✨ Introduction
🌿 In this comprehensive Q&A, Master Woo Myung provides deep insights into the fundamental questions of life—Truth, the mind, Heaven and hell, karma, and salvation.
Through direct questions from religious leaders and scholars, this teaching clarifies the nature of human existence and reveals that many concepts we believe to be external—such as Heaven, hell, and even good and evil—are rooted within the human mind itself.
✨ Master Woo Myung explains that true liberation comes not from belief alone, but from cleansing the mind and becoming one with Truth and the Universe.
📖 Original Writing by Master Woo Myung
Q&A on the Mind and Truth
The following is Woo Myung’s discourse on questions asked to him by religious leaders and scholars regarding Truth.
Q1 : Do good and evil originally exist?
A1 : Both good and evil exist in the conceptions of man, but in fact, do not originally exist. That something is either good or evil exists within one’s own conceptions which one has created. So when seen from God’s point of view, good and evil do not exist. God is ‘dae-jung’, or ‘the true, great heart,’ and so it is only through this that man can willingly live for others without hate but love; only then would he be able to live performing true acts of goodness even in the absence of disciplinary rules and regulations. However, they are not truly good acts if they stem from his own delusions (demons) rather than from true goodness – his demon being that he does those good acts for his own benefit. Had it been said that murder were not evil, then it would not be considered evil. Lions kill their prey all the time, but because they do not know whether this is good or evil, neither exists for them. Accordingly, man, too, must reach the point where he is free of both good and evil so that neither exist. Therefore, it is in man’s conceptions – his mind – that good and evil exist. He who has become God lives his life for others and is free from good and evil. It is only in the mind of one who has learned of good and evil that the two exist.
Q2 : What is ‘original sin’?
A2 : ‘Original sin’ has existed ever since our ancestors began distinguishing between what is good and what is evil – ever since they took the fruit of good and ate it; ever since they took the fruit of evil and ate it. That our ancestors took both good and evil and “ate” them means they put good and evil in their minds. And because we are born of such ancestors, we carry the original sin and are of the same image as our good-and-evil-discerning ancestors. We are born with original sin.
Q3 : Where are Heaven and hell? How can one see Heaven? What does it mean to live in Heaven and what is that life like?
A3 : Both Heaven and hell exist inside oneself, and both are the universe. He who has become the original God of the Universe is that God, Himself. Therefore, his mind is Heaven, for he has the Land of God – the Universe – inside him. There is no past, present, or future in that Land; it is where everything is alive, and it is where one can go to only while one is alive. So long as a person is bound to his conceptions and habits, the life he consequently lives is hell. Man suffers from his delusions while living in this world, and likewise he will suffer the same pain of hell after dying because he lives on with his dead consciousness, confined inside his fixed mindset. A person whose consciousness is that of the infinite Universe – whose consciousness has become the Mind of God – can see Heaven. He who has been born again with this consciousness lives in Heaven even while he is alive because his individual self is the complete God. Life in Heaven is one of true freedom and true liberation. And although there is no such thing as joy, that life is full of the utmost joy. Thus man would be alive, which is why he would be able to live as it is in great repose and yet never be bored, because the countless years that pass would be just a day, and he would live a life that is unrestrained and free.
Q4 : Does karma really exist?
A4 : Karma is both one’s original sin and one’s own personal sins. Karma is something that every human being has.
Q5 : Where do we go after we die?
A5 : Those with delusions live as the ‘maya (illusions)’ of those delusions. But those who have become Truth live in Heaven eternally.
Q6 : What happens as soon as the human body dies?
A6 : When a person’s body dies, if his consciousness has been awakened, he will live. But if his consciousness has not been reborn as God, he will die.
Q7 : Are we able to remember and see our own lives after we die?
A7 : A person who dies still holding on to his attachments will not be able to remember his life because his consciousness is dead. However, a person who has been born again as Truth has a consciousness that is alive and thus, he will be able to remember and see everything since both life and death are the same for him.
