Zen Dialogues

Reflections from Japan's Buddhist Traditions

What is the goal if we can deal with death

Since I was little, I have taken a negative view that life is finite, and I have become obsessed with living. I feel that following the teachings of Buddhism stabilizes this kind of mind. However, on the other hand, it also makes me think “it's futile to have no choice but to accept...

4 responses

Presence at work

I work as a part-time cook at a nursery school. I'm studying to get my chef's license. You are currently ineligible. It's so empty because of the nursery teacher's attitude towards me (it's as if I don't exist nearby, I can't help but say it to this person). I will go out of my way to communicate...

4 responses

I don't have the confidence to live...

I'm a second-year high school student attending a correspondence high school. There are so many social nonconformists that I don't want to live anymore. However, I have absolutely no intention of committing suicide. But I want to die, and I wish I could die. It always makes me...

4 responses

I want to become a monk, but I want to aim for another job

I am a person who has recently been blessed with a blessed law and is thinking about becoming a monk. Living in Buddhism is not only good for me, but I think spreading it to the world has great significance. Reading the teachings, I was deeply moved that this is a teaching that should be spread....

4 responses

Why do you think that?

I don't have a mother. So grandma is doing the housework for me. I know very well that doing housework is difficult. That's why I have to help them. But even if Grandma helps, she says “don't help me” and “don't do anything” when there's even the slightest thing she doesn't...

4 responses

How to deal with multiple denominations

This is my first time asking a question. It's about mantras and sutras from different denominations. My father's parents' house was of the Shingon sect, and my mother's parents' house was of the Yutsunenbutsu sect. My paternal grandfather, who cared about me when I was very weak when I was...

5 responses

I don't know how far I should tolerate my husband

It's been 2 years since I got married, and I think I promoted naturalization with my husband because of my age in order to have children. The reason I don't know how much I should tolerate my husband is because our feelings of being together are fluctuating. I was told about my debts before...

5 responses

sexually harassing old man

I was quickly sexually harassed at the company I worked for in my first year as a new graduate. I was invited to eat alone by someone in a superior position. I declined, but even so, they were scared and went away, and an approach ban was issued due to various things. It's been a job I've...

5 responses

I don't feel motivated

People will die one day. Everything, not limited to people, will come to an end someday. When I think about it, nothing lasts forever in this world, and it makes me think that there isn't much meaning in what a small being like me did. Probably because of that, no matter what I do, I don't...

5 responses

sense of emptiness

There are many things that I think will come true if I read this site carefully, and one more question has arisen, so I would like to ask you a question. Can monks suddenly find their daily work empty? It may be a bit of a complicated question, but if you ever feel like that, I'm curious about...

4 responses

In the midst of a difficult life.

Hello. I'm a junior high school graduate in my 20s and I'm unemployed with no qualifications. I live with my mother in public housing. My mother and I are mentally disabled and both receive disability pensions. My grandmother passed away 3 years ago. My grandmother has been bullied the...

4 responses

Religion and dangerous goods are similar. Where are you going, religion?

　I'm always indebted to you. The other day, here, “At the temple, to me I had a discussion about “The Scary Wife Who Just Says This and That.” The continuation of it It's going to be like this, but recently, I've been thinking about it. “Religion and dangerous goods are similar” Observing...

4 responses

I want you to tell me how to get to the Pure Land of Paradise.

I want you to tell me how to get to the Pure Land of Paradise. Please give me a specific method.

4 responses

From 3 years ago

I ended up making a phone call to the toll-free cram school call center. I'm still traumatized by being bullied at the cram school. Even though it's a topic that should be solved at a cram school How do I stop calling?

4 responses

I'm having trouble replying to friends who are too negative

I would like to ask you a question for the first time. I have a few friends who are former colleagues and occasionally eat meals even after they quit their jobs. Among them, I have a friend who was very cheerful and friendly when we actually met, but the exchange of emails and phone calls...

4 responses

Why was Nembutsu chosen

I have a question about Shomyo Nembutsu, so I'd like to hear your thoughts. Honen Shonin and Shinran Shonin were taught that nenbutsu is the only way for ordinary people to be saved. It seems that Onikata, and Honen Shonin in particular, was known as a school monk who read ten thousand volumes...

4 responses

How to get rid of anger at my mother-in-law...

I married my husband 4 years ago, and since the marriage was decided, my dislike for my mother-in-law has grown steadily and I have been suffering. The very first one was when my dad died. I lost my beloved father when I was a teenager. I was so depressed when I died so fast. At that time, I...

4 responses

Should we lose our genes and individuals?

Genes determine health, appearance, and various abilities. It almost affects life, and whether life is fun or not is determined by genetics. Well, I'm about to finish my early 20s. People around me will get married, and in a few years they will have children and become dads. I was...

4 responses

What is “tolerance”

I have a short temper. I immediately notice others' faults and failures, and I feel a bit irritated by them. Also, on the other hand, I'm concerned about other people's eyes, and when people say I don't like it, it drags on forever. I know that disgust makes the other person uncomfortable,...

4 responses

It's tough to work hard

I've been lazy since I was a kid. Even now, when compared to people around me, the speed and quality of work are completely poor, and I often fall into self-loathing. The less I work, the more the burden on others increases. I don't want to bother you, so I don't think it's good to be lazy. I...

4 responses

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