In this installment, Father continues speaking about his incarceration in Seodaemun Prison in Seoul in 1955.
Based on extracts from his speeches throughout his life
Earlier installments are available for reading.
Part 60
Evidence and cooperation of the spirit world
When I stayed still with my lips sealed, angels from the spirit world appeared and yelled at other prisoners, “You, number 959, go greet Moon what’s-his-name! And when you have things sent to you from outside, give them all to him.”
A guard came to me and told me a story. He said he had made some rice cakes one morning, but when he tried to eat one it got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t go down. Why do you suppose that was? His ancestors were causing it to stick in his throat. They knew he would be in trouble if he mistreated me. And he suffered because had made the rice cakes in secret so he wouldn’t have to share them.
When I go to prison, I go with a serious heart. On my way to prison, I think to myself, “I should go to a prison with that kind of heart; as Heaven is watching. I should live out my sentence there based on such a heart.” In such a situation, a result commensurate with such a heart will be produced under my governance. The Principle holds that when there is a perfect subject partner, a perfect object partner will be created. That is why even when I remained silent, the ancestors of other prisoners appeared and scolded them based on the laws of the spirit world: “Hey you, do you know who that person next to you is?” Their ancestors would tell them that if they ate their meals with me they should not sit in front of me and look at me in the face, but should keep their heads down.
From all outward appearances, I don’t look like much. Don’t I look the same as you? But I have a motivation that greatly outdistances yours. I have a motivation that you could never comprehend no matter how much you studied it. That motivation is something that you won’t understand even when you die. Because I have that, even when I go on to the next world and say to everyone there, “Hey, everyone!” I will hear “Yes” for an answer, since I have that subject nature already within me.
That is why if you desire to receive true love and wish to have true happiness, you should stand alone in the position of unhappiness that represents the unhappiness of all others. If you are in such a position then God will care for you, and when you are struck ten times, He will open the way to your future. He will disregard hundreds or thousands of hardships that may come His way, and fight your fights for you. Such will be the experience you come to have.
Change in the attitude of the warden and prison guards
Within a month, the warden came to see me to apologize, and something seemed to move within the other prison officials to the point that they all invited me to have lunch with them.
In less than a month, with my own eyes I saw them come to ask forgiveness, saying, “The Mr. Moon of the Unification Church that we had heard about in the past and the Mr. Moon we have come to know are completely different.”
I have seen that righteousness always triumphs, even while bound with chains of the most severe persecution. That is why, even though the path of righteousness is difficult, I cannot be disheartened because I am taking responsibility to open the path for those people for whom God is searching. I am not disheartened over this task. Even though my body still bears many scars from beatings, the wounds I received in my heart at that time don’t hurt at all now.
After promising to bestow blessings on someone, God sends him to prison. He contrarily places that person in the lowest place and makes him stay there. Gold gives out a golden light wherever it is. When I was in prison, I even touched the warden’s heart. Even though the investigators who questioned me hated me, in prison I moved the heart of the warden. That didn’t require many words. When you remain steadfast under such circumstances, God takes pity on you. Then it is as if spring has come.
For example, the prisoners would dream about me, wake up and suddenly think of me as the man in the prison cell with a particular number. They would come to me in the morning and say, “Good morning!” Even the prison guards came to greet me, and brought me ice cake[1] when the weather was hot. Why did they do that when I hadn’t even asked for it? It’s because God is with me on my path, and no one could ever take that away from me.
Guards asked me, Teacher, are you uncomfortable in any way? If you need anything, just tell us and we’ll get it for you.
Sympathy naturally arises
Even though others cursed me, wishing me dead, I did not perish. The more some people abused me and the lonelier I became, the more others shed tears for me and consoled me. I am truly grateful that while I was in Seodaemun Prison, every one of the Unification Church members tried to visit me. In fact, they fought amongst themselves over who would visit me first.
When I went to prison, everyone insisted they would come to visit me. They were lined up from one o’clock in the morning, sitting there waiting for me. That is a record I set in Seodaemun Prison.
People wondered, “What did he do to make them go stark raving mad?” [Laughter] That’s how it is. When a father scolds his wife at home, their sons and daughters feel sympathy for and console her. They say she is the best mother in the world. That’s how it works out. Why? Because of the power of love.
It got so that some people had to wait three days before they could visit me. As a result, everyone wondered, “If it were their son, or their wife, or their husband who had been imprisoned, we would understand, but how can they be so devoted to a man they do not know and are not related to?”
This was bound to be a problem. Those people said, “He brainwashed them, and forcibly indoctrinated our sons and daughters,” and so on and so forth. But, had I forced them and they had not liked anything about it, would they have appeared there at the prison like that? All the people in the prison came to know and say, “People say Rev. Moon is a dictator and an exploiter, but that is all nonsense, complete nonsense.”
I did not compliment those who finally got to see; instead, I scolded them, saying such things as “You good-for-nothings, why did you come? You should have just stayed put, but you are here starting rumors!” They wept loudly and said, “We love you so much, what else could we do?”
I have not forgotten that when I was brought to trial in chains, Unification Church members were being pushed around there. Even now I remember their faces and who they were. They all stood there with tears streaming down their faces, watching and saying, “They shouldn’t do that to our teacher.” That scene is etched into my memory, and will remain with me until the moment I die.
If you came to see me in prison, that will be recorded in history. Those who kept their visitor’s pass will probably receive an award some day, but I suppose many of you have lost them. If you still have one, keep it with you when you get married and preserve it as a family treasure.
I have not forgotten that when I was brought to trial in chains, Unification Church members were being pushed around there. Even now I remember their faces and who they were. They all stood there with tears streaming down their faces, watching and saying, “They shouldn’t do that to our teacher.” That scene is etched into my memory, and will remain with me until the moment I die.
Book 7 Chapter 2 in ChamBumo Gyeong (from page 760 in the English language edition) contains more of Father’s explanation about his incarceration in Seodaemum Prison.
To be continued….
[1] Sweet or flavored ice, probably on a stick