Cheon Seong Gyeong Hundok Room

Section 3 The Practice of Hoondokhae

Audio for this section is being prepared.
1

From now on, you should do hoondokhae. You need to buy books for it and establish a regular schedule. Your family members should gather for hoondokhae. Even when I am alone on a mountain, when it is time to do hoondokhae, I do it by myself. When it is hoondokhae time, if you are sleeping you should wake up and do it. In the future, God will not treat people who are ignorant of the Principle as His true people. (614-291, 2009.08.14)

2

My words will connect you with me. The more deeply you understand them, the higher the level you will reach in offering your devotions and the more the heart of God’s love can dwell within you. That is why I am asking you to do hoondokhae every day. The person who says the taste of hoondokhae is better than food, that hoondokhae is better than making love, will grow infinitely. These words are a collection of the serious and intense moments of my life that were proclaimed before heaven and earth. (308-212, 1999.01.05)

3

No one knows the value of God’s words as much as I do. Up to this time, all these words were veiled, but you should know that I had to overcome life and death situations in order to deliver these words. They are imbued with God’s heart, spoken during the most serious of times. Once I start speaking about the hidden stories behind them, the spirits who were moved in the early days to be involved in those events will be connected to us. Then you will feel overwhelmed by emotion and receive enormous grace. By reading these words we again recollect those stories, and this can awaken those spirits who worked before and inspire them to continue working with us. Then the cooperation of the spirit world working behind the scenes in our time can result in works many tens and hundreds of times more powerful than before. (327-248, 2000.07.30)

The origin and meaning of hoondokhae

4

The mother and father of a family should do pledge service and set an example for their children so they too will be eager to attend. When children see their parents eagerly awaiting this time with joy, they should be able to say, “We want to learn what our mother and father are learning!” We parents should leave such an example for them. Children should also see their parents hold hoondokhae gatherings. The words shared there are not available anywhere else. Since I am the one who inaugurated hoondokhae, they exist only within the Unification Church. You should establish the tradition that you enjoy attending hoondokhae so much that you forget to eat, and that you would pass up meeting a guest or anyone else if it interfered with hoondokhae. This is how to put your family on the right path. You have to establish such a tradition for your sons and daughters. (345-306, 2001.06.24)

5

The words are to flow. If you stop their flow you will have a cross to bear. They will become a burden for you and cause you to collapse. Hence you should enable them to flow to your mother, your father, your cousins, your neighborhood and so on. The more they flow, the more they will expand, and by your results they will become a huge river. Then wherever you are, with these words you will be influential enough to make a great impact on your area. (435-215, 2004.02.05)

6

The Chinese character hoon (訓) of hoondokhae consists of two characters combined: “words” (言) and “stream” (川), which mean “the words that flow.” Therefore these words do not die. If water remains still for just one week, it will begin to stagnate. Therefore water needs to flow. If a father hears these words, he should teach them to his sons and daughters. If a grandfather hears these words, he should teach them to his grandchildren. If a mayor hears these words, he should then teach them to all the citizens of his town. They should flow like water, from higher ground to lower. Hoondokhae is the eternal business of sharing God’s words. The Chinese character dok (讀) consists of two characters combined: “words” (言) and “sell” (賣). It means to sell the words. Even if you give these words to a thousand people, you will not suffer any loss. This is an eternal business. The money you gather will eventually run out, but these words will never run out. (435-216, 2004.02.05)

7

The Chinese character hoon (訓) consists of two characters joined together: “words” (言) and “stream” (川). The stream is water. Water flows. Water lives only when it flows. As the character hoon symbolizes the Word as water, the words need to constantly flow in order to remain alive. When water is still it stagnates. As water flows from higher to lower ground, the words need to be passed along over and over. To be clear, water has to flow; water that does not flow becomes murky. Pure spirits dwell in clear water. Hoondokhae is like water. If you trap water, it will turn foul. The character dok (讀) combines the characters for “words” (言) and “sell” (賣). Accordingly you should give or “sell” the words as if you were a salesperson. This meaning lies within the word hoondok. (371-188, 2002.02.27)

