A person’s inner intention Goes Far to determine the extent to which a particular action is good or evil, effective or ineffective. As Buddha so forcefully stated in the Dhammapada, action begins with the mind; it is created by the mind; it goes forth according to the inner state of the mind.
In some of the passages gathered here, sincerity means the natural and spontaneous flow of the mind, devoid of all pretense and egoistic grasping. Other passages call for self-examination and self-cultivation to manifest true sincerity.
Father Moon views the cultivation of sincerity, what he calls jeongseong, as fundamental to the spiritual life.
This section treats sincerity as a virtue in daily life. Regarding sincerity in approaching God, see Chapter 16: Devotion and Purity of Intention.
01Sincerity Flows Spontaneously out of the Heart’s Affections
Mind is the forerunner of all evil states. Mind is chief; mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts with a wicked mind, because of that, suffering follows one, even as the wheel [of the cart] follows the hoof of the draught ox. Mind is the forerunner of all good states. Mind is chief; mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, because of that happiness follows one, even as one’s shadow that never leaves. Dhammapada 1-2 (Buddhism)
The heart is like a king with his troops. If the king is a good one, then his troops will be good too, and if the king is wicked, his troops follow suit… If a person’s heart is healthy, his body will be at ease, and if a person’s heart is malicious, the body will be malevolent. Hadith (Islam)
Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God does not look at your forms and your possessions, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” Hadith of the Muslim (Islam)
To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted. Titus 1.15
If you do not perceive the sincerity within yourself and yet try to move forth, each movement will miss the mark. Chuang Tzu 23 (Taoism)
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12.9-10
Sincerity [Absolute Truth] is the Way of Heaven; the attainment of Sincerity is the Way of man. He who possesses Sincerity achieves what is right without effort, understands without thinking, and naturally and easily is centered on the Way. He is a sage. Doctrine of the Mean 20.18 (Confucianism)
While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind may be said to be in a state of equilibrium (chung). When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of harmony (ho).
This equilibrium is the great root from which grow all human actings in the world, and this harmony is the universal path which they all should pursue. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish. Doctrine of the Mean 1.4-5 (Confucianism)
By the Truth I mean purity and sincerity in their highest degree. He who lacks purity and sincerity cannot move others. Therefore he who forces himself to lament, though he may sound sad, will awaken no grief. He who forces himself to be angry, though he may sound fierce, will arouse no awe.
And he who forces himself to be affectionate, though he may smile, will create no air of harmony. True sadness need make no sound to awaken grief; true anger need not show itself to arouse awe; true affection need not smile to create harmony. When a man has the Truth within himself, his spirit may move among external things. That is why the Truth is to be prized! Chuang Tzu 31 (Taoism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
You should speak with your mind—your inmost self. If it resonates with God, you can become one with God and automatically know the truth of the universe. (102:34, November 19, 1978)
A good person can always embrace everything with his heart: whatever he sees, whomever he meets and wherever he goes. (Way of God’s Will 2.3) You cannot serve God with all your sincerity if you are simply following someone else’s instructions, or because someone obliges you to.
The heart of sincerity is something that automatically springs forth from within you. In that state, you do not need any education about loyalty, filial piety and fidelity. (Way of God’s Will 2.3)
When I put my hands to do something, I think, “I was born for this task.” You too should be able to say, “I was born for this; I was made for this.” Then work on it with enjoyment. Doing things because we like it is love.
The relationship of love enables us to cross over the hill of joy. Until we find a way to like a task, we should not put our hands to it. God blesses the world when we enjoy what we do. (308:214, January 5, 1999)
Blessed are those who have an unchanging internal standard of heart to worship Heaven, be harmonious with others, and love the earth. (Way of God’s Will 2.3)
In order to attain the object of your sincerity, your mind must be unified. You must possess a single mind; you cannot have two minds. You must offer your sincerity with a single mind from the beginning to the end.
Sincerity is not something you can lend to someone and then take back. Therefore, if your initial sincerity is not matched by equal sincerity in the middle and at the end, it cannot be called sincerity. (17:227-28, January 29, 1967)
We cannot overcome with tricks or by talent, but only with sincerity. (42:228, March 14, 1971)
02Cultivate Sincerity before Taking Action
The truly upright is that which flows out of your genuine innermost self as a result of the sincerity shown by the kami; on all occasions, you must exert this sincerity to the utmost, even in the most minor of your activities.
Courtesy and ritual without this sincerity and honesty are mistaken and insufficient. It is like drawing a bow and merely releasing the string blindly without firming your hand, or like trying to move in a boat without an oar. Moshimasa Hikita, Records of the Divine Wind (Shinto)
Thoughts alone cause the round of births (samsara); let a man strive to purify his thoughts. What a man thinks, that he is: this is an old secret. By the serenity of his thoughts, a man blots out all actions, whether good or bad.
Dwelling within himself with serene thoughts, he obtains imperishable happiness. If the thoughts of a man were so fixed on Brahman as they are on the things of this world, who would not then be freed from bondage?
The mind, it is said, is of two kinds, pure and impure: impure from contact with lust, pure when free from lust. When a man, having freed his mind from sloth, distraction, and vacillation, becomes as it were delivered from his mind, that is the highest point. Maitri Upanishad 6.34.3-7 (Hinduism)
What is meant by “making the will sincere” is allowing no self-deception, as when we hate a bad smell or love a beautiful color. This is called satisfying oneself. Therefore, the superior man will always be watchful over himself when alone.
