Unifying Religions, as Well as Science and Religion, by Understanding the Four-Position-Foundation

4th International Conference of Hyojeong Academy 2024

Unifying Religions, as Well as Science and Religion, by Understanding the Four-Position- 1

Foundation 2

Peter Dean Nordquist1 3

1 World Research Institute for Science and Technology (W.R.I.S.T.) member since 1986 4

(NordaVinci@gmail.com) 5

What is a symbol of the Four-Position-Foundation? Are there different ways to represent the Four-Position-Foundation? This 7 study presents some major symbols of Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Unification Thought as very 8 similar expressions of the Four-Position-Foundation. Although they are somewhat different in their focus, the most common features 9 of the Four-Position-Foundation are shown to be present, allowing us to have a common denominator or language for sharing expe- 10 riences across cultures. Atheists sometimes wonder, “If there is a God, then why are the major religions so different.” This study 11 shows that they are not so different, due to the common dynamic of the Four-Position-Foundation present in their most holy symbols 12 and descriptions of ultimate reality. Finally, a hypothesis is made linking the Four-Position-Foundation to an Internal Periodic Table, 13 that if true, helps unify science and religion, possibly resulting in reduced time and expense for developing materials with special 14 properties. 15

Keywords: Unification of Religions, Science and Religion, Four-Position-Foundation, Internal Periodic Table 16 17

Ⅰ. Introduction 18 19 To look for the common denominator of the four-position-foundation in religions, let us investigate inter-religious mysticism. 20 To accomplish this, we need to know people’s experiences; we need to read their sacred books, if they are available, and talk to 21 them with an open mind. We must be ready to learn their languages, terms and symbols. What did they experience? How are they 22 expressing their experience? Can I relate to that through having had similar experiences? Do they have a method of teaching other 23 people how to experience the same thing and thus carry on their tradition? The major religions of Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, 24 Buddhism, Christianity and Islam all began and continued with experiences that they were able to talk or write about and to share 25 successfully. Science also began with experiences and developed a system to share them successfully. Recall that the first step in 26 the scientific method is observation. Experiences are the observations of religious and mystical traditions. To the degree that a 27 religion is true, it is also logical, orderly, experienceable, observable, repeatable, principled, real and thus scientific. 28 29 Rev. Sun Myung Moon probably was the first person to use the term “four-position-foundation.” He used it, for example, to 30 describe mind/body unity and often asked his audience, “Have you united your mind and body?” What are the mind and the 31 body? Are they two aspects of the same thing? Is there a psychological aspect of matter? Is this question related to the wave/particle 32 duality of quantum mechanics, or to the equivalence of energy and matter of Einstein’s E = mc2? These are important questions 33 that both science and religion have proposed answers to in various Big TOEs (Theories of Everything – world views) arising from 34 experiences and observations. There is a lot of work remaining to be done to clarify the relationship between the mind and the 35 body, which represent the spirit world and the physical world, also known as heaven and earth. This study juxtaposes diagrams 36 with necessarily brief explanations from the above-mentioned religious traditions. 37 38 Rev. Moon speaks here with characteristic determination from his world view about the need to “observe and digest” in order 39 to unify: 40 41 “We must know clearly that it is our mission to unify; before we can do so we must observe and digest. This is reasonable, like 42 all the laws of creation; it applies on every level of family, society, nation and world . . . There is nothing else I can teach you; there 43 are a limited number of important principles. This is a simple principle, but it applies to every level and in applying it you will do 44 your mission.” (The Way of Prosperity and Defeat, March 11, 1979, Belvedere, Tarrytown, NY) 45 46 Let us observe and digest in order to unify. 47

