Originally, human beings were born with God; but now they have two owners. What does it mean to have two owners? It means that our blood lineage was changed. The first task of religious life is to achieve mind-body unity. Centered on what? Centering on God's will and God's heart, we must subjugate the body based on one mind. Religion teaches how to dominate the body. 1) The First Way to Dominate the Body What is the first way to achieve unity of mind and body? Knock down the body. Strike the body. Deny everything that the body desires. To what degree do we have to deny? Deny completely. Deny to the point of death. Therefore paradoxical logic can be applied, as in JesusO words. If we cannot knock down our body and follow only the mind's desires, then we cannot fulfill ourselves. In other words, when we try to kill our physical desires, the mind comes alive. If we focus only on physical desires, we will die. Therefore Jesus said, OHe who seeks his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it." He also said, OHe who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." Why? Because Jesus came upon the earth as the representative of God's heart. It is impossible to connect to the human being with God's heart by following our physical desires. The relationships with parents, among brothers and sisters, and between husband and wife are physical. We cannot follow the way of God's heart by following physical desires. If you want to go this way you have to deny physical relationships. Someone who loves God more than parents, spouse, brothers or sisters can enter the heavenly kingdom. What is the standard to enter the heavenly kingdom? How can we get the official ticket to the heavenly kingdom? When you love God more than your father and mother, brother or sister, and children. Otherwise there is no chance of entering. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to remove our physical desires. Knock down your body even by force. Be humble and gentle. Does your body want to be humble and gentle? Your body wants to go higher and be arrogant. It wants to take more food, more rest, and more for itself. Therefore the body is the basis and root of evil. The roots of good and evil were inverted. That is why we must eradicate the root of evil. So do not follow your physical desires. Do not go to any evil place or you cannot go the way of heavenly principle and heart. It is easy for the human heart to initiate anything centered on Satan and evil. So we must deny our physical desires. The first way to deny evil is to subdue the body; that's why we pray and fast. When we are establishing conditions through fasting and prayer, our body loses power, even becoming difficult to move. Then the mind can easily dominate the body. Then we serve and sacrifice for the sake of others. The body does not like that. Therefore religious life starts from denying all relationship with the body. If you read the scriptures, can you find any guidance about eating good food and leading an easy life? It is impossible to find such guidance. Religion teaches us to serve and, sacrifice, be gentle and humble. Therefore religious people pray for the sake of others even at the risk of their lives. The body by itself cannot do this. In this way we can knock down our body. Mind and body fight when they have the same amount of strength. When your mind can dominate your body because you have been strengthening it for several months, then, even after the body becomes stronger, it will follow the mind out of habit. When you reach such a level, you will find that your plans are going well with heavenly support. Then it will be difficult to lead such a life as you did in the past. You will live centered on your conscience. This is the purpose of religious life.
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