1.3 The purpose and standard of education

Our past history was more glorious than the present one. We should educate in this way: this and that caused Korea's downfall, whereas America flourished for this and that reason. This can be a standard for teaching history in the future. It can be established as a standard to bring the age into order. You must stand in such a position. (21-307, 12/08/1968)

According to the standard of education and morality, we should live for the purpose of the whole rather than that of the individual. Since we should live for the whole rather than for the self, people must live for the public good. (24-211, 08/17/1969)

If parents educate their children with the patriotic heart that says, "I am loving, toiling and shedding sweat for you because I want you to love this country rather than to think about me," their children will strive to become the patriots of their parents' desire. Whenever they recall the love of their parents, they will think about their nation.
They will study with the heart of wanting to serve the nation, and when the nation suffers tragedy, they will be stricken with sorrow more than their parents. One does not become a patriot by just standing in such a position. A foundation must be laid from that position. Only then will you earn admiration of the nation for tens of thousands of years. Otherwise, everything will pass away. It's serious if we think about all these things. (25-97, 09/30/1969)

Has your family become a global family? If so, your story will spread through the village and everyone will want to ask how you can live this way. They will want to follow you and be educated by you. All of you should become champion families and win the recognition of the people of the world. (29-78, 02/24/1970)

When brothers fight in a family, whom do the parents side with? No parent will side with the one who hit first, fighting for his own selfish purpose. The standard of education and morality throughout history has been based on being good. (31-234, 06/04/1970)

Everyone, no matter who they are, has the desire to sacrifice for a higher being and become a patriot. Patriotism does not arise instantly, but originates from the family and the character of the individual. In other words, it flows from character, heart and education through family life. Through social activities, one advances to the place of influencing the country. It is through these foundations that you should stand in the position to be needed by your country. Otherwise, you may end up becoming a corrupt official. (34-19, 08/29/1970)

There have been many heroes in history. Suppose someone has conquered the world: if he proceeded from an individual desire rather than wanting to suffer in God's position, he would be criticized in history, despite his suffering. His path would be blocked in all directions. This will be a textbook teaching us to eschew and oppose evil.
Suffering in the position of goodness is different. If we stand in the position recognized by the conscience of all people, they will try to establish it as the center of history and world ideals through the rule of the heavenly purpose or through social cooperation.
This cannot be denied when we examine it by the operation of our conscience. The Unification Church has developed so far through paths of suffering. (35-196, 10/14/1970)

We do not simply turn into patriots, but first receive education from our parents, strongly imprinting love for our nation into our hearts. Thence, we go on to make our own decisions and set goals for our lives. Our motivation to love our nation does not come from ourselves.
You do not suddenly change into a patriot one fine day. You either receive very special training from your ancestors, or your conscience moves you from the depth of your heart and shakes your entire soul to become a patriot. This is what you need to understand. (35-324, 11/01/1970)

People, no matter how evil they are, would not tell their children, "I was a robber and a murderer, so you should follow my footsteps." No such parents exist. However evil they may be, they will not teach their children to be like that. When parents say to their children, "At least you shouldn't be bad," it implies that they themselves were bad; or "At least you should do well." That means they themselves didn't do well.
It is good to invest everything completely for the children. That's how you can leave a legacy behind. That is the principle of education for both old and young alike. That legacy should be expanded to the society and to the world. Don't you think so? If parents act like that, no one will say they are bad.
A while ago, I heard of some parents who left their children in an orphanage to travel around the world. That's why children become bad. If the parents are always with their children, they will not become bad.
That's how the world works. If you just praised people repeatedly, they wouldn't like it. Of course they wouldn't like it either if you criticized them. However, if you accept and praise what they do wrong, they are happy. Don't you agree? There is no other way. You have to praise the things they didn't do right. That's the only way you can deal with immature children. Children are self-centered. When they see good things, they want to have them right away. That's why they need education. (36-73, 11/15/1970)

This is the age of ideological warfare between mind and body, between spiritual values and materialistic values. Whose ideas are superior? That's the point. History has been the process of restoring and recreating man whom God lost.
God is thinking, "If people want to strive for material success, well, let them. They will ultimately serve as negative examples of what not to do. Go ahead, give it a shot." That's how God feels.
Whoever is so cocksure of their intellectual prowess should just proceed and see where it's going to lead them. In the end, their story will simply furnish yet more education material for God to raise His true sons and daughters. We should produce an instruction manual in becoming God's true sons and daughters. (60-72, 08/06/1972)