Q8 : How can we truly repent our sins?
A8 : To repent means to be sorry for one’s sins. Man tends to think that nothing is ever his fault or that he has done nothing wrong. However, he lives with his attachments of want, and so everything he does is one of self-centeredness. This is why he is far from God and Buddha. It is when a person reflects on himself, discards the life he has lived, and continuously eliminates his self that he will come to realize that he is truly a demon. Man’s existence consists only of his body and his mind. So by eliminating his body and mind and thus abandoning his existence all together, he is able to truly repent his sins; this is true repentance. The more man repents, the more God appears to him and answers his prayers, for which he must continue to eliminate his self until the God within us acknowledges that he no longer exists and that he has been born in Heaven. A person who has yet to become complete is ever curious, for the knowledge he has is all that he has.
Q9 : Why must a person eliminate his self on his own?
A9 : One must cleanse one’s own sins. God is within all of us, and it is this God who eliminates our delusional selves. It is when this God thwarts one’s demon that one is born again as the child of God. Because he thwarts his demon, not as himself but as God, and because it is a victory he must win not externally but within himself, it is he, himself, who must eliminate his delusional self.
Q10 : Why must we let go of the good deeds that we have performed?
A10 : What good a person does, he does from his mind. But if his goodness remains in his mind, it is not true goodness at all. Trueness is the Universe; it is to see everything as it is. Goodness is the God of the Universe; He alone is goodness. And in order to find that goodness, one must throw away the delusion that one has done any good deeds, for it is indeed, a delusion.
Q11 : If we must throw away everything, must we also throw away our religious beliefs that we have held up to this point?
A11 : The religious beliefs that people have are not based on the true meaning of what their religions teach. Rather, people blindly give themselves over to their religions without knowing the true meaning of their words. For sure, the teachings of such religions are about cleansing the mind in that they, too, say that man must empty his mind; that he must abandon his idolized beliefs, which are the attachments of his wants, for such are not the true intentions of those faiths. Religions teach people this because only then are we able to know that God is truly inside us; only then would it be true faith; only then would man be able to see God and become Him. It is only when man lets go of all idolizations of his delusions that he is able to acknowledge that the forever-perfect God is within him.
Q12 : According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, all beliefs will be abandoned when the Messiah returns. So should all our beliefs and all of the prophecies we have believed up to now be denied?
A12 : Abandoning one’s beliefs means to abandon one’s idolized faith and thus believe in the true God, who is Truth. It means to acknowledge the true God for one has been born again as the child of God. Despite there being only one Truth, there are countless different religions and denominations for the present-day beliefs of man are not true. Everything that the saints have taught is Truth. If man were to truly repent and truly seek redemption, he would be able to gain true beliefs, for which the whole of mankind would be able to become one. It is not that we should deny beliefs all together, for it was through such beliefs that Truth was carried forth. However, we must take into consideration that though certain beliefs were relevant in the past, now it is time for everyone to empty their minds so that the countless different faiths will return their faith to one. The New Testament is the prophecy of a new promise. The moment this prophecy is fulfilled is the moment when all will become one, when all will be complete, and when Heaven will be built. Only those absolved of sins will be able to know the true meaning of this prophecy. But those who do not repent their sins and hope for the prophecy to be fulfilled according to their own delusional thoughts will never know the true meaning of the prophecy
Q13 : Will everyone be unconditionally saved when the Savior returns?
A13 : Salvation means to be born in the Land of Truth. That Land is and has always been perfect, but despite this, people are dead because of the sins that confine them. Those who become free of the chains of their sins will be saved – only they are sealed with Truth and will indeed be saved. Only those who are recorded in the Book of Life will be saved. And only those who confess with their mouths that Truth is within them will be saved. Man will be judged – “the sheep from the goats” – and those whose sins are too great will die buried in them.
Q14 : Is salvation a reality?
A14 : There will be no salvation for those who are not saved while they are alive. To be saved means that through the death of his self, man is born again as the child of God. Those who are saved will live in the Land of Truth because they themselves are Truth. Unless we are born as the children of God while we are alive, there can only be death. Anyone who repents his sins, anyone who cleanses his mind, and anyone who seeks absolution can enter Heaven. The children of God are God, Himself, and therefore only they can enter into Heaven. If man seeks redemption and is absolved of his sins now, then we will enter into Heaven now; this is why salvation is, indeed, a reality.
Q15 : What does it mean that God is both love and judgment?
A15 : God loves, raises, nourishes, and gives life to all things in creation. Man is unable to free himself from the sins he commits. And because the weight of his sins is too heavy, man says that he is being ‘judged’ by God. Even such a person God will try to free and save with love. But because he does not believe in the God of Truth inside him, it is he who ends up judging himself.
Q16 : What does “God is love” mean?
A16 : God is love. Man lives in the universe according to the will of God because God is both omniscient and omnipotent and because God is love, itself. However, man does not appreciate this. Once we become one with God, we come to know that God is love, itself, because the whole of creation lives by the grace of God.
Q17 : Do love, Truth, and the Universe all mean the same thing?
A17 : True love is the love that God, or Truth, gives without the mind of having given it. The Universe created the whole of the universe even before the word ‘universe’ existed, which is consequently why these three words – ‘love’, ‘Truth’, and ‘Universe’ – mean the same thing.
Q18 : What happens when we see God?
A18 : When man sees God, his individual self dies, and consequently God becomes him. Therefore, he has the wisdom to know this God, who is the God of life. Knowing God is the foundation of wisdom, and so when a person is rid of all delusions, truly righteous wisdom will come forth from him, and he will be born in eternal Heaven with that wisdom.
Q19 : Can man be God?
A19 : God has always existed. God is Truth, itself. Man cannot become God, but he can be reborn as a child of God. Only God can allow man to be born as Truth, for which he is born again as God with the body he has received from Him, who has always existed since the very beginning. Thus, he is the child of God; he is one with God, and yet he is a person that has been reborn from God, who is absolute. Christianity says that man cannot become God, which means that God has always existed and is the Creator who creates everything as being complete and perfect, while man is a creation that must be reborn in the Kingdom of God; he is a creation whose self must completely die so that he is born again as God.
Q20 : Where is the Universe?
A20 : The Universe exists as it is. However, the Universe must exist within man in order for this world to become a place where all become one and for man to be born again as righteousness. The Universe exists within all material things, and this itself is oneness. Therefore, a person for whom the Universe is outside of him, he is full of delusions, while he who has the Universe within him lives.
Q21 : What is Truth?
A21 : Truth is the true state of the Universe that is before and beyond the universe that we know. Truth is the sole God amidst the complete emptiness, and this complete emptiness and sole God are the Body and Mind of Truth – the ‘Jung’ and ‘Shin’ of Truth. He who has been born again as this Jung and Shin is the child of God. It is this true state that created the universe; it is within this true state that Heaven exists; it is eternal and never-changing. There is not a single place in the Universe where it does not exist – it is the Universe, itself. From Truth’s viewpoint, all creations in existence are already born in this perfect Land.
Q22 : How do we reach Truth?
A22 : Truth is the Universe that is within oneself. He who has discarded his sins can reach Truth. Man consists of a body and mind, and he who has become free of his body and mind – he who has discarded them – can reach Truth.
Q23 : Why are our memories stored instead of being eliminated?
A23 : Man is born of original sin, and depending on the person, each acquires a different mind of wants and desires. That mind is his memories. Such memories are his attachments; they are what remain in his mind. And it is only in this mind of his that his memories exist.
Q24 : Will we still be able to remember everything after we discard our memories?
A24 : Though a person may discard his stored thoughts, his memory will still remain. It is the images that will exist no more. Therefore, he will be able to recall his memories when he needs to.
