The newly born cannot recognize his parents. But the baby can respond to his parents with smiles. Although the baby doesn't recognize anything, the mother is just happy with the response. A psychological cord is being established through which parental love is being passed to the baby.

Everybody, have you seen any baby embarrassed by his accident? The baby feels no embarrassment with his accident and just smiles at his mother who has to clean up the mess. Isn't that sweet? (laughter) Love makes this all possible. Only love does it, do you understand? Love sees nothing ugly or unsightly, and can conquer everything.

Now, everybody, we started out with infancy. It's the time of pride. Wouldn't you feel proud of the baby that just emerged from the womb? Yes, you would be proud, even of the baby's first cry. The proudest is the mother who has given birth to the baby. Right? The baby kicks, the baby cries, that's all the more reason to be proud of your baby. You are proud of the baby even if the baby can't talk. Just proud.

The mother says to the baby, "Okay, my child, grow up, grow up strong" as she exhorts her baby. Exhorting, how? Even if a mother is dog-tired from her low-paying factory job and has to clean up the baby's mess, she is still proud. The baby is a happy baby if he has a proud mother. Don't you agree? [We do] Everything, all things... even the small insects are proud. Even the inorganic things. All things in the universe are like that. They are all proud.

1) Childhood

Children desire to go back to the comfort of their parents. All of humanity desires this as its basic makeup.

There are stages in child-rearing. The tender, precious years are followed by crawling, then walking. Then learning to use the spoon. Then the child recognizes approvals and disapprovals from his mother. Sometimes our baby Kook Jin, when he was about one, would not come to me when coaxed. Then he would break into a big smile when he recognized that I was pouting. That's when I knew he was really clever. Children can tell your moods and react to them appropriately.

All of you ought to watch children grow to be school age. They soil diapers, then crawl, then walk, still struggling and stumbling, then fight with their siblings, crying and screaming. That's education. That's growing up.

Then they learn to talk. When they first learn to say "Daddy," they don't know what that means. They don't know what they are saying when they say "Daddy." They keep saying it, eventually realizing what that means by habit. It's amazing to watch them learn to speak, learning things like abstract nouns. It would take an encyclopedia to explain how it takes place but they just learn it.

Babies need only parents. Why would they need anything else? Would they need money? Power? Self concept? Only the mother's breast. That's all...Nothing else. All I care about is the mother's breast. All my education is my mom and dad. The first thing we learn is speech. The first speech we learn is to say "Momma." First Momma and then Dadda. That's one's first property. That's how we become one with our parents, through this property connection. All begins here. That's why nothing else can be acceptable.

Today's children grow up differently from yesterday's. Things change. Things change, including speech patterns. Children like toys that spin, move, go above and below quickly. They get excited. Get very excited. You know, when they get excited their eyes, minds and spirits all become one with the body. The things children play with, something as fast as a train--what do you call it? Rollerblades? Is that what they are? You know, the ones that slide up the wall and down the cliff-they seem to like those quite a bit, don't they? [They do] The principle is the same.

Children today seem to like insects, baby monkeys, small fish, and the like. Why? They like to watch them grow, learn to love them, and like the idea.

You must be as a baby. Babies want nothing but their mothers. There are no other desires. They think only about their mothers. Their whole life, whole sensors, whole cognitive system are centered around their mothers. It's the mother at all times, before and after nursing, all the time. That's why you must be as a baby. That's how you can sleep as if you are in the arms of your mother and father even when sleeping alone. That's how it is.