What is Hoon Dok Hae anyway?
By Elijah Maddox
How often do I connect with God in my day-to-day life?
This question can be confronting. Going to church is an essential part of a life of faith, but without regular spiritual stimulants, devout believers can find themselves living through long stretches with little connection to their faith. Life is full of challenges, changes, and uncertainties. Even for the most prayerful, life has a nasty habit of wearing our faith down over time.
Daily devotion
This is why Father Moon was so adamant with Unificationists about the Hoon Dok Hae (pronounced hoon-dohk-heh) tradition. Hoon Dok Hae is the daily practice of studying scripture, either independently or with your spouse, family, or community. It serves as both a spiritual study and an act of faith.
“The reason I gave a direction to do Hoon Dok Hae starting at 5:00 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m. is to devote ourselves to heaven more,” shared Father Moon during a speech. “Unificationists have to practice it to open up the way that human beings should go. God is continuously devoting Himself day and night. Then, can we only think about our food and physical life?”
Prioritize it in your day
This tradition is supposed to be observed early in the morning before the challenges and distractions of the day can consume our attention and potentially disconnect us from our spiritual habits. By prioritizing God at the beginning of each day, it acts as a spiritual anchor. Father Moon’s point was clear; by practicing this intentional habit of daily scripture study, we have a chance not only to learn but to return even a small measure of the devotion and love that we receive every day. And in the process, we can find our own spiritual lives revitalized.
Treasures of wisdom
Studying scripture can have an enormous benefit on all aspects of our lives. In a letter to a friend, St. Thomas Aquinas - a venerated Catholic teacher - advised that we should study with the intention of storing away the treasures of wisdom. He wrote, “Those things that you read and hear, make sure that you understand them. Make yourself certain about doubtful matters, and make it your business to shelve in the bookcase of your mind whatever you can, as if desiring to fill a vase.” By studying in this way, a person may grow wiser, and their carefully stocked mental bookshelf of wisdom may come to their aid in times of need.
Make it your own
The beautiful thing about Hoon Dok Hae is that it is entirely up to each one of us as to how we would like to connect to God and what areas we would like to study. Consider what areas in your life could use some extra wisdom.
Prayer
Forgiveness
Faith
Perseverance
Vision
Love
Hoon Dok Hae can sometimes feel mundane, so pick a topic that sparks some curiosity. Creating a Divine Principle study plan is a great place to start. It can also be nice to study biblical commentaries, speeches and sermons of religious leaders, or other collections of wisdom. Godible is a great source of Father and Mother Moons’ words, helpfully broken down into bite sized chunks.
Give yourself grace
While striving for the highest ideals in our life of faith, it’s also necessary to give ourselves some grace. Work, school, family, and all sorts of other obligations will inevitably get in the way. That’s okay! As long as you still make intentional time for it, Hoon Dok Hae can be an incredible experience even in small doses. If you can’t do it at 5:00 a.m., make time before you go to work, or study at night instead. The goal is consistency.
If you seek wisdom, a deeper understanding of God's perspective on the world, and a stronger connection to God, then Hoon Dok Hae is a tradition you can't afford to overlook. It can be helpful to set the atmosphere for your study. Find a comfortable place to sit, light a candle, say a prayer on your own or with your group, and make it a sacred and enjoyable experience. In time, you will find that God will speak to you quietly and carefully through the words on the page. If you are patient and diligent with it, Hoon Dok Hae can become a habit you can’t live without.