The story of the emergence of NEW ESSENTIALS OF UNIFICATION THOUGHT -2

The author of the present text has been organizing, from a philosophical perspective, the teachings of the Rev. Moon. I, the author, experienced much suffering in my life and, like many people, have borne many of life’s problems. Since joining the Unification Church in 1956, I carefully studied the teachings of the Rev. Moon and found in his teachings many astounding truths that could completely solve the problems of human life. The image of the Rev. Moon in my mind in those days was that he was a treasure house of truth and a fountain of thought. Once he started speaking, he could speak for hours and hours and, as if from a fountain, the water of his thought flowed out boundlessly. Many times I became completely intoxicated by the truth which filled his thought, and I would forget the passage of time. It was in this way that his words were so truly valuable and precious to me. There is an old saying, that a bagful of gems can become a beautiful necklace if they are strung together on a thread; but if left as they are, they may easily get lost. Likewise, if the precious teachings of the Rev. Moon had been heard and then left as they were, part of each of those teachings might soon disappear from the realm of our memory, just like gems easily disappear if not strung together. I could not dispel such a fear. Moreover, I, who had suffered from many problems of human life and had been saved through these truths, wished to string them together into a necklace of truth and convey them to those who might also be suffering. This is why I undertook the task of organizing the large number of those teachings, as though I was organizing gems into a beautiful necklace. In the meantime, I had an opportunity to participate in the Korea-Japan Professors’ Friendship seminar held in Japan in the summer of 1972 in accordance with the Rev. Moon’s instructions. During my stay in Japan, I presented lectures to the intellectual leaders of the Unification Movement in Japan, on some of the contents of the Rev. Moon’s philosophical thought which I had systemized by that time. Their response was unexpectedly supportive. Upon my return to Korea, I reported this to the Rev. Moon. In response, he instructed me to publish a book based on the contents of the lectures, to establish a Unification Thought Institute with five to seven sections, and to promote an ideological movement, while continuing to organize his teachings. So, I further systemized the Rev. Moon’s thought, and in 1973 published the first edition of Essentials of Unification Thought (in Korean)―the title of which was handwritten in Chinese calligraphy by the Rev. Moon―in the name of the Unification Thought Institute (The English translation of that first book was published under the title Unification Thought ). Since that time I have continued to systemize the Rev. Moon’s thought, and various Unification Thought books have been published. The present work includes the heartfelt teachings that have been imparted by the Rev. Moon since the early days of the Unification Church, arranged under his guidance. It is proper that the book is published not under the author’s name but under the name of the Unification Thought Institute, since the content of the book is entirely what the Rev. Moon has taught. This is similar to the case of the late President Hyo-Won Eu, of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (Unification Church) of Korea, who published Divine Principle , the content of which came from the teachings of the Rev. Moon, not in Mr. Eu’s name, but in the name of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity.

To be continued...