Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek—to bear insults and abuse without complaint and putting aside all thoughts of revenge. The discipline of non-resistance, even to the point of death, has great value for self-conquest.
If we respond to evil in kind, the evil can attach itself to us and can dominate us. The hatred of our attacker only feeds our resentment at being a victim, and as a result, we lose our balance and spiritual strength.
But by bearing with insults and abuse without diminution of our own goodwill and mental concentration, we can digest the enemy’s hatred and preserve a foundation of spiritual independence and subjectivity.
Ultimately, it is only by preserving our spiritual subjectivity in the midst of the insults that we can have the strength to love our enemy and win him over. Although some question how an ethic of non-resistance can be reconciled with justice, scriptures affirm that God vindicates those who turn the other cheek.
Father Moon cites Jesus’ crucifixion as a prime instance of how one man’s submission to the cruelest torture and death can yield a tremendous historical victory.
Yet at the same time, Father Moon teaches that even God must turn the other cheek and bear with countless insults, and for the same reasons as human beings.
God must also uphold His absoluteness in the face of insult by continuing to love even the unlovable archangel who turned against him. God, too, seeks His justice, but only through the principle of love—overcoming evil with God.
Sun Myung Moon
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Matthew 5.38-41
Those who beat you with fists, Do not pay them in the same coin, But go to their house and kiss their feet. Adi Granth, Shalok, Farid, p. 1378 (Sikhism)
Those who are insulted but do not insult others in revenge, who hear themselves reproached without replying, who perform good work out of the love of the Lord and rejoice in their sufferings… are “as the sun when it goes forth in its might.” Talmud, Yoma 23a (Judaism)
Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or the Doctrine, or against the Order, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer resentment, or feel ill will. If you, on that account, should feel angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your own self-conquest. Digha Nikaya 1.3 (Buddhism)
There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 32 (Islam)
Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain. Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat. Dhammapada 201 (Buddhism)
He who, without anger, endures reproach, flogging and punishments, whose power and potent army is patience—him I call a Brahmin. Dhammapada 399 (Buddhism)
No one is more patient over injury which he hears than God. Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)
The Lord… is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3.9
Monks, even as low-down thieves might be carving you limb from limb with a two-handled saw, even then whoever sets his mind at enmity is not a doer of my teaching. Monks, you should train yourselves thus, “Our minds shall not be perverted, we will not utter evil words, we shall abide cherishing thoughts of good, with minds full of goodwill and with no hatred in our heart. Beginning with that thief, we shall abide suffusing the whole world with thoughts of goodwill that are extensive, exalted, and immeasurable, without hostility and malevolence.”
If you, monks, were to attend repeatedly to this exhortation on the parable of the saw, would you see any form of ridicule, subtle or gross, that you could not endure? Majjhima Nikaya 1.129 (Buddhism)
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals upon his head.”5 Romans 12.19-20
If an evil man, on hearing of what is good, comes and creates a disturbance, you should hold your peace. You must not angrily upbraid him; then he who has come to curse you will merely harm himself. Sutra of Forty-two Sections 7 (Buddhism)
To our most bitter opponents, we say, “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you… Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you… We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love (Christianity)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
When two boys are fighting, one yields to the other with a heart of tolerance. Though he may want to fight to the finish out of anger, he yields because he thinks that someday they might become friends.
If God were to judge between the two boys, He would decide in favor of the boy who forgives and embraces the other with tolerance. (100:84, October 8, 1978)
Among the saints and great people of history, are there any who were not mistreated or persecuted during their earthly life? All the great figures of history encountered opposition, but those who defended themselves as being right are not reckoned among the saints.
Jesus was condemned; he carried with him all of history’s pain and injustice; yet he went his way in silence. Nevertheless, he reappeared as the historical victor. Why? It is because he did not fight with the evil. (80:34, October 4, 1975)
Jesus said, “But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” (Matt. 5.39) because when giving totally it is necessary to go that far. If you give completely, everything will come back to you—this is Heaven’s principle.
Jesus blessed the Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross and pierced his chest with a spear because he had determined to give himself completely before he passed on. He knew that by doing so, even the country of his enemies would return to him. And indeed, the Roman Empire eventually became a Christian kingdom. (69:88, October 20, 1973)
The person who wins by striking someone three times will be subjugated by the person who yields ten times. Jesus followed this principle; isn’t it true in today’s world as well? Good people yield and sacrifice themselves.
Those who use their fists well are not good people. The person who tries to win another over with love even as he is being beaten, who endures without complaint or regret, and who loves even at the sacrifice of his family—this is a good person.
Why is that? It is because God is that way. The One who is the center of the universe follows this path; therefore it is the standard of goodness. We take this path as we journey toward the world of goodness. (101:68, October 28, 1978)
Never pray like this: “O Lord, send a legion of angels to attack the people opposing me, so they cannot oppose me anymore.” You should rather pray, “O Lord, please save my enemies, for they are in need of Thy mercy and Thy blessings.” Why?
They are in the position of Cain, and as Abel, it is your responsibility to love and embrace Cain. Once you achieve oneness between Cain and Abel, you will prosper and not decline.
The New York Times and The Washington Post oppose me and slander me, yet whenever I need to take out a newspaper advertisement, I instruct my people to give them my advertising dollars. It may seem strange, but I always maintain the magnanimous position of Abel. We do not really have enemies.
Even though people insult us, we patiently endure them and keep advancing. We have no need to avenge ourselves, because God will take care of everything. (89:114, October 4, 1976)
Without maintaining the standard of eternal love, God would have no basis to someday exercise His authority over Satan. Therefore, God had to set up the condition of loving Satan no matter how viciously Satan opposed God. Thus, God’s philosophy is one of non-resistance. Why is that?
Until the world of heavenly ideal is fulfilled on this earth, God must love the archangel, who became Satan, regardless of the circumstances. (316:79, February 10, 2000)
God has the power to sweep away all satans in an instant. Yet what would happen then? God’s omnipotence would be broken. That is why, in order not to be invaded by Satan, God always retreats when Satan shoots arrows at Him.
God is omnipotent, but only by patient endurance can God eventually subjugate Satan and set him under His dominion, where Satan cannot escape no matter how much he tries with all of his power. Only then can God secure His position and His omnipotence.
What would happen if God were to say, “I can’t take it anymore!” and turn everything upside down? The universe would be gone. God would become unthinkably miserable.
Now can you appreciate the incredible value of patience?
In this aspect, patience can be the incentive for renewal and recreation. In other words, by enduring our enemy’s insults, we can forgive him. In doing so, we can gain dominion over him. Always. (76:219-20, March 2, 1975)
Sun Myung Moon