About fear during meditation

Thank you very much for your consultation. Fear that springs up the moment meditation deepens is by no means a strange reaction, and it is one of the phenomena that is relatively easy to occur, so it is not limited to counselors. There are not only benefits but also risks associated with “meditation,” so you need to be careful about that.

The question is “is it an effect of doing it alone?” and that's true. Practicing alone makes it difficult to objectively deal with mental and physical changes. We always assign instructors at “meditation experiences” and “meditation sessions” at temples. We have prepared an environment where multiple people can perform under an instructor who has sufficient experience until you get used to it.

While meditation has relaxing effects and benefits for improving concentration, there is also a risk that symptoms may worsen depending on past trauma or state of mind. If you feel afraid, don't force yourself to continue, and take specific measures to immediately open your eyes and interrupt. Put your own safety first, and start by searching for an environment with leaders you can trust. Take the lead until you get used to it, and don't do it alone until you get used to it.

Worship
Engiji Temple Shakujo

Why meditate? Is there anything we are looking for in the future?
It is said that it has the effect of relaxing, improving concentration, and improving sleep quality, but the effects will also be cut in half if you do it yourself.

Since it also involves facing one's own inner world, there is also a risk that it will become unstable or that symptoms will worsen. I'm also worried that fear will occur.
To that end, let's know the right way to do that. Then, let's work on it in a reasonable time and environment.

Thoughts come out of my head no matter what kind of thoughts I have. Even if I say that I feel uneasy, scared, or disgusting when I think about this kind of thing, it's my own thought when I look at it objectively.

Thoughts are the same as the sound of a bell, like “it only rings when it rings,” that
That's why I only think about it, think about it, and remember it when I think about it.”
In other words, there is no back and forth. The number 5 that I'm going to mention now is like there are no 4 or 6 before or after. 1.2.3... 4... 5! ... 6, 7, 8...
When I say 5, it's only 5.
It's the same for Doremi and Aiueo.

In other words, one thought is nothing but one thought.
All the delusions and distractions are nothing but thoughts.
Since people haven't seen the true identity of that one thought, they become anxious and feel fearful.
Anxiety is instability. I just don't know myself.
What did Buddha, the enlightened, and enlightened people understand? This is the true state of my own heart. The original nature of the self.
Meditation and zazen may not be suitable, but if you meet proper and reasonable guidance, it's a path where you look closely at your true state of affairs in a rational way and reveal yourself. If you look at it with that in mind, it's just that when you're thinking, you've thought that kind of thing.
Ichinen that comes up is colorless and transparent at the time it occurs. No matter how dirty it may seem, the moment it pops out, there is an untouched state where it just comes out.
I'm still in a state where I haven't touched or got involved with that thought.
Even if it's a thought that comes from pure within oneself, if you don't touch it, attract, or treat your partner, your thoughts are a kind of insult, so if you don't get treated to them, they will naturally disappear.
The brain then switches from thought first brain to fact-first brain = non-thinking.
This is an off state where there are no comments or captions on the screen when it comes to smiling videos.
It can actually be said that expressing thoughts that people think with their heads subjectively and subjectively is a secondary, secondary action.
This is because no matter what fact, event, or thought comes from within, there is still a pure state where there is no “person, self, ego, ego,” before becoming delusional or distressed.
If you leave it untouched, eventually the self and self you work on will calm down, and the work of selflessness will open up. If you want to get more in touch with your own truth, try hitting the Zen Gate.

I'm a monk of the Jodo sect, so my main ascetic practice is to chant amidabu namu amidabu and nembutsu with my mouth.
Honen Shonin, who founded the Jodo sect, was said that delusional distractions are customers of the mind, and nembutsu is the master of the mind.
In light of this, the fear that comes during meditation is also a “customer,” and it is a transient phenomenon where customers always pass by.
The mind is impermanent.
The mind changes moment by moment, coming to mind, then disappearing.
So isn't every moment a new heart, a new nembutsu, a new meditation?
The law (information thought out in your head) is selfishness (like an illusion without substance).
Fear also becomes “nothing more than a concept thought about with your head” as soon as the concept or symbol (law) of “scary” is given to it.
So, basically, it's fine if your thoughts and feelings are disturbed, but once you've calmed down, you may be able to go back to meditation as usual, or go back again after being disturbed, and so on.
Also, if you are suffering from a mental illness, etc., there may be cases where it is better to meditate while consulting with your doctor.