Zen Dialogues

Reflections from Japan's Buddhist Traditions

About cremation

I lost my grandmother when I was 13 and I was cremated. The scene where my grandmother was cremated at that time is still traumatic in my heart even now, more than 20 years later. I thought it was really cruel to burn people when I saw my grandmother turned to bones. Also, I can't help but be...

6 responses

I don't feel that work is fun

I've been working at my new job for a month, and it's depressing to go to work every day. Since I have qualifications, I went in to see if it would be different from my previous job, but I was so confused by the amount of work and the number of customers, my stomach was tingling and throwing up...

6 responses

Is it a punishment for not having children?

I remarried (to each other) my husband who is 24 years older than 10 years ago. I don't have children, but my husband has grown children, one boy and two girls. A long-awaited heir was born to the eldest son and his wife this year, and just when I thought it was good that we had been praying...

6 responses

A life of bankruptcy and restructuring

Nice to meet you. This is my 51-year-old father. The company I worked for 20 years went bankrupt, and the next company was also restructuring due to the Lehman shock Also, the next company was restructured due to business contraction. I am currently living with unemployment insurance. My wife...

6 responses

About the death of a friend

A friend I met at the school I attended about 20 years ago passed away at the young age of 18. The cause of death remains unknown. My friend and I are 3 years apart, and we were together all the time back then. Is it called wavelength? Even if we didn't talk, I felt happy just having a friend...

6 responses

Please tell me some tips for speaking in public

I suddenly thought about it when I was listening to monks at memorial services, etc., but I feel that there are many people who can speak in public in a way that is calm and slow in front of a large number of people, and has a tone that resonates with the heart, or rather a memorable way of...

6 responses

Every day of regret

I'm sorry for all the writing. Every day, I am tormented by regret, loss, and grief. I've been asked to write it many times in my previous question, but I lost my mother in October last year, and although I'm at that age, I just thought there was still a long way to go. My father passed away...

6 responses

Daughter's death, and then

I'm indebted to you. It's been 3 months since my daughter passed away. Since the tomb has been built, it is possible to bury it, but it's painful to feel that it makes me really realize it because it's close. Even though I can stay cheerful, I quickly revive and feel unbearably lonely and...

6 responses

Work in a company

I'm a 50-year-old office worker. I have a spouse and no children. I changed jobs at the end of last year. It was a small company, and the president evaluated my career, and I changed jobs. I am currently being offered the position of business manager. In my own way, I intend to make an...

6 responses

What is the way of life in the AI era?

Currently, there are remarkable developments in AI such as ChatGPT. It is no exaggeration to say that AI has already surpassed humans in terms of knowledge and logical thinking ability. (In fact, rather than asking questions or consulting with people, it is better to ask questions and consult...

7 responses

About salvation and peace of mind

Due to her mother's negligence, she was exposed to boiling water 2 months after birth and suffered burns all over her body, including her face. Because of that, they were looked at by others, pointed fingers at each other, taunted by each other, bullied for 9 years in elementary and middle...

7 responses

monk

Regardless of making money, People who are poor, but they are monks for the world and people are really like people. But shouldn't we just work normally and earn more? Or, after all, are you doing it because you want to work as a monk? Is it like a hobby?

7 responses

How to enlighten?

What should I do to become enlightened? Do zazen? Do you read a lot of Buddhist books? Please tell me what to do to become enlightened.

7 responses

About the wife belt

Good evening. I've seen similar questions elsewhere, but let me ask them again. I'm not good at summarizing stories, so please bear with me. To an overseas monk I met about a week ago “Why do Japanese monks get married” I was asked the question. I couldn't answer it at all with my...

7 responses

Doesn't Amida Nyorai actually exist?

I love Amida Nyorai. I recite nembutsu every day as a thank you for being saved. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of questions and answers at Hasunoha. However, the other day, in Hasunoha, a monk of the Shinshu sect responded to people who “don't believe that there is a Pure Land of...

7 responses

Boy, the world is tough

I was originally supposed to be on the respondent's side as an apprentice. He is a third-class bad boy who has become the chief priest due to hereditary succession and can't face the parishioners. After graduating from a Buddhist university, I came into this world and thought ・Aren't...

7 responses

After 8 days, I committed suicide. That's enough

As the title says, I'll kill myself in 8 days. I have no remorse for my past actions, and even now I am causing harm to many people. For me like this, I don't think lightning will strike me soon as a divine punishment or Buddha punishment, but I can't let them die. Actually, I have...

7 responses

More than salvation

I want words to die in peace rather than salvation

7 responses

Even if I try, I can't get her.

How much money, time, and effort has been spent until now, but it all ended in vain. No matter how hard you try, your opponent won't choose you. I don't know what to do anymore. Even if I consulted with hairdressers, romance technique dealers, and a lot of generative AI, everything didn't...

7 responses

What is an ideal society for monks

It doesn't matter if it's not realistic, so please let us know your opinions on “the ultimate state and structure this world should be in” that monks think.

7 responses

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