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48 II. Judaism’s Tree of Life is an alternative representation of the 3-stage development of the four-position-foundation. 49 50 There are various versions of the Jewish Tree of Life of Kabbalah, which is the oral tradition of 51 Judaism. The Tree represented here was preferred by the Gaon of Vilna who was the greatest rabbi 52 in 600 years and so was given the title Gaon, meaning “genius.” The Tree of Life in Judaism repre- 53 sents a pursuit of righteous happiness, as indicated by Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is 54 a tree of life . . .,” and Proverbs 13:12 “A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is 55 a Tree of Life.” 56 57 The Tree of Life represents three levels of soul, namely, the neshamah (divine soul), the ruach 58 (eternal soul) and the nefesh (the level of soul that is in the blood). These correspond quite well to 59 love, life and lineage of Rev. Moon’s diagram (discussed in section VIII) May 1, 1998 (44th anniver- 60 sary of HSA-UWC, Belvedere, Tarrytown, NY) The ten commandments, the seven days of creation 61 and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet all map to this graphic symbol. The three horizontal lines 62 are the three mother letters: the mem, the aleph and the shin, which represent water, air and fire, 63 respectively, and as well, circumcision of the flesh (the sign of the covenant between God and Abra- 64 ham), circumcision of the heart, and circumcision of the tongue. Recall James 3:6 “The tongue is a 65 flame.” The three bigger circles in the diagrams below are there to show the process that the output 66 of stage one becomes the input to stage two, and similarly, the output of stage two becomes the input to stage three. The tenth 67 position then returns a result to the origin in position one, completing a circle. 68 69

70 71 72 III. The AUM (OM) of Hinduism maps to the four-position-foundation and to Judaism’s Tree of Life. 73 74 The AUM of Hinduism is explained as a theory of everything in the Mandukya 75 Upanishad, the shortest of the Upanishads with only 12 verses on a single page. 76 The first verse announces itself with excitement to share an important truth: 77 78 “OM. This eternal Word is all: what was, what is and what shall be, and what beyond is in eternity. 79 All is OM.” 80 81 The written symbol for AUM (OM) and the sound itself represent the 4 82 states of consciousness and the process of breathing in and breathing out. 83 The A is the waking state; the U is the dream state; the M is the deep sleep 84 with no dreams; the silence while breathing in represents returning to one 85 body with God in the transcendent state of consciousness, transcending 86 time and space. The 4 states map to the 4 positions of the four-position- 87 foundation as well as to its expansion in the Hindu Natural Array Tree of 88 Life structure. The top of the feminine column is Sarasvati, goddess of un- 89 derstanding, which corresponds in the Jewish Tree of Life to Binah at the 90 top of the fire column representing the feminine aspect of fire, that led the 91 Israelites through the desert at night. Binah means understanding. 92 93

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IV. Taoism’s wu chi, wang chi, tai chi (variations of terms exist) and cosmic family of 8 trigrams map to the Tree of Life. 94 95 Wu-chi is nothingness, void or emptiness. It represents the origin stage of the four- 96 position-foundation that is beyond time and space. Next the ying and yang symbol 97 which together are the way, can represent the division stage of the four-position-foun- 98 dation. The union stage is the symbol of the ying and yang with two dots added, repre- 99 senting old yang and old yin, followed by the children who are the young yang and 100 young yin. The eight trigrams are the cosmic family of the father and mother with three 101 sons and three daughters. 102 103 It is interesting that the middle section 104 of this Taoist Tree has the same contents 105 as the Taegukgi, the flag of South Korea. 106 It is also interesting that it corresponds 107 very closely to the middle section of the 108 Jewish Tree of Life which has the mascu- 109 line water column and the feminine fire 110 column on either side with the parents in 111 the middle column. The middle son of 112 the Taoist Tree also represents water and 113 the middle daughter also represents fire. 114 How did that happen that it matches the 115 Jewish Tree to a certain extent? It could 116 be because the same root source inspired both as slightly different expressions of 117 the dynamics of the four-position-foundation. 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 V. The Tri-kaya concept of Mahayana Buddhism maps to the Tree of Life. 129 130 Buddha skipped the Judeo/Chris- 131 tian God experienced by Moses and 132 Jesus and went to the root of God, 133 which is the identity maintaining 134 four-position-foundation centered 135 on heart. Rev. Moon characterizes it 136 as the highest realm of heart that 137 never develops or changes, because 138 it is already the highest. After his 139 enlightenment, Buddha asked peo- 140 ple to refer to him as the Tathagata, 141 or “the passed away one.” 142 143 The three aspects of body (kaya) 144 have corresponding internal as- 145 pects. The Dharma has the Dharma 146 Kaya; the Bodhicitta is the mind of 147 the Bodhisattva who remains be- 148 hind to save all sentient beings. The 149 Sambhoga Kaya is the body of the Boddhisattva. The physical body of Shakyamuni Buddha is the 150 Nirmana Kaya. The colorful picture to the right adds the lines for Love, Life, Lineage and Conscience 151 suggested by Rev. Moon’s diagram discussed in section VIII. 152

