2. A Harmonious Being of Yang and Yin
Yang and yin in the Theory of the Original Human Nature refer to a husband and wife as a yang substantial being and a yin substantial being, respectively. The problems of how a husband and wife should live and what a family should be like have been important issues since ancient times. Animals, plants, and minerals all exist and multiply through the union between yang and yin. Yet, to regard the union between yang and yin in human beings, namely, the union between husband and wife, simply as a physical union would be equivalent to regarding it simply as a biological union. In advanced nations today, men and women easily get married and easily get divorced; as a result, the sacredness and eternal character of marriage are being lost. This is not the original way for the relationship of husband and wife.
No satisfactory answers have yet been given to such questions as why a man and woman exist or for what purpose they get married. Hence, people many times prefer not to get married at all. To these problems, Unification Thought offers clear solutions.
First, a husband and wife each, originally, represents one of God’s dual characteristics of Yang and Yin; accordingly, their conjugal union signifies the manifestation of God. When a husband and wife love each other horizontally, centering on God, His vertical love dwells there, and life is created through the multiplication of love. Second, the union of a husband and wife represents the final stage of God’s creation of the universe; therefore, the unity of husband and wife signifies the completion of the creation of the universe. If Adam and Eve had not fallen away from God, the creation of the universe would have been completed upon the occasion of their perfection. Since Adam and Eve did not perfect themselves, however, the creation of the universe was never completed. For that reason, God has been conducting the dispensation of re-creation. To re-create fallen human beings means to lead them to become perfected individuals, and further to become perfected husband and wife couples. Human beings were created to be the rulers of all things, but neither a man alone nor a woman alone can become a ruler. Only by being perfected as a couple, that is, as a husband and wife, can they become the rulers of all things. Only then will the creation of the universe be completed.
Third, since a husband and wife each, originally, represents one half of humankind, their union signifies the unity of humankind. To explain further, the husband represents all the men of humankind, and the wife represents all the women of humankind. The population of the world today is over six billion people. Therefore, a husband and wife each possesses the value of representing over three billion people.
Fourth, a husband and wife each, originally, represents one half of the family; therefore, their union signifies the perfection of the family. The husband represents all the men and the wife represents all the women of the family.
From the above perspective, that a husband and wife love each other signifies the manifestation of God in their family, the completion of the universe, the unity of humankind, and the perfection of the family. We can see that the union of a husband and wife is, indeed, a sacred and precious union. 1
The harmony of a husband and wife is accomplished through the formation of the family four position foundation. The formation of the family four position foundation refers to the completion of the second blessing given to human beings by God when He created them. This is achieved when a husband and wife, who have perfected their personalities, centering on God, establish a correlative standard and engage in give and receive action of love and beauty. The unity of the husband and wife resembles the harmony of subject and object within the Original Image; in other words, it resembles the identity-maintaining four position foundation within the Original Image, while the multiplication of children by a husband and wife resembles God’s creation of human beings; in other words, it resembles the developmental four position foundation within the Original Image. Through these accomplishments, a husband and wife realize harmony, while living in accordance with their original mind. When one lives fully in accordance with one’s original mind one resembles the inner four position foundation within the Original Image, and when he or she lives in complete harmony with another person they come to resemble the outer four position foundation within the Original Image. When a man and woman grow and mature as persons of character, resembling the Original Image, and then marry and perform a give and receive action of love, centering on the purpose of creation, God’s love dwells in them. Thus, a family is the place where the horizontal love of a husband and wife and the vertical love of God are completely united. When such families, which are based on God’s love, converge to form a society, then a nation, and then a world, this will be the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, a world wherein God’s ideal of creation has been fulfilled.
The world in which God’s ideal of creation is realized is a world of love that has been realized through the original order. Here, let me explain about order and love. A human being is a miniature of the universe, but so too, is the family. More specifically, a human being is a miniature of the universe seen from the viewpoint of constituent elements; in other words, a human being is the integration of all the elements of the universe. On the other hand, a family is a miniature of the universe, seen from the viewpoint of order. To say that the family is a miniature of the universe in terms of order means to say that just as there is vertical and horizontal order in the universe, so too there is vertical and horizontal order in a family, only in a more compact form. Vertical order in a family refers to the orderly positions of grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, and so on, and horizontal order in a family refers to the orderly positions of husband and wife, and brothers and sisters. Love is realized through such order. Thus, there is a vertical love and a horizontal love. Vertical love refers to the downward flow of love from parents toward children, and the upward love from children toward their parents.
Horizontal love refers to the love between husband and wife, and the love between brothers and sisters Based on these forms of love, family ethics, which is the foundation for both vertical value and horizontal value, can be realized. Vertical value refers to the affection of parents toward their children, and the filial piety of children toward their parents.
Horizontal value refers to the conjugal harmony between husband and wife, and friendship among brothers and sisters. Thus, ethics is the norm of behavior that is to be observed by each member of the family. (The details will be discussed later in the Theory of Ethics.) By extending family ethics to a society, an enterprise, or a school, social ethics, business ethics, and school ethics can, in turn, be established. Love for one’s neighbors, love for one’s nation, love for one’s enemy, the conservation movement, and so on, all will be based on family ethics.
In sum, if we were to describe an original human being in one word, it would be that of a person of love (Homo amans). Due to the fall, however, Adam and Eve failed to perfect their personalities. Hence, they could not become the husband and wife that they should originally have become. They could not become united, centering on God’s love, and so they lost God. Thus, until today, the creation of the universe has remained unfinished. Today, family problems and social problems abound everywhere. The cause of all of these problems is due to the fact that husband and wife do not have a proper relationship. This is why families break down, societies are in disarray, nations become disorderly, and the world is chaotic. Therefore, for husband and wife to harmonize and unite through conjugal love is an indispensable prerequisite for world unity. Stated succinctly, the harmonious union of husband and wife is a key to solving social and world problems.