If we analyze the Chinese character for cheon (天), meaning heaven, it consists of the character for two (二) and the character for person (人). The character for in (仁), meaning virtue, also includes the characters for two (二) and for person (人). Two people. But what kind of people are they? They are people in whom heaven and earth can become completely one, both vertically and horizontally, by virtue of their perfect love. The fundamental basis for realizing the harmony of heaven and earth is love. It begins from love. (186-60, 01/29/1989)
In the term “heaven and earth” (cheon-ji), which should be mentioned first – heaven or earth? Should it be earth and heaven or heaven and earth? What about with parents (bu-mo); should it be written father and mother or mother and father? Should the term couple (bu-bu) be written wife and husband or husband and wife? It has to be husband and wife. There is no one who wants earth and heaven; everyone wants heaven and earth.
So what should come first? Heaven must come first, and earth second. And with parents, why should the father come first rather than the mother? This does not mean that women are disregarded.
Bu-mo (parents) must have the character for bu (父), meaning father, first. However, it is interesting to look at the character for mo (母), meaning mother. It is written by putting together two of the characters for yeo, meaning woman (女), upside down. This is very interesting. Thus the character for mo, meaning mother, puts two women together, albeit upside down. This is a mother.
This is why a mother should be someone with the heart of heaven and the heart of earth. In other words, a woman can only be a mother if she is able to bring two hearts together within herself: a heart connected to heaven and a heart that represents the women of the earth.
Now let us look at the character for bu (父), meaning father. What is it? If you separate its strokes, it has two of the characters for in (人), meaning person, but is formed by combining them. It binds them together.
What does this character mean? A man becomes a man, and a person becomes a person, not only by himself: here two must be bound together. Only in this way does one become a father. What this means is that to become a father, the person of heaven and the earthly person must be bound together and be able to act as one. It is interesting to think about this.
On the other hand, what comprises the character for cheon (天), meaning heaven? Heaven does not exist alone. There have to be two (二) for heaven to come into being. Hence, we can have cheon (天), meaning heaven, simply by putting two people together.
Then what about the character for bu (夫), meaning husband? This is a funny one. It has a hat and goes up even above heaven. What does this mean? It means that when two people like each other, they go up to the top of heaven. This is how the words “husband and wife” were composed. Is there anyone who says, “Because I am such a great and handsome man, I do not need a father or mother?” Would anyone say, “Because I am a man, I don’t need a father, who is a man. When my father dies, I will be the father and thus the master in his place; so let my father die and allow just my mother to remain?” No one would say that.
Similarly, there is no daughter who would say, “I want to be the female head of the household, so let my mother die and my father remain!” Then what do we need? We need both. There must be a father and a mother. (59-182, 07/16/1972)
END OF BOOK CHAPTER