Why do people become anxious

Nice to meet you, Rika.

People get anxious when they have something to worry about.
But that happens because you think ahead, and it's probably not what's happening now.

The more people brace themselves for what lies ahead, the bigger and bigger the things that aren't there yet expand.

It has long been said that “giving birth is easier than worrying.”

Smarter people think and act with their heads.
Even if you imagine something that isn't here yet, it won't necessarily become reality, and just like the “law of attraction,” anxiety invites reality in anxiety.

This is because they unknowingly express the imaginations in their heads in their actions and attitudes that make them anxious.

Thinking only about what is happening now is a shortcut to not being anxious.
Just focus on what's right in front of you.

I read the question and answer
However, it is said that there is anxiety, but it is not written what it is.
If it's vague anxiety, why don't you start by searching for where that anxiety comes from?
There is a saying give up, but it has the meaning of clarifying everything.
Please try to find the source of your anxiety.
This is like a doctor looking for a disease. Once you know the cause, you can deal with it, but while it's vague, there are countless responses, and that alone is depressing.
There must already be an answer in Rika's mind about what to do about the source of anxiety.
Please look for it carefully.
If you know the source of your anxiety, please let me know if you don't mind.
At that time, let's search together to figure out what to do

I also have a tendency to be terribly anxious, and my stomach hurts. It's much better now, but when I was a student, I had no homework or exams, and even when I had no obligations or goals, I felt impatient that I was being chased by something. At the time, I put that anxiety over my studies and part-time jobs. But no matter how hard I tried, my unknown anxiety remained uneasy.
Eventually, I studied Buddhism, and then began living in an ascetic dojo. My anxiety didn't go away just because I had an ascetic lifestyle. Rather, the early stages of ascetic practice were pushed all the way to the bottom, both mentally and physically, so I always felt bleak.
But I noticed it when I was in the middle of training. (huh? Speaking of which, the Buddha who appears in the sutras meets Mara all the time even after realizing it... isn't it a regular pattern like Mito Komon's seal to meet Mara, read a poem, and let them disperse... isn't Mara a metaphor for distress? that's no good!
... no, that's wrong. The enlightened Buddha also had pain and anxiety. Enlightenment is different from being insensitive as a person. (Even the Buddha was uneasy, so this is natural!) I felt a lot easier after that.

There is something like this in the words of the Zen monk Yoshihiro from the Edo period
> When you meet a disaster, you meet a disaster well; when you die, you die well; in fact, this is the Myōhō to avoid disaster
If you make an effort to overcome your anxiety, it won't be easier, but by forgiving your uneasy self, you will surely be able to feel easier.

People worry about the future and the past, and the more they think about it, there's nothing good about going around in a daunting manner.

When you're also copying the sutras, you may be able to just type in the sutras without thinking about anything. The important thing is, even when you're not copying the sutras, you just focus on what's in front of you, just like when you're copying the sutras. Otherwise, there is no point in copying sutras.

If you just calm your mind, that will be over in an instant. Just work hard on what's right in front of you. You won't have to think about anything. The reality is right in front of us at that moment.

Prescriptions for not suffering
You seem to be worried about your future anxiety, but is it actually coming right in front of you right now? Is that actually the case?
The state of mind where you draw things in your head that haven't come yet and mix them up with reality is a state of worry for you.
If you lament after it actually happened, it's toxic to yourself to lament from within.
・Oh, what should I do if an earthquake occurs.
・Oh, what should I do if I can't pay my loan.
・Oh, what should I do when I get sick.
In the previous question, I was worried about loans, but of course, if you are prepared, there is no need to worry, and if you have a lot of yen, it's fine.
So we have no choice but to do the best we can.
However, what you should look at yourself the most in order not to suffer
First, they have ruined what is right in front of them by imagining, guessing, and delusional things themselves that ants wouldn't do.
Please learn the character for “.”
Fear, cowardice, speculation...
I'm afraid of that.
Fear and anxiety are born from ignorance. That's because it's called Wakaraon.
Why don't you understand? That's because that wasn't the time.
But you'll understand that you won't know until that time comes. (^<^)
Anxiety, fear, and worst-case situations are created by imagination within one's own mind.
Then don't be afraid, just be clear.
Calculate how much more you actually need, and if you have to work, work this month as well.
It's better to take action than worry about it.
No matter how many tens of thousands of hours you think about your thoughts, you can't even move a single strand of hair.
Right now, prepare paper, pen, and calculator, clarify how much is enough each month after retirement, and make it clear what exactly you should do.

Dear Rika

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

Well, actually, “anxiety” is the essence and nature of this world.

Conversely, “stability” is something that is currently impossible in this world.

The reason for this is that the “Big Bang,” which is the beginning of this universe, began with “instability” (imbalance of collisions between opposing superelementary particles).

Because of that instability and imbalance, various situations developed even after that, and everything on Earth and in space is now able to exist like this.

In other words, if we weren't “unstable” or “unbalanced,” it means we wouldn't have known we existed.

In terms of Buddhism, this is explained as “impermanence,” “immortality,” “emptiness,” or “luck,” but putting aside difficult things for now, anyway, it is precisely because it is “unstable,” that the flow of “cause and effect” and “causality” of cause, condition, and effect is also established.

Going back to the story a bit, the reason our minds become “anxious” is, in short, due to not understanding the essence or nature of this world, and we seek “stability” no matter what, and we desire “stability.”

If you replace this “stability” with Buddhist terms, it becomes “something that never changes forever” or “something that exists independently” as “substance” or “self-identity,” etc., but if there is such a thing as “stability,” it is an inorganic world where nothing changes, a world that doesn't move where everything has stopped forever, or a world that is nothing, and how can Rika think of such a world in reverse I wonder...

However, it is an imaginary world where such a world is impossible, and in the real world, “instability” is essential, and after first acknowledging it, on the contrary, they understand that it is something that changes in various ways and can be made to change, and in terms of Buddhism, I want to follow a better flow due to better causal relationships, and eventually move towards the results of Satoru and Nirvana.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho