I went volunteering.

This is more of a report than a question, but please bear with me.
Also, please excuse any typographical errors, etc.

The other day, “I'm going to volunteer...” This is Takemaru who posted it with the title.

I went to Iwate Prefecture to volunteer. I went there in the midst of anxiety, but it was fun.
Being a remote place, I felt like I was back to my old self without worrying about my surroundings.
It was 3 weeks, but the 2 weeks until I suddenly became aware of the number of days felt like only 1 week had passed.

I really had so many memories. Let me mention a few points.

I became good friends with the artists at the place where I was staying.
Thai people taught me a Thai song called “Yakiimo” sung in proper Japanese (split bill of four... eel heavy... yaki ~ mo ~ ♪), wrote a rainbow, and took pictures with a vertical camera.
A German person showed me a picture of clay painted in a circle on paper (it was fiercely avant-garde, including the title).

I visited a temple near where I was staying, and I didn't know if it was okay to enter the graveyard without permission (please tell me in the answer if you like), but when I went to the end, there was a monument and plate-shaped graves of people whose identities were unknown due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, and we held hands together.

I finished my original volunteer early, and I decided to do another one.
In order to protect newly planted pine saplings from wind damage, etc., they are in charge of part of the process of bamboo that surrounds them.
While working, I was working while remembering “pine has no old and modern colors, bamboo has upper and lower knots,” which was taught by a monk who is Hasunoha.

There were many others, but I can't write them all, so I'll stop.
I honestly don't know what I got this time. Does it feel like only memories of having fun remain?
I have a lot of anxiety going forward, but let me ask you a question at that time.
Let me also ask other questions that came up out of curiosity. please.

Also, last time, I wrote that I was disillusioned with the chief priest of my family temple, but I didn't care about the part called disillusionment.
However, since they say they will ask questions at a later date, I would like to ask questions based on interest that were born from there at a later date.

There may be people who think it's probably silly or cheeky at the time, but I would be happy if there was a monk I could go out with.

Thank you to the monks who gave me advice before I volunteered.

4 Zen Responses

As a member living in Tohoku, I would like to thank you

　　Thank you for your hard work as a volunteer. As a member living in the disaster-stricken Tohoku region, I would like to thank you.

I feel that the speed of reconstruction projects is slightly slow in the coastal area of Iwate. I think the opening of temporary reconstruction shopping districts in Rikuzentakata and Ofunato was later than in disaster-stricken areas in Miyagi. The coastal area of Iwate is not very accessible from bullet trains or expressways, so I have heard that it is difficult for volunteers to gather no matter what. I would like to thank you for volunteering under such circumstances.

Thank you for visiting the monument commemorating those who died in the Great Earthquake at the graveyard of a temple in Rikuzentakata. Even if you are a complete stranger, I feel grateful that you can pray for the souls of those who died in the earthquake and pray for the peace of the bereaved families.

There are the following words in Kaigakikai, which is sung during a memorial service called sejikie (sejikie sect, segakikai).

Zonsha Fukuraku Jubukyuzen (Sonsha Furaju Bukyu)
May all living things be happy
Retiring of the dead and safe living (it seems like they're already shariku-san)
May those who have died leave their suffering and be at peace

I think they shared their hands at the monument with this kind of feeling. I hope you will continue to offer such prayers in the future.

Welcome home

It feels familiar and familiar when I write something like that, but I'm so forgiving.
Actually, I also spent a week at the end of the year alone away from my home ground. I had many encounters, and I felt the cultural differences firsthand. After all, “What have you gained?” It's not very clear, but I feel like it's going to turn into flesh and blood and change my perspective in some way.
That was a great feeling, volunteering. welcome home.

I also want to do what I can.

　My name is Kameyama Junshi from Iwate Prefecture. Thank you very much for participating in volunteer activities in Rikuzentakata City. I also participated in volunteering to remove the rubble that rushed into private houses in Otsuchi in the same Iwate prefecture immediately after the earthquake. Also, on the day exactly one year after the earthquake, I visited Rikuzentakata while going around the neighboring city of Ofunato. Ofunato is the place where the high school I was newly hired was located, and I often visited Rikuzentakata at the time. Whether it's Ofunato or Rikuzentakata, just knowing the scenery before the earthquake brought a sense of sadness along with my memories of that time.
Here's one incident from volunteering in Otsuchi. That is, while volunteering, I got my foot taken by the muddy ground and sprained my right thumb. I was the only volunteer participant at the time who had a sprain, so to be honest, “Why am I the only one experiencing this.” That's what I thought. However, when I thought about it, I thought that everyone affected by the recent earthquake thought, “Why are we...”
And one more thing, Mayor Toba of Rikuzentakata City said, “Disaster victims are victims 24 hours a day.” Let me introduce the word. Many people are visiting disaster-stricken areas for volunteer activities. There are people who only worked for a few hours, like my activities in Otsuchi, and there are also people who volunteered for several days. Also, during volunteer activities, people are forced to live with disabilities in the same way as those affected by the disaster. (Currently, this is not the case, but immediately after the disaster, people lived in a state where electricity and water were not connected.) However, once our volunteer activities are over, we are again waiting for a life without inconvenience. On the other hand, those affected by the disaster will be disaster victims 24 hours a day, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
When I felt the thoughts of the victims of the disaster, “Why are we...” through volunteering, and when I came into contact with the words of the mayor of Toba City, I asked myself what I should use to live in such a situation. And the answer was, “Isn't that religion?” That was it. Hasunoha is also a site born in connection with the recent earthquake.
Recovery is also halfway through. I would like to continue to do what I can.
Once again, I would like to thank you for participating in volunteer activities.

I'm glad you came home safely

The best part about volunteering must not have been volunteering or learning about volunteering.
What I learned there, encounters with people are a treasure and a source of strength.
I wish you all the best in the future.

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