When the inferior man is alone and leisurely, there is no limit to which he does not go in his evil deeds. Only when he sees a superior man does he then try to disguise himself, concealing his evil and showing off the good in him. But what is the use?
Other people see him as if they see his very heart. This is what is meant by the saying that what is true in a man’s heart will be shown in his outward appearance. Therefore, the superior man will always be watchful over himself when alone.
Tseng Tzu said, “What ten eyes are beholding and what ten hands are pointing to— isn’t it frightening?”
Wealth makes a house shining and virtue makes a person shining. When one’s mind is broad and his heart generous, his body becomes big and is at ease. Therefore the superior man always makes his will sincere.15 Great Learning 6.1-4 (Confucianism)
We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are. Science and Health, p. 8 (Christian Science)
If, brethren, a woman or man or a young lad fond of self-adornment, on examining the reflection of his own face in a bright clean mirror or bowl of clear water, should see therein a stain or speck, he will strive to remove that stain or speck; and when he no longer sees it there he is pleased and satisfied, thinking, “A gain it is to me that I am clean.” Likewise, a monk’s introspection is most fruitful in good conditions, thus: “Do I or do I not generally live covetously? Do I or do I not generally live malevolent in heart? Do I or do I not generally live possessed by sloth and torpor? Do I or do I not generally live excited in mind? Do I generally live in doubt and wavering, or have I crossed beyond it?
Do I generally live wrathfully or not? Do I generally live with soiled thoughts or clean thoughts? Do I generally live with body passionate or not? Do I generally live sluggish or full of energy? Do I generally live uncontrolled or well-controlled?” If on self-examination a monk finds thus: “I generally live covetous, malevolent in heart, possessed by sloth and torpor, excited in mind, doubtful and wavering, wrathful, with body passionate, sluggish, uncontrolled”—then that monk must put forth extra desire, effort, endeavor, exertion, impulse, mindfulness, and attention for the abandoning of those wicked, unprofitable states. Anguttara Nikaya 5.66 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
The saying, “Sincerity moves Heaven,” like “Faith will move mountains,” is a proverb in Korea, but truly it is also the natural order of things. The proverb, “Act with utmost sincerity,” means act with all your efforts, inside and outside, heart and soul.
The proverb, “Practice everything with sincerity in your words and deeds,” means to completely unite your body and soul in a conscientious life. This means a life of dedication. We call it “utmost sincerity” or jeongseong.
The Korean word jeong deals with the spirit, and song means the fulfillment of the Word. Thus, jeongseong means fulfilling everything inwardly and outwardly and offering it. 16 If you do everything with jeongseong you can “move Heaven.” (78:31, May 1, 1975)
Usually, what percentage of your feelings turn out to be true? You should analyze the process of your life and gauge the results. You cannot assess whether God or the Devil is with you unless you can connect with your internal environment and analyze what percentage of your feelings are right and what percentage are wrong. Develop this mindfulness in your life of faith.
If you develop such mindfulness, your feelings will accurately disclose what is coming your way. When you go out for a certain purpose, without even praying, you will sense at your first step whether your journey will lead to something good or something bad.
You will sense immediately whether it will make God happy or sad. You will be able to sense, “This pleases God” or “This pains God.” Develop your faith through experiencing the feelings of God in your inner self. (40:288, February 7, 1971)
Do not bear a grudge, thinking, “This work is tiring, yet Reverend Moon never acknowledges me.” Were I always to praise your efforts, it would block the flow of your love and sincerity. By staying quiet, your sincerity and love can flow. Like water and air, love flows when there is a hole to flow into. (308:205, January 5, 1999)
In your life of faith, do you have an explosive and stimulating power in the center of your heart that is moving unceasingly towards the world of God’s Will?
When you have that heart, it is evident that God is with you. On the other hand, if you don’t have that power, it is evident that God is distant from you.
When your heart is pouring out love for humankind, and you have the mind to share your life with others limitlessly, it is clear that you belong to Heaven. But if, after a while, you become proud of your great love, then your self-centered love and proud self-centered values are evidence that God has begun to leave you. Be careful! People like that are not headed for heaven.
Their self-centeredness will take them so far, and they will reach their limit. The world of self-centered limitations is different from the world God desires. (32:21-22, June 14, 1970)
Therefore, you have to be able to empathize with Heaven and move God’s heart. Whenever you are in a quandary, it is a time to offer more sincerity, live more for the sake of others, and love more. (308:203, January 5, 1999)
Human beings still affiliated with the fallen realm… must complete a revolution of conscience. This means that they must maintain a tradition of true love, true life, and true lineage following the predisposition of the original mind endowed in us by God.
They must do this without even the smallest deviation, regardless of whatever worldly sovereignty or ideology they may encounter. They must live a life of “high noon settlement,” where they do not leave any shadow or even a speck of shame in the presence of God or the creation.
The revolution of conscience is completed when our lives reach a state of one mind, one body, and one thought, and so establish an eternal and unchanging tradition as the ground of our pure love and pure lineage. The age of unity and harmony will blossom from that point. (January 27, 2004)
END OF BOOK CHAPTER