How to accept the sacrifices caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake

I read it.
Why did the people who died in earthquakes such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and those who died in war damage in Israel, Gaza, etc. have to die in such an unreasonable way? You're thinking that, aren't you? I don't know the details about you, but I feel like I understand very well what you think. I accept your thoughts wholeheartedly.
I am a Jodo sect monk.
As you said, many earthquakes, war disasters, and epidemics have occurred from a long time ago until now, and innocent people have died. There are an endless number of them. I honestly don't know why he had to die.

However, when they died like that, they did not die due to their own actions; they died in the midst of various encounters. They may die due to timing, relationships, or encounters at that time.
Not only due to disasters, but even when people die due to an incident or accident, they may die depending on the momentary timing. So in such cases, it's not that person's fault. It's called death out of work.

There is a strange collision between things, something we cannot fathom.
Losing a loved one due to an earthquake, war damage, accident, or incident is very sad and painful, and it's not easy to divide. No matter how much you regret it, there are things you can't fully regret or divide.

Even though it seems so painful and unreasonable, the Buddha always saves all those who have passed away.
The Buddha saved all those who died due to war disasters, earthquakes, epidemics, starvation, accidents, and incidents equally without hesitation and led them to the Buddha's pure land.
Those who have passed away are welcomed by close people and ancestors who died earlier under the Buddha, and they are saved from any hesitation, suffering, or pain, and can attain Buddhism with peace of mind without any worries.

I am grateful for the life and life you have been given, and I sincerely pray that you will be able to live through every day to the fullest.
And when you have reached the end of your life, be sure that the Buddha, Bodhisattva, or God will gently guide you, and sincerely pray to the Buddha, gods, and ancestors so that your ancestors will gently welcome you and reunite. Shishin Gassho Nanmu Amida Buddha

　Good evening. Nice to meet you. From time to time, I see stories about “people who don't do anything wrong get in a bad situation, and people who do bad things make money.”

So what is a “bad person”?
① Is it against the law? Of course, there's a light weight there.
② So what about “I told a lie even though it wasn't illegal”?
③ I didn't feel like it, but I hurt someone else, how about?
④ How about eating chicken? It's taking lives, isn't it?

Secondly, what evil did we do? Let's take a look back.
① depends on the person, but to be honest, I think everyone has an idea of ② to ④. I have ①②③④.

But I didn't die in the earthquake, and so far I haven't been hit by an air strike.
“If you do bad things, you'll get bad results. “If it's not bad, you shouldn't run into a bad situation” is probably the “unreasonable world” you think.
Did those who died in the earthquake “all do nothing wrong”? You can't do that all at once. There are deaths that seem unreasonable, and there are also deaths that don't seem that way. We cannot see through the web of cause and effect.

OK, so what exactly is happening?
Earthquakes are caused by the Earth's mechanisms. Wars are caused by failures in politics and diplomacy. “What happens” itself has its own logic. Also, when an earthquake or war occurs, everyone gets involved. That's because they're there. That's neither a bad thing nor a good thing.

It's time for me to state my conclusion.
The power of nature far surpasses humans. The power of politics surpasses one individual. In front of that, “I haven't done anything wrong!” The earthquake didn't stop even if I shouted. In the first place, “I didn't do anything wrong” was suspicious.
that's why. There are no earthquakes here and now. There is no war here and now. Do your best to do what you can and what you think is good. You are free to worry about the question of “why unreasonable things happen,” but maybe you need to slightly change the way you ask the question itself.
This is a postscript.
That's right. It is said, “This is a fundamental question that everyone thinks about at least once,” but have you noticed that the question itself is shaken? “You didn't answer my question!” On the other hand, they are caught up in the obsession that “this must be a problem.” or maybe “I just wanted to ask”

I'm a Jodo Buddhist monk.
The world is impermanent, and it will always break down and perish.
There are also natural disasters, man-made disasters, viral infections, and bears.
We are living in such an unstable and dangerous world.
Also, those of us who are not enlightened like the Buddha have worries such as greed, anger, laziness, and pride.
We do words and actions that increase our own and others' worries and suffering due to our afflictions.
Desire such as “I want to do that, I want to keep going.”
Anger such as “I don't like it, I hate it, I'm upset.”
Laziness such as “I want to lose my mind, I want to cut corners, I want to rest.”
Pride (arrogance) that cares about one's own worth and compares oneself with others, sticks to one's own ideas, and tries to show off one's position.
We are the ones who have repeated disputes and accidents due to these worries.
So, I think “the world is like that.”
Once you become enlightened (attain Buddhism) and such afflictions go away, you will enter a state of nirvana (nirvana) where you have graduated from trouble and suffering.
However, in the Jodo sect, it is difficult to understand in this world, so first, in order to pass away (reincarnate) in the Pure Land of Paradise, which is an environment where it is easy to understand, they call it “Namu Amida Buddha” (nembutsu).
If you pass away in the Pure Land of Paradise, you will be given an inexhaustible amount of life, and you can continue to practice without dying until you realize it.
Also, residents of the Pure Land of Paradise have no sense of discriminating against themselves and others; in other words, there is no need to fight.
There is still a Buddha called Amitabha in the Pure Land of Paradise, but Buddha, the Buddha of the Shaba world where we live, passed away 2,500 years ago.
because of that too. Compared to paradise, there is far more suffering in this Shaba-sekai.

