Good morning.
Today's topic is "How can we earn
something that can last?" Anything that can last has to have some kind
of relevance to the human and Divine relationship, right? It has to reflect
your understanding, at least, your recognition of the existence of God.
That's where we have to start. Otherwise it's going to be very difficult to
define it, because you can't prove it; you'd be dead.
When we talk about our individual
perfection, how do you define that? What is perfection, just being
mechanical? What is the reference that we're using to define perfection? In
the twentieth century a lot of heavy emphasis was given to technological
advancement and we pride ourselves because that civilization benefited in
many convenient ways.
What's beyond that? What is beyond what we
are? How do you define perfection beyond the reference that we have, that
gives us what we have, that gives us convenience, and the lifestyle as we
know it? And for some it's never enough. Most people appreciate the
development of humankind in terms of understanding and our ability to
control the advancement of knowledge and know-how into things and the
ability that comes from understanding, the ability to manipulate and control
for the service of our usage, needs, and what-not.
From that you have some definition of
convenience, but to some people that's not enough. They want more beyond
this convenience and this basic comfort that we expect in a civil society.
They want more. It goes beyond that for some people, luxury, VIP treatment
and just the best in everything. It never ends!
To many people earning is a concept
especially looking at it in the capitalistic way of looking at things. It's
very, very important. The bottom line is important. "Make sure the profit is
decent." For the amount of investment, for the amount your sacrifice in your
mind, whatever that might be, whatever point of reference that you are
using, as some kind of central guideline.
A lot of people, when they use a point of
reference like that, they kind of set themselves in a central figure
position. Many times that becomes a problem with how everything is viewed
upon, how everything is judged by people like that, and the people that they
are influencing. So how do you deal with that kind of difference in...
They'll be many people like that with their very strong view of how things
should be, of how profit should be made and making all sorts of different
standards of judgment.
In that situation what are we competing
against? Who are we competing against, and to what end, what purpose? What
kind of group of people are we competing with and why should that be
important to everyone else? What if you don't believe in that thing? What if
you say "My life is too short for that nonsense. I want to find something
more meaningful. Is there something more meaningful than that?" So who
sets the target? In Democracy majority rules, right? In any Democratic
society, if you're going to find the pulse of that society, you have to
define what the majority is and you have to properly define it if you want
to make a difference.
There is a way to earn things. Earning is
important to you. Why, because you have to make a living. It's a personal
earning. Yes, there's a concept of that. But shouldn't there be a concept of
universal earning? What's that? I guess that's the opposite of personal
earning, something that can benefit something greater than yourself, in the
extreme sense humanity. That's big, but hey! Why not?
We have to at least talk about it; think
about that concept; and why not make it exist? Is that the sense of
idealism? Is that how idealism is born? Should that matter to everybody?
If you think about earnings, you have to think about that too... not just
you but all… if you believe in God. Otherwise why would you want to talk
about God?
When you talk about individual perfection,
to me it's an awareness, an awareness of me, myself, that I exist with God,
that I have a relationship with God. That's what perfection is to me,
individually. I will die. I will probably die without knowing everybody's
(people in the room) name. (Laughter) If God exists and if I want to earn
something on my own that can last forever, literally that's how it's going
to be; it's going to be forever. Forever relationship and in that
relationship forever changing and greater understanding of one another
however many it might be.
Whatever that I believe God to be that
keeps me good, I will forever continuously understand more, more in depth
and breadth, in three dimensions forever, universally. That's the kind of
excitement that I look forward to if I think about dying. If you don't have
something like that it going to be one heck of a miserable ride, right? I
know it's going to be miserable.
It aught to be miserable; the more you
take on it gets harder. It's not going to get any easier. I certainly have
to try to keep my sanity intact, and at the same time my humility intact.
It's going to be hard. I always have to ask myself "Why the heck am I
doing this?" in what ever that I do. For me when I play something, it's just
a tool for me. I'm trying to so something so that I can help the old man. I
wouldn't touch it otherwise.
I terms of how Parents look at status and
stuff, I'll do something else a little more overtly, but that kind of stuff
is just peripheral. It (music) is just a tool I don't need it. That doesn't
have to be some kind of central thing in my life. It's just a part of
something that I know how to use. It's a tool.
Because everything matters, in this job,
in our endeavor; everything that is visual, oral, communicational, it
matters. This kind of conversation matters too right? (Yes.) Whatever it
takes; that's the bottom line. That's what I'm trying to do… to earn
something that I can… long time.
How can you earn something when you don't
have an audience? If you make a gummy bear (a kind of candy) and you don't
have a consumer, you aren't going to earn anything. (Laughter) You'll have a
bunch of gummy bears that you made and you can eat them until your teeth
drop. (Laughter)
So what ever you do. At least I can have
respect for something like that. That's important. It's important for people
too. People care about those kind of things. Some people just need to grow
up. How much is enough? (Hyo Jin Nim is in tears.)
Anyway you have to love everybody right?
You can't kill people! So you try. You try every day. Because it matters;
those things matter to you. When you know that this is the essence of
something; when you grow in it, it matters to you. It really does because
you start to see something and that something is called value.
When you seat yourself in that, you'll
start to learn something meaningful and that's true earning; because that
will last with you 'till the day you die and after. (Hyo Jin Nim is very
emotional, in tears, and speaks haltingly.)
That's why even your burnt-out soul can be
reignited. You don't need millions to do this. Even just one, one on
one, a handful; that's more meaningful.
See you next week.
