Yuko Okuma

Habits can be changed in just six days

First of all, I would like to thank you for giving your full attention to us Zen participants for six days.

I have learnt a lot from living with you monks. It made me realise what I had not been able to do in my daily life. I will list them below.

To reply.
Being honest.
To face the people in front of me.
Being grateful for every moment.
Being humble.
Create a routine.
Time management.
Working with your whole body.
Actively relaxing the body at the end of the day.

I also realised that habits can be changed even in just six days.
In order to maintain the habits I acquired at Temple Stay, I will decide on a morning routine and put it into practice. After I finished raising my children, in order to forgive myself for working too hard, I dared not to make a routine and spent my days according to how I felt on that day. As a result, I realised that I had created a repetition of my daily routine where I didn’t finish my housework or work, stayed up late at night and didn’t feel refreshed the next morning.

The best thing about Temple Stay was that I was able to experience the importance of time management.
Also, when I return to my daily life, I will try to remember the way of being of the monks and spend time with them as an example.

The vow I spoke about at the last night of the event in harmony, ‘Creation of a Great Harmonious Society that has broken away from a managed society’, was already in place at Fukugonji Temple.
I was convinced that by experiencing the place of practice, I would be able to create this world of great harmony from my own initiative. I would like to make each and every choice in front of me for the fulfilment of my vow.

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity.