Earth
We Are All Citizens of the Earth
Ilchi Lee suggests that we all reconnect to the earth as a source of hope in the world. The earth is our one common value, and it can be the means of uniting humanity. No matter how different we look or how strange one culture may seem to another, all rely completely on the earth. We speak sometimes of being Americans or Koreans or Brazilians or Africans, but in reality, we are all really Earth Citizens.
Having the earth as the highest common value among all humans will override our loyalties and self-identification with our race, nation, or religion. We need to consider ourselves as Earth Citizens first in order to work together to manage the earth's resources.
Presently, our dominant cultures do not support this common value because they are largely based on competition for and overconsumption of natural resources, rather than peaceful, sustainable living and a humble awareness that we are dependent upon the earth. The current values result in a disconnection from nature, and subsequently from each other.
The Earth Citizen culture that will result from adopting the earth as a common value can take many different forms, but basic respect for the earth and all of humanity must remain at its core. It will naturally inspire people to recover their Hong Ik spirit and express their innate human desire to widely benefit all humankind, rather than live only for the desires of the individual self.
We Are All Stewards of the Earth
To create a new culture based on appreciation for the earth, we need a definite paradigm shift from human-centered to earth-centered management, what Ilchi Lee terms Earth Management. This shift will produce a more heart- and spirit-centered culture.
To generate this shift, we must redefine our professional and cultural lives to focus on the concept of Earth Management by finding ways to fulfill material needs while also honoring the earth and our common humanity.
Though this transition will take time, it's the primary responsibility of all Earth Citizens to work consistently and diligently toward this goal. Earth Management involves speaking up and acting for the highest potential of the human spirit. It means having the courage to get out of the rut of habitual thoughts and behaviors, and to encourage others to do the same. By focusing on our common humanity and the earth itself, we can eventually create a world that is truly healthy, happy, and peaceful.
Earth Management also emphasizes the important roles that humanity plays in relationship to the earth. We should have the most humble mind as the earth's children, but we should also demonstrate infinite responsibility as her guardians and protectors, and help her recover her natural harmony and beauty.
Mago, Our Mother Earth
Rooted in ancient East Asian tradition, Mago (麻姑) is a name for Mother Earth. Ma means "mother" and go means "eminent and ancient origin." Mago is similar in significance to Gaia in Western culture. Mago figures in the Budoji (符都誌), a text written by Jesang Park, a famous scholar of the ancient Korean Shilla Dynasty (363-418 BC). According to this text, Mago is the mother and originator of all life. She established Mago Castle, an ideal environment where humans maintained peace and harmony between one another and with nature. As in most ancient creation stories, humanity fell from this ideal through its own actions, and has dreamed of returning ever since. Mago is a mythological, universal symbol of this longing that recurs across ancient cultures.
Although many people realize the earth's importance, they may think of her merely as a large material object. Ilchi Lee suggests that we see the earth as a living entity. With her unique maternal energy, she is capable of communicating with and nurturing the innumerable forms of life.
Ilchi Lee talks and writes about Mago because feeling and communicating with the earth through Mago will help people go beyond intellectual knowledge about the earth's condition, inspire passionate concern about it, and translate knowledge into action.