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153 VI. Statements of Jesus and the Tree of Life 154 155 Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 in the Sermon on the Mount, “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and 156 all these will be added to you as well.” God’s kingdom and His righteousness refer to the lower two holy emana- 157 tions in the Jewish Tree of Life in the middle column. Specifically, righteousness represents “the foundation of the 158 world” (yesod olam). It is represented by Joseph (the son of Jacob) who refused to commit adultery with Potiphar’s 159 wife and consequently was thrown into prison. This is the number seven position from the top and thus represents 160 the 7th Commandment, “Don’t commit adultery.” Gerschom Scholem explained that this is the oldest and most 161 natural numbering of this holy emanation (Sephira). 162 163 In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” Mary 164 Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures explains that 165 the Way is Love and that God’s nature consists of Love, Truth and Life. In agreement with Mary Baker Eddy, Rev. 166 Moon also explained that the Way is Love, then put Life and Truth. In this order, he explained that Love, Life and 167 Truth represent the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; Love, Life and Truth always travel 168 together like three perpendicular lines, forming the basic structure of existence, again in basic agreement with Mary 169 Baker Eddy. In John 14:6 Jesus explained to Thomas that he needed to continue to connect to Jesus, even after Jesus 170 departed, because Jesus was on the Way to God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and one day, he, Jesus, would 171 return in pursuit of them. The words of Jesus represent the pursuit of the family of God and the kingdom of God 172 through the process of the four-position-foundation. 173 174 VII. Meher Baba’s expression of Sufi Islam in his major work “God Speaks” maps to the 175 Tree of Life. 176 177 Meher Baba was a world religious figure whose 178 teaching was also for the purpose of unifying reli- 179 gions. He is a representative of Sufi Islam. He had 180 deep mystical experiences and realized similarly to 181 Rev. Moon, that before God created, he was grow- 182 ing up. God asked the question, “Who am I?” and 183 after 7 stages of development he answered his own 184 question by saying, “I am God.” The terms in this 185 Sufi four-position-foundation and Tree of Life were 186 taken from his book, “God Speaks,” in which he drew many charts and diagrams. The 187 Om Point figures into his explanation as the Creation Point, similar to the Christian Logos. 188 189 VIII. Rev. Moon’s Love/Life/Lineage/Conscience diagram maps to the Tree of Life. 190 191 On May 1, 1998 at the 44th anniversary of the Holy Spirit Association for the 192 Unification of World Christianity, Rev. Moon drew the following diagram, which I 193 have styled for the purpose of clarifying the process that he was explaining. He first 194 drew a + sign at the top middle of the blackboard. He indicated that the + attracts a 195 – and they unite forming the next lower down output of another +, which attracts a 196 -, they unite and form a 3rd + and then a 4th +, like three vertical extension cords 197 plugged into each other. Then he drew a horizontal line underneath. The first word 198 he wrote was “Conscience.” Then he moved his left hand along the horizontal line 199 of Conscience and explained that “When God first began to create, He poured out 200 his energy along the horizontal line of Conscience.” Then he filled in the words 201 from the top, “Love, Life and Lineage.” He eventually erased it. Later in his talk he 202 returned to this theme by drawing three perpendicular lines on the board and explained that their point of intersection is the “sa 203 ui guidae” – the four-position-foundation point. He proceeded to draw in the air with his hand, the same diagram that he had 204 drawn at the beginning. This is another way to talk about the dynamics of the four-position-foundation referencing love, life, 205 lineage and conscience. 206 207 Since “the Way, the Life and the Truth” can represent the Holy Trinity, we can see that the Baptist Doctrine of Conscience has a 208 similar form and meaning to Rev. Moon’s “doctrine” (diagram) of Love, Life, Lineage and Conscience. The Baptist Doctrine of 209 Conscience proclaims that kings and popes cannot answer for me in front of the throne of God on judgement day, and that my 210 only lord that I will bow to is therefore my own conscience as it is inspired by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This view 211

