarge themselves with
good points from each other, and live their lives serving and caring for their
parents. (26-299, 1969.11.10)
Koreans
are a noble people who have honored loyalty and filial piety from time
immemorial. I remember being invited to attend Armed Forces Day at Yeoido Plaza
and feeling great satisfaction watching our dignified young soldiers. I was
truly impressed as those brave soldiers marched past the reviewing stand and
shouted the motto “Loyalty and Filial Piety!” (Choong Hyo!) I thought that, for
God’s chosen race, it was a motto that seemed very much like a revelation. I
don’t think there are any other armed forces in the world with a motto like
this.
As
Koreans are still a people practicing loyalty and filial piety toward God, the
spirit of loyalty and filial piety has become the central thought of the
nation. The classic stories of Shim Chung’s filial piety to her father,
Chun-hyang’s fidelity to her husband, Jeong Mong-ju’s loyalty to his king, and
Yu Kwan-soon’s spirit of patriotic martyrdom exemplify Korean faithfulness to
the principles of loyalty and filial piety to a degree unparalleled in history.
Such a spirit of loyalty, filial piety, and the unchanging fidelity that is
like pine and bamboo constitute the central thought and spirit for the realization
of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth that will be established in the future. As the
Kingdom of Heaven is God’s nation, you must be forever loyal to that nation, and,
as God is the Father of all humankind, you must show eternal filial piety to
Him. When God tested the many peoples of the world, He could not find a people
of virtue and fidelity with a spirit of loyalty and filial piety as high as the
Koreans. Therefore, He chose Korea and is intently watching the nation.
(100-252, 1978.10.19)
Children
of filial piety should not leave their parents, even if a century or a
millennium should pass. You should say, “I want us to be together!” If you are
not people who move the hearts of your parents so that they say, “If possible,
we would like to stay with you forever!” then you are not children of filial piety.
Parental love is such that no matter how bad the children are, the parents think
of being with them. This is why it is called true love. What about impious children?
They dislike being with their parents. We find stories of such people in the
Bible, do we not? Some did not want to be with their own brothers. They wanted
to do and live as they pleased. What kind of seed is this? It is the seed of
the unfilial. (147-292, 1986.10.1)
Children
of filial piety will forget their own situation and think first of their
parents. They’ll always live for their parents with a tearful heart. Loyal patriots
are those who will forget about their personal circumstances in times of crisis,
and take the path of loyalty, worrying first about the king’s difficulties. Forgetting
ourselves and sacrificing our own interests links us to the zenith of loyalty
and filial piety. (37-33, 1970.12.22)
In a
family, be it man or woman, brother or sister, everybody should want to become
devoted sons or daughters. Centered on love, they are to become one in heart.
To unify the family, children of filial piety are needed. The same is true for
the nation. Centering on the father and mother of the nation, the king and
queen, and also their sons and daughters, there must be reciprocal relationships
between spouses and siblings in every direction, namely up and down, left and
right, and front and back. If there is no front and back, then parents and
children cannot establish a relationship. That is why it is necessary to have up
and down, left and right, and front and back. Siblings are absolutely needed. Marriages
are woven together from the meetings of siblings. (286-268, 1997.8.13)
People
talk about the way of loyalty and filial piety, but do not really understand the
meaning. Children must establish the parents as the center of the family in the
same position as God; then, becoming one in mind and body in front of the
unchanging love that the parents have for their children, they always receive
one hundred percent through their heart and body, and adapt to them one hundred
percent. What do we call sons and daughters who take such a position? We call
them children of filial piety. When people speak of the way of loyalty and
filial piety, they do not comprehend its true path. (101-13, 1978.10.28)
What
do parents hope for? There is no unified root of the lineage with just a mother
and a father. They need to have children in order for the lineage to continue.
When sons and daughters love their parents, then the unconnected lineages of
the parents become unified through the child. The perfection of parents comes
about through having children. The father and mother become perfect through
sons and daughters practicing filial piety. It is a joy to have parents to whom
you can devote yourselves. We represent our parents’ life, love and lineage.
Their love has been duplicated through us. It has become the nucleus; your
love, life, and lineage have become its embodiment.
Bringing
about the perfection of your parents can, therefore, bring about your perfection.
When we mature and marry, we must become one as our mother and father have, and
in this way both sides achieve perfection. (223-174, 1991.11.10)
With what kind of environment does the family want to be linked? A nation. The family connects directly to the nation. Where must the nation go? To the world. Where must the world go? The world – God’s Kingdom on earth – will link to His kingdom in heaven. A nation’s loyal patriots are its children of filial piety. Who are the loyal patriots on the world level? The world’s saints are its children of filial piety. Who is a holy child of heaven and earth? Such a person is a devoted child of heaven and earth. Apart from this context, the concepts of a filial child or son have no value. (280- 107, 1996.11.11)
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