1. What Kind of Period is Adolescence?

What kind of time is adolescence? It is the time when your mind feels like getting out and about. The mind has matured only to a certain degree, so it cannot stay upright but sways like a reed or a bamboo stick. It wants to get out of the body, while the body wants to find the mind. This kind of time is adolescence. Before adolescence, mind and body were traveling in parallel, but they come together during adolescence. The mind wants to move forward, to relate and to dominate the outside world, whereas the body wants to follow the mind. That's how it is. (140-20)

Everyone here, why do you think adolescence is a good time? Because it is a precious time for unmarried virgins, men and women. What do you think, those here who are married? Adolescence is the most precious time. Married ladies here, was it that way for you? You cannot but admit it.

Adolescence is the time you send waves of signals, to a distance, and you want to relate with things far in the distance. Do you understand? The more you have give and take, the more you feel joy.

It is the time you may feel that, "I am the best." When you watch a marathon, you may feel that you are like the first runner crossing the finish line, with style. "I came first in the race." You would like be a participant in whatever sport you see. This is adolescence.

At this time, no one denies that he is an author or a poet. All adolescents, for reasons unknown to them, are restless. They hum, they sing with their nose, ears, eyes, mouth, arms and their body. This is why they run around. Their eyes are restless--their ears, mouth, hands and every other part of them--because they wish to relate with others.

It is the only time in your life that you have this kind of heart. It would be good to have this kind of heart all our life, but somehow it goes away as we get older, which is a bit of a problem. Is it good to have a fruitful time like adolescence in our life? This is the question. This age is what you experience in spirit world, which is the world of God's love. Because of that, when you are in spirit world, you live with features similar to adolescence. Do you feel good? There, your face always looks youthful.

During adolescence, if in the autumn you happened to catch the moment that a persimmon leaf falls off its branch, "snap!" at a gust of wind, after it had been swaying in the breeze, you will laugh, hee, hee, hee! People in general may be feeling sentimental, but not you. If you are serious in those moments, doesn't it seem rather depressing? You'll laugh as the last leaf falls off. \If we compare the situation to human life, even if the only other person surviving after the passing of many people were dying, an adolescent would laugh. As the fallen leaf is being blown about by the wind, he still laughs, hee, hee, hee! In such a way, they want to adapt to everything and take dominion over it. This is the time of adolescence.

When is the time you want to adapt and have dominion over everything in your life? At this time, emotions of different natures, which were bestowed on you from your ancestors, merge and are released as one. You not only want to give out, you also want to receive. Adolescence is like this, and it is good. (50-268)

Adolescence is the time when your mind is opening to love all creation of the external world. (136-32)