8

When you share my words with others, you become their ancestor. Convey my words to people who are enslaved to the fallen world, and to the spirits who have fallen into hell. Then this will happen. If you do not know my words well, buy a collection of my speeches and share it with them. The more you share the words, the greater wealth you will accumulate. By conveying the words to people, you become their eternal ancestor. Your heavenly fortune, position and rank in heaven will be determined according to how often you shared the words and how much effort you made to re-create people into citizens of the heavenly kingdom. That is why I am teaching you this incredible truth. The words of hoondokhae are the words I have spoken, but they are not my own words; they are the words of heaven and earth. (435-217, 2004.02.05)

9

It may seem as if I speak at random, but in fact my words fully explain the Principle. Before long I will have to go to the spirit world. That is why I am now reviewing the content of the words I spoke with all my heart and devotion over the course of the past fifty years, to eval‎uate how they will impact the world after I pass. I am the champion of hoondokhae. From whom did its words originate? They originated from God. Since I know this truth, I cannot take hoondokhae lightly. (321-285, 2000.05.09)

How to do hoondokhae

10

Prepare in advance the hoondokhae content relevant to each of the 365 days in a year. A unified hoondokhae program must be implemented throughout the whole world. You should be able to say, “The hoondokhae reading for today is...” Whether eating or occupied with work, whenever you have the opportunity, you should discuss and converse on the content for that day. (314-038, 1999.12.30)

11

From this time forward, hoondokhae should be the ultimate form of education. You must read the content again and again. Mark the words by numbering them as you read, so the next time around you can read important parts that previously took you one hour in just thirty minutes. This can be done easily. This is how you should educate people to cultivate their spirituality through hoondokhae. The books I leave behind are your teacher. I am telling you to study them, not just read them. (291-146, 1998.03.06)

12

Do hoondokhae during your lunch break or whenever you have spare time. You should read first, and then have the group read out loud in unison, keeping the same pace. Train yourself by reading at home. Then you can keep the same pace at church when you lead the group to read together in unison. Husband and wife as a rule do it together at home. If the husband attends hoondokhae service at church, he should tell his wife which part he read that day. Then she should read that same part so they can keep on the same page. (314-038, 1999.12.30)

13

How can you get the maximum benefit from doing hoondokhae? After passing out the hoondokhae books, begin by having one person read aloud. Then have the reader call on someone else to read, and so on. Train them to do it this way. If ten people gather to do hoondokhae, make sure that one-third of them asks questions on the parts they are interested in. If there is not enough time, allow just a few people to ask questions and then discuss each one. This system of learning is more effective than a lecture. If you read a hoondokhae book this way three times, you will clearly understand its content. (296-330, 1998.11.18)

14

When doing hoondokhae, it is better that the participants take turns reading a portion of the book rather than just one person reading it to the group. Decide up to what point each person in the group will read, and then designate the next person to continue. While reading the book, each reader should be moved by his or her own voice. If readers cannot feel moved by themselves, they need more practice. Therefore anyone who may be designated to read should practice reading the book at least ten times before reading in public. I do the same thing. When I have a speaking tour, although I know the content of the text I wrote, I still make the effort to saturate the words with a prayerful heart. (296-331, 1998.11.18)

15

From now on, whenever you do hoondokhae, do it in a group and share the reading aloud among multiple readers. One person should read one section and then designate another person to read the next section by calling out his or her name. Establish the tradition of calling each person to read next by name. You can address important points or questions the group wants to raise. You can set the standard, saying, “In today’s hoondokhae the content to be studied is this, and we must absolutely maintain such-and- such as our principle.” (297-110, 1998.11.19)

16

1 have lived according to the Will, trying to build the kingdom of heaven on earth and in heaven by fulfilling the dutiful way of loyalty and filial piety and the dutiful way of saints and divine sons and daughters. This has brought me into a precious relationship with God. In order that you do not fall short of that standard, each of you must establish and uphold it within your family. Only by doing so will you return to the Garden of Eden, where God will allow you to be in the realm of His direct dominion. Only this standard will spread out in thousands, even tens of thousands of branches and remain forever. In order to bequeath the tradition of the True Parents, I started this tradition of hoondokhae. Until I did so, you did not know anything about the True Parents’ situation. (289-307, 1998.02.02)