I was often very lonely in prison. I cannot forget those who visited me in such a miserable plight. I might forget about my family members or relatives, but never those who sought me because of the bonds of true love. I dare say that enemies aren't always that bad. I used my experiences to learn the most precious lessons from even the worst possible circumstances.
I would want to visit any of our members in the army or in prison, and even if I couldn't, you should leave such a legacy behind. In that way, you can teach people how to be a living example and textbook. The last words of those who can bequeath such a legacy to their descendants are: "You should be like me." (63-202, 10/14/1972)

No one likes prison life, but it can teach you to appreciate the little things more. Prison is the best place for you to learn to appreciate the little things in life. That is the best education. I'm telling you that it is not an entirely terrible thing to be in prison.
If I talk about it, I will never stop. Even a single fly can be the object of your love. "If you could speak, I would send greetings to my hometown."
You could make friends with even a fly. Nobody likes flies, but they can become your bosom friends in prison. Prison is the only place where you can receive such precious education. My point is that going to prison wasn't just a negative experience I had in my life.
I think that young people should undergo some special training by spending some time in prison as part of their education program for about a year and a half. If ever I became the education minister or had the opportunity to govern a nation as I wished, that is what I would want to do. I really mean that. Even if you don't actually spend time in prison, you should at least go through a training period similar to that. That is the unificationist style of education and training. (63-215, 10/14/1972)

Education and ethics are centered on goodness as the standard. It is not very easy to live by the standard of goodness. It is a suffering course. Our physical desires essentially go against walking the path of righteousness, but if we do not walk it, we cannot come to a good end. That is the very thing we learn in society.
"All people desire goodness. Before you can love God, you must love all mankind. You should love others and live for their sake. You were born for that purpose." This is the education you need to receive. You were not born to live for yourselves. If you were, you could not restore the archangel. He did not live for the sake of others, but instead led them to fall. If we live only for ourselves, there is no way we can indemnify that. (64-17, 10/22/1972)

We know that those who sacrifice their lives out of the goodness of their heart are doing the right thing. Though people may not understand things concretely, they still set goodness as the goal of education....
The basic teaching we now have is to do good and give to the poor. (65-114, 11/05/1972)

We need textbooks to educate people. If we want to teach people on behalf of the nation, we need textbooks representing the nation. Where can we gather materials for the textbooks? We can get them from the leaders and people of the nation.
For Koreans, we should have textbooks teaching the workings of the Korean government and nation. To educate the world, we need a textbook with the content for restoring the world. How can we produce such a textbook? We would gather the materials concerning those who sacrificed the most for their nation. The people mentioned in the textbook would necessarily be those who led by their example to become the pride of their nation.
Without goodness, there is nothing to be proud of. If Koreans want to become the pride of the world, they must suffer the most even to the point of death. Is my teaching only for the sake of Korea or is it for the sake of the entire world? Your fervent sacrifice should be offered on the worldwide level. Today's standard of ethics and morality is that goodness sacrifices itself for the sake of others while evil sacrifices others for itself. This criterion is the central point of our education. (65-210, 11/19/1972)

What kind of God do we have? Does He say, "I am God Almighty! I created you, My children, to glorify and serve me. Love me and sacrifice everything for My own sake!" If God were like that, how would you react? God is not that kind of God. In fact, He is the opposite, having set the tradition of humbly serving and loving the world. His tradition is that of changing diapers, enduring pungent odors and caring for our bodily functions. God has done nothing but serve and sacrifice and asks us to follow in His tradition. That should form the core of our textbook. (116-90, 12/20/1981)

White Americans tried to give their children the best possible education, to send them to Ivy League universities such as Harvard so they could receive prestigious degrees, and so on. However, once they joined the Unification Church, they started selling flowers. We train them to be true men and women, teaching them to assimilate even the persecution of ten million people.
It is all part of the training: receiving all kinds of insults, being spat upon in public. Some people kicked our members and someone burned one of our sisters with a cigarette butt. We really underwent great suffering. You will read all kinds of stories in the history of the Unification Church. You must know that history. (138-279, 01/24/1986)

What educational material will God use in teaching people the realization of peace on earth? He will use love. Love being invisible, He will find a man and a woman who embody love. That is inevitable. Yet, how can we educate a man to love his wife more than himself? That is the question.
How can we find the starting point for unification and peace? That is the question. Love alone has the power to make unification and peace possible. How can we logically teach people to deny themselves and care more for others? (193-152, 10/03/1989)

Centering on Adam and Eve, there should be education materials for children on parental, conjugal, fraternal and filial relationships, and on how to raise families, clans and tribes.
Centering on the family foundation, everything from the formation stage, through the growth stage, all the way up to the completion stage will be perfected. (233-336, 08/02/1992)

Now, Rev. Moon's educational material on the Ideal Family in Heaven and on Earth can be made available to be included among the resources of the White House library or those of any other library of the world. (393-58, 09/28/2002)