The Divine Principle from a Unification Thought perspective

The Second Blessing, part 10

In the last few articles, we’ve been looking at the virtues named in Unification Thought which help us understand ethical relationships in a family. This is the first part of the description of the Second Blessing:

God’s second blessing was to be fulfilled by Adam and Eve after they had achieved individual perfection as object partners to God, each manifesting an aspect of God’s dual characteristics. To construct the four-position foundation in their family, Adam and Eve should have joined in loving oneness as husband and wife and raised children. This would have been the fulfillment of the second blessing. • Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 34

However, the wording in the second half of the paragraph expands the scope beyond the family:

A family or society that has formed the four-position foundation in line with God’s ideal is patterned after the image of a perfect individual. …When God’s second blessing is fulfilled, this family or community also becomes a good object partner giving joy to God.  (italics added) • Exposition of the Divine Principle, p. 34

Social Ethics From Family Ethics

So here, the scope of the second blessing is widened beyond the family to the society or the community. Unification Thought first explains these ideas in the chapter on Ethics, in the subsection entitled “Social Ethics as an Extension of Family Ethics”:

…human relationships in the wider society are simply an extension of the relationships carried out among family members at home. …If family ethics is applied to society, it becomes social ethics; if applied to corporations, it becomes corporate ethics; if applied to the state, it becomes state ethics. • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 285

It then gives examples of how vertical virtues would be practiced beyond the family, in government, in education, in the larger society, and in the business world. Vertical virtues are based upon those between parents and children:

…In a country, the president and public officials should love the people while standing in a parental position, and the people should respect the president and public officials in the same way as they respect their parents. In a school, teachers should educate students well while standing in the position of their parents, and students should respect their teachers in the same way as they respect their parents. In a society, senior members should care for junior members, and junior members should respect senior members. In a business organization, superiors should guide their subordinates, and subordinates should follow their superiors. • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 285–6

And then it gives examples of how the horizontal virtues within the family can be expressed in society. Horizontal virtues based upon those between siblings in a family:

When the fraternal love experienced among brothers and sisters is extended to one’s colleagues, neighbors, society, nation, and the world, one should also actualize such horizontal values (virtues) as reconciliation, tolerance, obligation, fidelity, courtesy, modesty, compassion, cooperation, service, and sympathy. • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 286

These ethical ideas are explained more in the Appendix of the book. Here they are when extended into education:

…A teacher should teach students kindly and sincerely. If students raise questions, the teacher should answer sincerely, and if they have any difficult problems, the teacher should help them as much as possible. In this way, a teacher can practice God’s true love. This is the practice of true love in the role of a teacher. …A teacher should focus primarily on teaching students with sincerity, setting aside their receiving a salary as a secondary concern. Teaching should aim at the cultivation of the personality of students so that they will be empowered to serve society once they have matured. In order to do this, the teacher him or herself should first of all have a noble personality and a spirit of serving others. It is with the true love of a teacher that the teacher seeks to teach students with such a spirit of service and with a sincere and warm heart.… • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 527

Here they are when extended into government:

…The role of the president of a country is to govern the people well and empower them to live well. The role of the governor of a province is to harmoniously govern the province… • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 527

And when extended into business:

…The manager of a company should not have the idea of making employees engage in hard work in order to make money for himself or herself. …once the company has made money, managers should return an appropriate share of it to the employees. …The manager of a company should have an altruistic spirit of service. He or she should love the employees and have the spirit of giving with a warm heart. The manager should be concerned about the circumstances of the employees, and whether or not they have any difficulties with regard to food, clothing, and shelter. This is a dominion with love.… • New Essentials of Unification Thought, p. 528

That’s a lot of ideas, but the reason I’ve taken the time to run them by you is that they’ve had enormous impact on the way I’ve practiced leadership, teaching, and even entrepreneurship throughout my life. By working to infuse my lifestyle with these specific attitudes and virtues which express and embody God’s Love, I discovered that I received far more than I could have expected. Without getting into long details, these are the bare facts:

The Practice of Ethics in Daily Life

As the national leader of a student organization — CARP in the Philippines in the mid-80s, Unification Thought’s Ethics shaped my intention to raise up altruistic leaders who could surpass me in any area they could manage. In that way, we could build good foundations for future generations of the organization.

As a martial arts instructor and later as a college professor, Unification Thought’s Ethics guided me to impart skills to my students so that they could not only succeed, but even enjoy being masterful in their practice or their professions.

And finally, as the founder of a business that supplied martial arts uniforms, Unification Thought’s Ethics guided our company to produce quality products that surpassed anything else on the market and gave both internal pride and external profit to us. Because of these values, the teaching side of our martial arts organization had hundreds of students nationally. The uniform manufacturing side had just a few sewing machines and workers, but we were nevertheless approached by the largest department store in the country to become their supplier of uniforms. At the time, we weren’t big enough to provide the volumes they needed. However, that experience confirmed to us that applying Unification Ethics to business is the right way to attract serious blessing.

In conclusion, the power of these ideas isn’t just that they’re conceptually uplifting or inspiring. It’s that they help us to become successful, and experience joy in all the important areas of life, both in the family and beyond. ❦