The Three Stages of Life

The Law of the Universe

When the time comes, we must all end our life in our mother’s womb and begin our life on earth. Regardless of whether we desire it or not, the law of the universe operates this way. Then a new, vast and boundless world unfolds before us, one which we had never dreamed of or imagined. Our life in water ends and our life on earth begins. A span of ten months in the womb transitions into a span of one hundred years of life on earth. People lead diverse lives and go through changes as they prepare for the spirit world, the world we go to after we die. That is why I tell you not to worry about dying. You are simply moving to a better place.

—Sun Myung Moon [Cheon Seong Gyeong, Book 7, Chapter 1, Section 1 The Three Stages of Life] pp. 677-681.

Additional Sun Myung Moon Quotes

Just as we never imagined life in the world during our time in the womb, while we are living in the flesh we cannot imagine the very different, eternal and infinite world that is waiting for us. It is not a world of despair. Our life of one hundred years in this limited earthly realm transitions into life in the eternal realm transcendent of time and space. While living in the womb, we are supplied with nutrients from our mother through the umbilical cord, and our earthly life depends on the three basic elements of the universe–water, air and light–as well as nutritive elements. Once we enter the spirit world, however, we no longer need material nutrients; we live breathing love for all eternity. In the eternal world, we eat if we want to and we do not eat if we would rather not. No matter who we are, we live our life in three stages: ten months in water, one hundred years on earth, and eternity in the spirit world.

—Sun Myung Moon [Cheon Seong Gyeong, Book 7, Chapter 1, Section 1 The Three Stages of Life] pp. 677-681.

“Someday I too, will die. When we are young, we don’t think much about death. But we become increasingly serious about death as we grow older. This is because death is a gate through which we are inevitably destined to pass. But what happens to us after we die? Do you know why I am talking about death? I talk about death in order to teach the meaning of life. Who really knows the value of life? It is not the person who is going all out to preserve his life. The only person who really knows about life is the one who goes into the valley of death. He confirms the meaning of life as he desperately cries out to Heaven at the crossroads of life and death. Why do people fear death? It is because they do not know the purpose for which we are born.
Those who do not know why we are born do not know why we die. Therefore the first questions philosophers ask are “What is life? Why are we born?” If we think about it, we realize that when we die we are reborn into the midst of God’s love. But in the human world, people cry out, “Oh no, I’m going to die! What am I to do?” They make a big fuss. Do you think that God laughs, “Ho ho ho!” when we die? Or do you think God cries out, “Oh no!” and is overwhelmed with sorrow? The truth is, He is happy. This is because the moment of the physical body’s death is the moment we experience the joy of leaving the finite realm of love in order enter the infinite realm of love. It is the moment of our second birth. Then is God happier on the day we are born into the physical world, or at that moment we leave our physical body behind? At that moment, we are born a second time into the realm of the infinite expansion of love. We become His new children through death. Of course, God is happier at the second birth. I am telling you this because you need to know that you cannot have a relationship with God unless you are released from the fear of death.”

—Sun Myung Moon [Understanding Life and Death (Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, “Realizing the Interfaith Ideal: Action Beyond Dialogue,” Founder’s Address, Washington, DC – December 18, 1998].