Q25 : After we eliminate our memories, will we still be able to feel emotions? Will we be able to feel happiness or sorrow?
A25 : After a person discards his memories, what he feels will no longer be due to his bundle of memories. Instead, his emotions will exist but not exist; happiness and sorrow will not exist and yet exist. Such emotions of happiness and sorrow will be felt by one’s mind that is of the Universe’s point of view; it will be Truth that feels, and so he will not dwell in those emotions.
Q26 : Can illnesses be cured by cleansing the mind? If so, how?
A26 : Illnesses result from the mind of man. The body and mind are one, and so the image of his body and its behaviors are based on the mind that he has. Therefore, once he discards his mind, he will return to his perfect state that is free of sickness. This is how illnesses are cured.
Q27 : Is there a way to see the True Mind without employing the methods of eliminating oneself ? Is there no other way? If not, why?
A27 : Depending on their level of endurance, some are able to calm their minds, wherein – for a quick moment – they are able to reach the state where there is no mind. However, such incidents are rare and last only for a brief moment because they have not actually eliminated everything that is in their minds. Likewise, there are those who pray, who – for a split second – experience this absence of mind and so they think that they have received the Holy Spirit inside them. However, it is a brief encounter that does not last permanently. A person should cleanse and eliminate his mind as well as eliminate his habits so that in their absence, Truth exists inside him. This is what it means to truly die and become complete. Only the method of totally letting go of one’s self allows the original Mind to appear. It is only when each person – as an individual – no longer has his own consciousness and body that he will have the Universe, Truth, and the original Mind inside him. The true Paradise is also within man. It is in a mind that has the infinite Universe that the origin – the Universe – dwells.
Q28 : Can people use the method of finding one’s true self at other places?
A28 : One should practice Truth where Truth exists. If a person tries to find Truth where Truth does not exist, he would not be able to become Truth nor achieve it. There are even those who find it difficult to reach Truth at the place of Truth, even though they are using the right method. Therefore, there is no doubt that if a person were to try to achieve Truth where it cannot be found, he would never be able to become complete – he would never become Truth; he would only give up in the process.
Q29 : Can any other person teach Truth?
A29 : One who is born as Truth – as the complete God – can teach Truth. However, knowing the method alone would not be enough for one to teach Truth, for such a person would lack understanding and patience.
Q30 : Is finding one’s true self a religion?
A30 : Religion is the belief in the Word of Truth and following it. However, people regard religion as believing in idolized objects instead of believing the Word. Finding one’s true self is about cleansing one’s mind so that one may be absolved of one’s sins. In general, people do not know that they are sinners because they do not realize that they are committing sins. Finding one’s true self is not a religion because it is about cleansing the mind one has created through one’s faults and through one’s sinner-body. He who becomes Truth becomes religion, itself; ultimately, he becomes the infinite, living God, Himself, because he has disappeared. He who completely dies becomes like that, and can thus see God and Truth clearly, which is why he himself is Truth. He who has reached this state acknowledges God, and he is God, Himself. He becomes religion, itself, and he is able to understand the true meaning of religion.
Q31 : Would we be able to bring about change in current religions and social systems if we were to cleanse our minds?
A31 : When we cleanse our minds, we come to understand religion and acknowledge Truth because cleansing our minds allows us to become the complete Truth, itself. Also, the lives we live will abide by the flow of Nature. We will live selflessly for others rather than for ourselves; we will not differentiate between others and ourselves, just as we would not differentiate between other countries and our own; we will all become one and live without stress, precautions, thieves, and robbers. Therefore, our lives would be full of comfort and laughter since we will all live for others.
🌠 Reflect at Santa Clara Meditation
At Santa Clara Meditation, these teachings become practical understanding.
🌿 Through meditation:
- One realizes that Heaven and hell exist within
- Understands the nature of karma and original sin
- Moves toward true salvation and human completion
✨ When the mind is cleansed,
one can live in Heaven while alive, free from suffering and delusion.