I am a monk of the Soto sect.
I feel very sorry for those who lost their lives due to natural or man-made disasters, but that in itself is not unreasonable. There is no choice but to think that the effect occurred from the cause due to luck.
The fact that there are people who lose their lives due to an earthquake or because they are involved in war is clearly a bad result, but there is always a cause. It is possible for any innocent person to lose their lives without being able to resist due to cause and effect.
We sentient beings say, “Everything changes constantly and never stops for a moment. Every phenomenon is caused by suffering, and it also causes suffering. They behave unreasonably in the first place because they are unable to accept the truth of the Buddha's wisdom that “all existence is made up of luck and is not a special entity” (they have not exhausted their reason).
“I,” who is a special being like no other, acts irrationally in order to fulfill my own desires and continue to exist.
“It's been a painful and painful experience, and at the same time I'm living well.” Being shocked by the heart and feeling sad can also be said to be an act that creates outside of “me” by taking it as an unreasonable thing in response to “suffering where the state of the outside world doesn't go my way” or “suffering of seeing people in a miserable situation.”
Previously, there were politicians who were criticized for saying the Great East Japan Earthquake was “divine punishment,” but it may be said that what is perceived as “unreasonable” is the same thing in terms of form, regardless of how heavy or light it is.
Mr. Yoshihiro, who was a monk of the Soto sect, said in a letter of condolence to an acquaintance who was affected by the earthquake, “It's a good weather to face disasters during times of disaster. When it's time to die, it's good to die. This is in Myōhō to avoid disaster” (When faced with disaster, it is good to face disaster. It's better to die when you die. It seems that it was written (This is a good way to escape disasters). I think they say that the only way is to accept what happened as something that happened without dodging yourself.
Naturally, what an individual can do about a large situation in the world is limited to a very small amount, but the Buddha's teaching is that it is necessary to constantly observe one's own mind and actions to see if it is not acting unreasonable.

Your question is very deep, and it is something that many people feel in the back of their hearts at least once.
There is nothing wrong with those who lost their lives in earthquakes and wars.
Even so, “unreasonable suffering” certainly exists in this world.
Buddha was also the one who looked at exactly this “irrationality.”

1. The truth that “life is painful”
In Buddhism, we look at the starting point of life as “suffering.”
They are born, old, sick, die, break up with loved ones, their wishes don't come true, and they are at the mercy of unreasonable events.
All of this is regarded as “suffering.”
In other words, suffering is not the result of someone's sin; it is the fate of living itself.
The Buddha was not pessimistic, but rather explained it as “understanding the truth.”

2. “Why that person?” The limits of the question
Even if you search for “whose fault is it” or “why not yourself” for the cause of unfairness,
You can't keep up with human understanding at all.
In Buddhism, everything in this world is explained as “luck,” where countless causes and relationships overlap.
It is not God's punishment or fate; it is an event that occurs in a connection beyond human knowledge.
That's why the question is not “why,” but “how to live in the present.”

3. Suffering is the gateway to “connection”
Facing the suffering of earthquakes and wars, we feel powerless.
However, it is this sensitivity that moves the heart to the pain of others is the sprout of mercy.
A heart that suffers from “why am I the only one alive”
Actually, it's a form of “prayer” for those who have died.
By sharing, grief becomes prayer, and it changes into a power to envelop others.

4. Seeing Light Amidst Irrationality
Unreasonable cannot be explained by human logic.
However, there is certainly “human kindness” in it.
People who helped each other in the rubble, people prayed for someone else,
And all of your heart asking “why” is the heart of a Buddha blooming in the midst of suffering.

The Buddha said.
“He who knows suffering knows how to heal other suffering.”

5. Lastly
Buddhism asks “how to live” rather than “why.”
Rather than searching for answers, we live by praying.
While feeling sad, they show kindness to someone.
That is the greatest memorial service for those who have passed away.

Please don't let your kindness disappear in the midst of suffering.
It is the very “preciousness of human beings” to live beyond irrationality.

Incidentally, I'm a Shingon Buddhist monk.
Gassho

Originally, there were no human rules in the world.
There's nothing you or I can do about today's weather.
Even so, in China, they have done things at the private sector level, such as rainfall missiles and causing rain to fall on their own fields, but Gada diversion is also a matter of human ego and convenience.
If you learn from the true state of “changing” things with human power, there is a truth that the act B where people turn A into this kind of state CDEF... is actually accompanied by human values, hopes, and desires, even if it is done as a function of nature in heaven and earth, and “it's not there”, and “it's done ❝ that way ❞ exists.”
For example, even if you want to “grow” tomato fruits, it is not done by human power; it is caused by the vitality of tomatoes themselves and benefits such as the air, moisture, and sunlight conditions in the sky and earth.
Climbing stairs also means that if you raise your leg and place your foot on the upper step and put your body weight forward around that axis, you will go up one step, and if you repeat that, you will climb many steps, but eventually your legs will get tired and you won't be able to move. This is something I've decided myself, isn't it?
There's nothing wrong with that.
Human desires, hopes, and values have nothing to do with it.
Even if my body is tired, I won't climb the stairs.
Even more so if it's in nature.
Earthquakes also have that kind of aspect.
The fact that the Earth is round in the first place doesn't mean anyone did that, and there is no artificial will on the Earth.
Since humans think based on human values and rules, unreasonable or unhappy things probably happen on their own.
They say there is a difference between bad luck and unhappiness.
Bad luck doesn't mean that people have intentions or plans.
The reason why I think it was unfortunate, disgusting, and why is it like this is an act of human beings based on human values and evaluations.
That's why, from the perspective of the human world's values, things that are really sad and painful are real, so those who have passed away, their bereaved families, and those who have been victimized seem really pitiful. They are in need of support. Try devising ways to turn a heart that is sad or unreasonable into a heart of compassion and kindness.
It's just that people who do the foolish thing called war are attacking them themselves because they don't know the true highest values in the human world.
Have compassion that transcends religious denominations and borders.