Norimasa Yamashita

The one thing I am truly certain of is that cultivating compassion, wisdom, and Buddha nature in life becomes an invaluable treasure for one's journey.

First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people involved with Fukugenji Temple who supported the Temple Stay. In particular, I am truly grateful to the monks who provided guidance on all aspects of training during the Temple Stay period.

Now, participating in the Temple Stay has made me realize many things, but the one thing I am truly certain of is that cultivating compassion, wisdom, and Buddha nature in life becomes an invaluable treasure for one’s journey. During the Temple Stay, the members of the Sangha worked together and supported each other, managing to complete the program without a single participant missing. I believe that each of us had moments when we felt like giving up, but by using our compassion, wisdom, and Buddha nature, and helping one another, we were able to overcome these challenges.

Before participating in the Temple Stay, I was struggling with many things in my personal life and came to the program feeling lacking in confidence. However, now that it is over, I have been able to reaffirm that I have Buddha nature within me, through the words I received from the Sangha and through the tasks we worked on together. I might not have realized this without the experience of this Temple Stay, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Finally, I would like to share that through this experience, I have clarified a goal for myself. That goal is to become a practitioner of the Buddhist path. Moving forward, how I walk this path as a practitioner will be my greatest challenge. I will continue to be deeply indebted to everyone at Fukugenji Temple and to the members of the Boshin Sect, and I kindly ask for your continued support. Thank you very much.