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of conscience as inspired by God came to America with the pilgrims in 1620 and helped inspire Thomas Jefferson in his writing of 212 the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1777) during the American Rev- 213 olution, directly leading to freedom of religion in America. 214 215 IX. Conjecture: The periodic table of elements can map to the Tree of Life. But is it correct to do so? 216 217 The Natural Array Tree of Life of Judaism has three columns representing water, air and fire, 218 as well as three rows representing the complementary pole of water, air and fire. Why not map 219 these to the periodic table of elements? Water, air and fire combine to form earth as the 4th ele- 220 ment. This reminds us of the classical pre-Socratic four element theory that is considered super- 221 stitious and unscientific. Here is a diagram of the four element theory in Latin by Leibniz, the 222 German polymath from the 1600’s. 223 224 The Jewish Kabbalah, however, does not view these four elements of air, water, fire and earth 225 in a materialistic manner, but in a deeply spiritual manner. Perhaps we should take another look 226 at the four element theory as it applies to the modern periodic table of elements. Considering odd 227 numbers to be positive and even numbers to be negative, we can map the numbers and columns of the Natural Array Tree of Life 228 to the periodic table based on the atomic number of each element. The simple pattern is as illustrated in the following diagrams: 229 230 Notice that carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are on the fire, 231 air and water columns respectively. They combine to 232 form carbohydrates, which might correspond to earth. 233 Carbon, lithium, fluorine and magnesium are all on the 234 fire line, either on the plus or minus half of the line. Do 235 they have anything to do with the masculine or femi- 236 nine aspects of fire as characterized by the Jewish Tree 237 of Life? 238 239 Does this make any sense from a modern chemistry or 240 physics point of view? Does it allow us to predict any- 241 thing useful? The rest of the table follows by making 242 larger and larger circles. Titanium, for example, is element 22 and is on the air 243 minus line. The central air column of the Tree of Life represents Will. Titanium 244 is strong and used in aircraft and memory metal. This might be pre-Socratic 245 superstition, but then again, if the invisible blueprint in the mind of God was 246 used to create the visible, physical world, then why would this conjecture not be correct? If it works, it might allow us to 247 better formulate materials with special properties. 248 249 X. Conclusion 250 251 The traditions briefly discussed above each have symbols and processes that map to the four-position-foundation and its expan- 252 sion as the ten-position Natural Array Tree of Life structure of Judaism and Hinduism, in particular. Every give and receive process 253 also represents the four-position-foundation. The four-position-foundation is inside us and all around us. Some might make the 254 critique that it is so simple that it can be easily trivialized. Nevertheless, when probed more deeply, it can explain everything, even 255 answers to questions that we haven’t thought of asking. 256 257 I didn’t have space to give Unification Thought its own section. However, as I was studying the material over the last 30 years, I 258 wondered around 1998, how exactly the Tree of Life of Judaism relates to Unification Thought. Shortly thereafter a big vision of 259 old Dr. Lee’s bright, smiling face appeared in front of my computer monitor and remained there for about 5 minutes. Three days 260 later I drew a diagram that I think shows how the Unification Thought two-stage process of creation relates to the Jewish Tree of 261 Life. 262 263 For further inspiration to investigate, consider Rev. Moon’s words from “God’s and Our Decision”, Feb. 1, 1987. 264 265 “When you read my book of sermons, God’s Will and the World, you can see that I have spoken the truth plainly and boldly. 266 There are no more symbols or parables. I have set everything before you. The truth has emerged; this is real knowledge, the 267 knowledge that you need. Who decided the heavenly four-position foundation? This is God’s original principle. No human being 268 devised it. Without going this route no one enters the Kingdom of Heaven.” 269 270

