Hiroshi Kihara

By stacking up these small units of daily life, I strongly felt that I can change my way of life.

First of all, thank you very much for your care during my recent temple stay.

I apologize for the long and somewhat disorganized text. These are my honest feelings.

I hope this might be of some help for those who will participate in the temple stay in the future.

Thank you again.

Impressions of the Temple Stay

I learned to repeat each day with care and importance.

Starting the day with temple duties, I focused on a major task in the morning, channeling the majority of my energy into it.

I experienced how to complete the day with all my effort, yet distribute my energy wisely, making sure not to burn out. I finished the day with both body and mind fully exerted and then went to sleep.

Insights

The serene and quiet atmosphere of the temple brought calm to my heart.

I also had the experience of feeling my own existence in the present moment.

Negative feelings such as distractions, desires, irritability, self-denial, and anxiety slowly faded away, as if they were being swept away somewhere, and I began to feel a deep sense of gratitude.

As I return to my daily life, living in the city with its many distractions and temptations, I know I will continue to struggle with confusion, desires, irritability, self-doubt, and anxiety.

At such times, I wish to borrow the temple’s mysterious power, to sit in front of the Buddha, listen to teachings, and calm my heart.

Learnings

Every action was beautiful, and each one was connected to consideration for others and the surroundings.

The individual gives to the whole, and the whole gives to the individual.

By thinking of others, I learned how to work in a way that made them feel good.

I felt with my body the importance of repeating certain tasks every day.

The seemingly tedious or tiresome tasks—how I approached them and the sense of refreshment and clarity afterward. I realized that the way we handle these tasks is the same as how we approach our work or whatever we are engaged in.

In fact, if we cannot handle the basics well, we cannot achieve bigger things. I felt this deeply in my body.

Changes

The reason I participated in the Fukugenji temple stay was, in a sense, because I wanted guidance for my life.

Although it was only a 5-night, 6-day stay, I felt it contained insights for my future life, work, and relationships with others.

I wanted to learn how to keep my emotions in balance—my arrogance, emotional turmoil, careless actions, lack of consideration for others, and mood swings.

I sought a way to keep my heart calm and stable.

I wanted to change my tendency to blame myself, to stop my actions, or to neglect what was in front of me because I was feeling low. I participated in the temple stay seeking to train my heart and body.

The hint I gained during the 5 nights and 6 days of the temple stay was to live each day with care, to live each day with full effort, to focus on what is before me right now instead of trying to do everything at once.

When I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, I sleep that night and wake up the next day, preparing for a new day with energy.

I felt immense gratitude for having the physical strength to move quickly in nature and greenery.

In daily life, there is no “normal” or “automatic.” I live in a world I’ve created through my own choices, through my own filters.

In this small worldview, I realized that I have been creating my rigid routine.

If I feel dissatisfied with this daily life or if I cannot accept it, I now realize that I can change it. I can make choices based on that and take actions that form habits, which in turn create a life where I can feel happiness.

By stacking up these small units of daily life, I strongly felt that I can change my way of life.

Even through the small, daily steps, I learned that I can move in a positive direction toward a better life.