ROMANTICISMThis occasion is very sacred and also veryromantic. I like a romantic atmosphere. Romantic doesn't meanonly the loving atmosphere between two people, like a man andwoman. Romantic is something that is very sacred, very noble,very poetic in the air, which we ourselves generate from withinour heart when we feel very loving, very peaceful, very kind verygentle, and we feel so good about everything, about everyone aroundus. We walk slowly, we talk gently, we think very, very noblyand poetically. That's what I call a romantic atmosphere. Todaywe have it.
I think in the modern times,we have a lot of advantages, as I told you yesterday. We haveairplanes, we have super electronic equipment, so that we cancontact each other. We have television, and we have all kindsof conveniences afforded to us so that we can be here in a veryshort time and stay together and enjoy all this comfort. Evenif we're not together, later we can enjoy the memories of thisoccasion at home through video tapes, television, audio tapes,and songs, as well as our own recording system in our brain. Butnevertheless, in the modern times, due to this high technicaldevelopment, it has somehow destroyed a little, if not a lot,of the romantic atmosphere of the old times, such as the clotheswe wear, the way we walk, the way we talk together, the way wethink, and the way we write and express our thoughts inside. It'snot as poetic and leisurely, romantic like the ancient times.That's what we miss sometimes. That's what I miss a lot of times.And on such occasions, we bring it back.
I don't know whether we'veforsaken our poetic nature, our romanticism, inherent inner beauty,or whatever we've done to ourselves, that nowadays most of thetime we think more of finances. We think more of material comfortthan the care taking of our inside beauty or even our own representationoutside of the inner beauty, such as nice clothes, walking withdignity and manners, talking with gentleness and sweetness. It'svery difficult for all of us nowadays to talk even in a sweettone, even if we want to, because everyone else talks in a harshtone quickly and loudly. Sometimes I myself feel very lost inthis world, I don't know how you feel. Not sometimes, often times,especially when I'm in a very poetic and romantic mood and I haveto deal with the people who are less romantic or not romanticat all. Then I do feel lost, or that I've lost something thatI don't know, lost sadness. I feel kind of out of this world,born in a wrong world.
I guess you feel like thatsometimes, don't you? Yes! So, why don't we all try to get thatback. Not only during our meditation, but after, before, and allthe time that we deal with people. I know its difficult even forme. You know I write poetry. Even though in the old times whenI was younger, maybe my poetry was not all that polished and perfectthe way I would have liked it to be, the way I would like it tobe now. I did not understand as much as I understand now. Butstill in my heart I'm a poet, and I like to be like poetry, likea dream, like romance.
But many times I have toface situations where my poet inside runs away from me, becauseI can't bear the crudeness of the reality outside. Then I haveto talk the way other people talk, I have to act the way otherpeople act, and so on. After that I just sit down, feel quietand sad, feel as if I've lost some part of myself, feel as ifI shouldn't have done what I have done, shouldn't have said whatI said, because it wasn't me. It wasn't the way I like myselfto be. But it's easier for you, perhaps as an individual, a nottoo famous individual, to try to get back your romantic, soft,gentle and sweet nature, and try to preserve it.
It's better that we preserveour real self, so that we like ourselves better. It doesn't matterif anyone else likes us or not. We have to like ourselves andthat is very, very important. Otherwise, you go through life miserablyand you're always on the defensive. Anything hurts you. Even thoughpeople mean well, you misunderstand. You hurt yourself and youfeel low about yourself. That's not very good. So, let's try maybefrom today to represent ourselves the way we want whenever possible.Don't let the habits of this world drag us into a different, rude,coarse kind of atmosphere in which we feel uncomfortable, in whichwe find ourselves very confined, very suffocated, very lost, andmost often times, very sad. It is of course more convenient forus a lot of times to run around fast and to talk in a very irresponsiblemanner. (Master chuckles) But whenever we can, we should try togo back to the soft side, to the romantic side, like the way wehave today. It's very nice to have a romantic atmosphere. Don'tyou think so? It feels good.
That's why people fall inlove. When we are in love we talk softly, we feel elated. Butwe can create that ourselves, too, every day; create this kindof romantic atmosphere and carry it in our pockets. Carry it aroundwith us. So when people see you, it's like they see a flower,like they see the sun, like they see the moon. And they also getinfected by the romantic atmosphere. It's difficult nowadays totune in to the poetic atmosphere of the old times. But maybe sometimeswe can try, just for a change, just to be away from it all, tobe away from the hassle feeling every day, to be away from therough atmosphere of the world. And feel ourselves again. It wouldn'tbe bad, would it? So, next time if you go on retreat, or if youcome to see me sometimes, you can put on your beautiful dress,or bring one, at least. It won't hurt to bring one. It doesn'thave to be expensive, or colorful, it can be white, can be anycolor that you like. Just when you put it on you feel soft, youfeel gentle, you feel romantic, you feel very, very poetic, feellike a fairy, an angel, feel like you're in the celestial world.That's very good.