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References 271 272 www.biblegateway.com. (n.d.). Proverbs 11:30 NIV - - Bible Gateway. [online] Available at: https://www.biblegate- 273 way.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2011:30&version=NIV [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 274 275 biblehub.com. (n.d.). Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. [online] Available 276 at: https://biblehub.com/proverbs/13-12.htm. 277 278 Bible Hub. (n.d.). James 3:6 - Taming the Tongue. [online] Available at: https://biblehub.com/james/3-6.htm. 279 280 Kaplan, A. and Internet Archive (1997). Sefer Yetzirah = The Book of Creation. [online] Internet Archive. York Beach, Me. : S. 281 Weiser. Available at: https://archive.org/details/seferyetzirah00arye [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 282 283 GINSBURG, ELLIOT K. “The Symbolism of the Kabbalistic Sabbath: Motif Studies.” The Sabbath in the Classical Kabbalah, 284 Liverpool University Press, 2008, pp. 59–185. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1rmkbt.9. Accessed 21 July 2024. 285 286 nordavinci (2014). Essays On Kabbalah: Significant Dreams, Experiences and Revelations. [online] NordaVinci. Available at: 287 https://nordavinci.com/2014/11/30/68/#_Toc383790388 [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 288 289 Divinely inspired (n.d.). The Upanishads , translated by Juan Mascaro. [online] Internet Archive. Available at: https://ar- 290 chive.org/details/UpanishadsbyJMascaro [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 291 292 tparents.org. (n.d.). We Who Are Walking a Life Course - Sun Myung Moon. [online] Available at: https://tparents.org/Moon- 293 Talks/SunMyungMoon59/SunMyungMoon-590906.htm [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 294 295 www.newworldencyclopedia.org. (n.d.). Trikaya - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: https://www.newworlden- 296 cyclopedia.org/entry/Trikaya [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 297 298 biblehub.com. (n.d.). Matthew 6:33 KJV: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall 299 be added unto you. [online] Available at: https://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/6-33.htm [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 300 301 Biblehub.com. (2019). John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through 302 Me. [online] Available at: https://biblehub.com/john/14-6.htm. 303 304 Science and Health - Chapter X - Science of Being. (n.d.). [online] www.christianscience.com. Available at: https://www.chris- 305 tianscience.com/the-christian-science-pastor/science-and-health/chapter-x-science-of-being [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 306 307 Baba, M., Meher, A. and Trust, B. (1973). GOD SPEAKS The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose Second Edition. [online] Avail- 308 able at: https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/godspeaks_p1.pdf [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 309 310 Thomas Armitage (1819-1896) (n.d.). History of the baptists. [online] Internet Archive. Available at: https://archive.org/de- 311 tails/HistoryOfTheBaptists/page/n345/mode/2up?q=conscience [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 312 313 nordavinci (2023). The Baptist Doctrine of Conscience: In My Opinion. [online] NordaVinci. Available at: 314 https://nordavinci.com/2023/02/18/the-baptist-doctrine-of-conscience-in-my-opinion/ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 315 316 Anon, (n.d.). Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786) – Encyclopedia Virginia. [online] Available at: 317 https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/virginia-statute-for-establishing-religious-freedom-1786/. 318 319 Nordquist, P. (2018). LoveLifeLineageConscience Clip. [online] Flickr. Available at: https://flickr.com/pho- 320 tos/nordavinci/31972441638/in/album-72177720310499239/ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2024]. 321 322 Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Classical element. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_ele- 323 ment. 324 325

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