[We are looking for thumbnail photos] *Please see the bottom of the description. ■Introducing sermon [Tofukuji Temple sermon] Headlights and taillights ~ What is self-illumination? Kichijoji Temple, Kokutai-ji Temple, head priest Yamada Masataka • [Tofukuji Temple sermon] Headlights and taillights ~ What is self-illumination? Kichijoji Temple, Kokutai-ji Temple, head priest Yamada Masataka • The head priest's diary "Gods and Buddhas" https://www.engakuji.or.jp/blog/38503/ ■Voicy https://r.voicy.jp/nEmN8nXQVXk ■note https://note.com/engakuji/n/na3bd0847... Finally, there is a breathing meditation to prepare the beginning of the day. ------------------------------------------------- Looking back on this year, the first thing that comes to mind is the great earthquake in Noto. It was on January 1st. It made me think about many things. First of all, it was impossible to predict earthquakes. No one could have predicted that such a large earthquake would occur on New Year's Day. Furthermore, the same area was also hit by heavy rains in September. A priest I know lives in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and was also hit hard by the disaster. His name is Reverend Yamada Masataka of Kichijoji. He is an active missionary of the Rinzai sect, and was one of the founding members of "Zenjin," which I have previously introduced. He is a very well-informed person, and writes some very interesting articles in "Zenjin." I felt uncomfortable contacting him directly, so I heard about his situation through word of mouth. I recently had the opportunity to listen to a video of him giving a sermon at a sermon event at Tofukuji Temple in Hamamatsu. I have given sermons at Tofukuji Temple several times. I also had the opportunity to livestream a sermon at Tofukuji Temple in October two years ago. The sermon I gave at that time was one of the most popular of all my sermons, and has been viewed an astonishing 50,000 times to date. This is entirely thanks to the efforts of the priest at Tofukuji Temple to promote and announce it. On October 26th of this year, a sermon was held at Tofukuji Temple, and the video of the sermon is now available for viewing. It was a sermon by Priest Yamada Masataka. I watched it right away. I was relieved to see that he looked unchanged. He spoke enthusiastically as always, so I was relieved. However, I can only imagine how much he must have been distressed that the temple where he was born and raised was damaged and that his hometown suffered such great damage. In the fall of 2011, the same year as the Great East Japan Earthquake, my hometown was severely damaged by heavy rains on the Kii Peninsula. It was truly sad that my hometown was damaged. However, it has been almost completely restored over the course of about ten years. What will happen to Noto? Priest Yamada said in his sermon that there is still no bright news. Priest Yamada's temple is almost at the epicenter. It seems to be a large main hall, and although it escaped collapse, it was completely destroyed. It is still tilted to one side. He said that it is extremely difficult to fix this. The temple's kitchen was also badly damaged, and it seems that the roof is leaking. They have been trying to fix it somehow, but the restoration has not progressed. They said that it has been almost ten months since they were able to do anything. They laid down blue tarps before the snow fell, and the cost of construction has risen sharply, which is a big expense. Priest Yamada said that even in Noto, many shrines and temples are difficult to rebuild. The sermon was in October, so I was heartbroken when he said, "Almost nothing has been done in ten months." He said that the shrines are especially in a difficult situation. The disaster occurred during the New Year. During the New Year, shrines are decorated for the first visit of the year. They have not been able to take down the New Year decorations, and they have remained in the same state for months. Priest Yamada said, "It is no use to think that there is no God or Buddha." It may seem sacrilegious to say, "There is no God or Buddha." However, such words come out of our mouths because we are human. Far from taking down the decorations for the first visit of the year, he said that he was doing his best to live for today and tomorrow. I was also surprised to learn that there is still no water. Apparently they have only been able to use water for about a week or ten days. Without water, they can't do laundry or take a bath. Another problem is the toilet. Apparently, the water supply was only installed in Yamada's temple in 2014. Ten years ago, the water supply was finally installed and the toilets became flush toilets. At that time, the local government told them to close the septic tank toilets that had been in use until then. Now that he has been affected by the disaster, he said that it would have been much easier if the septic tank toilets had remained. If you can't use the toilet, you will have to refrain from drinking water. If you don't drink enough water, you are more likely to develop blood clots. This can cause illness. It seems that the rate of illness is 30 to 40 percent higher than if you were living a normal life. It is a serious problem. Even in such a situation, Yamada preaches that humans should never rot. He believes that a time will come when we will be able to find a way to do it. He said he believes that time will heal everything. To do that, he said that first you need to be healthy in body and mind. He said that the best way to maintain a healthy mind is to study Buddhism. He said that it is important to light the light in your heart, just like a light comes on in the dark, so he talked about "self-illumination." The sermon is titled "Headlights, Taillights - What is self-illumination?" Priest Yamada said that he speaks this to "convince himself." That is why it is a story that really touches the heart. Stories based on personal experience have a different appeal. I hope that everyone will listen to it. I pray that Priest Yamada's light will shine even brighter. Priest Yamada's temple is called Kichijoji. Kichijo means auspicious and good sign. I hope that auspicious things will come to me. I believe that God and Buddha are watching over me. Yokota Nanrei------------------------------------------------- [Thumbnail photo collection] Daily Chief Abbot Diary and Breathing Meditation-------------------------------------------------- We are now accepting thumbnail photos for "Daily Chief Abbot Diary and Breathing Meditation Radio". The photos we receive will be used as thumbnails for "Daily Chief Abbot Diary and Breathing Meditation Radio". ■Location of photo shootInside the Engakuji Temple, the main temple of the Rinzai sect■Application details・Recommended spots within the temple・Please send us your favorite photos, such as the scenery of Engakuji Temple that changes with the season and time of day. You can also send as many photos as you like. ■About shootingPlease shoot with the camera facing sideways. ■How to applyPlease fill in the required information in the email address below and send the photo data. *File size must be 25MB or less. [Required information for application] ・Name・Photo name (If we use the photo, this is the name that will be listed in the YouTube description.) ・Location and date of photo shoot (If unknown, you can leave it out.) [Application email address] [email protected] ■Application conditionsOnly photos in which the applicant holds all copyrights are accepted. There is no problem if the applicant took the photo on the Engakuji temple grounds themselves. However, if the subject of the photo includes a person, please make sure to obtain their prior consent to avoid infringing portrait rights. ■ Handling of copyright and moral rights of authors By submitting your application, you will transfer the copyright of the photo data you submit to Engakuji Temple. In addition, by submitting your application, you agree that the moral rights of authors (whether or not Engakuji Temple will display your name when using the photo on YouTube, SNS, web content, printed materials, etc., and whether or not the identity of the photo will be maintained when it is adapted, modified, processed, or used in other formats) will not be exercised when using the photo data. ------------------------------------------------- #Abbot's Diary, #Breathing Meditation, #Daily Updates