Zen Dialogues

Reflections from Japan's Buddhist Traditions

About a passage from “Shoho Genzo Zuibunki”

I was very moved by my meditation at Eiheiji Temple, and I was also given an opportunity to aim in a good direction, albeit slightly, when it came to stumbling every day. I wanted to know more about Buddhism and the Soto sect, so after returning home, I started zazen in my hometown and also...

4 responses

To my father who passed away before I was born

My father passed away from cancer 3 months before I was born. She was a very hard worker, and although she married her mother in her late 30s, she passed away at age 40. Since I was born, I grew up receiving a lot of love from my mother, grandparents, and relatives, so there was no way I...

4 responses

I don't have any friends

I want a friend I can talk to without hesitation. There are many people around me who seem like friends that I usually talk to and eat with, but I really don't have anyone around me that I enjoy spending time with. I don't have a good taste with most people, so I can't keep up with the...

4 responses

About debts from acquaintances

I'm worried about my parents' debts. My parents ran the company, I got stuck a few years ago, and my parents got into debt from various financial institutions, relatives, and acquaintances. Eventually the company went bankrupt. My father also passed away. It seems that the mother left...

4 responses

I'm dying to meet my husband

I've posted the same content several times I celebrated my husband's 3rd anniversary last year The feeling that I want to meet my husband is increasing more and there is nothing I can do I spend my time crying every day Why did you leave me alone in front of the portrait? Why didn't you...

4 responses

How to do memorial services for ancestors

Hello. I have a question about how to do memorial services for my ancestors. My paternal ancestors made money in dirty ways that people around them were envied Maternal ancestors were also pretty sloppy of the opposite sex (not at the level of being slightly sloppy, but at a level where...

4 responses

How to recover from a love affair with a childhood friend

　This is the student who made the call in question. Please lend us your wisdom. I have had a romantic relationship with my childhood friend over the past few years, with whom I have been together for close to 15 years. We both fell in love with each other and were so dependent on each other...

4 responses

I can't feel safe talking to my husband

I'm worried about my relationship with my husband. Before I got married, I thought she was a kind and safe person, but little by little after I became pregnant, my feelings of “not being safe” increased. For example, even if I say “I didn't like it” or “I was sad,” people sometimes say “I...

5 responses

About raising children in this society

I have 5 and 2 year old toddlers. It's been about 2 months since I recently returned to work, and during those 2 months, my children caught colds frequently and I was often absent from work. There is a thing, but it's hard to work while continuing to apologize. My friends are all struggling with...

5 responses

How can I get rid of the pain of flashbacks?　

　Now that I've learned the teachings of Buddhism, I think I can understand the importance of living in the present in my head. However, at an unexpected moment in everyday life, memories that you are about to forget come back to life in flashbacks and are suddenly dragged into the past....

4 responses

About religious solicitations

About 4 months ago, I was invited to join an emerging religion by a colleague at work. Meanwhile, they repeatedly refused to go to religious institutions, and even though they told them they weren't interested, they invited me over and over again. My ancestors' causal relationships have an...

4 responses

I'm afraid of happiness. I'm tired of life

Am I just a person who can't be happy anymore? I'm a 37 year old woman. I'm still in my 30s, but my father died suddenly, and my mother died by suicide. At this point, I think a normal person would be unhappy at the level where they would kill themselves, but when something good always happens...

4 responses

“Feeling emotions” and “not appreciating things”

Your questions have been answered before, and thank you very much for that section. As I study the teachings of Buddhism on a daily basis at hasunoha, there are points where I don't know what to think about, so let me ask you a question. I'm currently going to a psychiatrist due to depressive...

4 responses

The meaning of life

Please tell me the meaning of life! I'm not thinking about suicide or cutting my list, but I don't really understand the meaning of being alive. In 100 years, most of the people alive today will surely be dead. Certainly, there are sad things and fun things when you're alive. However, in this...

4 responses

I haven't been able to grow anything I want to commit suicide

My teens and twenties haven't put much effort into anything. Even if I live like this, I can't see any hope, and it seems that Buddha attained enlightenment in 34th place, but in my case, it doesn't seem like it will last that long. I'm now an empty, empty old man. I've heard over and over...

4 responses

The Middle Modern Doctrine

I recently learned that the essence of Shinto teachings is the Middle Modern Doctrine. Nakamai's mentality, “By concentrating on the present and living in the present, we can pave the way.” I understand the logic very well, but when I think about working on my daily life, I really can't...

4 responses

The feeling of myself going through my head is unfortunate

Thank you for always listening to me. We talked once about nursing care. I continued to take care of them, but my mother-in-law, who lives with me, fell and broke down → was hospitalized. After being discharged from the hospital, they are recommended to consider a facility because they are...

4 responses

Things don't last because I'm not good at

It hasn't continued since long ago. I went to elementary, middle, high school, and junior college, but I quit my club activities and didn't get a job as a nursery teacher. There are also some that I quit my job right away. I don't have any talents, and I don't have anything good at. Because...

4 responses

Is it OK to admit that I wasn't loved or wasn't loved

Admitting that I wasn't loved or loved by my parents made my suffering easier. isn't it wrong to think this way? Until now, I've thought, “If you were a parent, you should be like this to your child, but my parents don't have that at all.” There is no end to the list of things I'm satisfied...

4 responses

I'm afraid to ask monks about meat...

I will ask questions with courage. People around the world are killing target creatures and eating meat. Buddhist monks don't kill living creatures and live vegetarians, don't they? Of course, killing a living thing is called killing. I always try not to kill insects, and I gently put...

4 responses

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