The sacred grounds of Eiheiji Temple (永平寺) in Eiheiji Town, Fukui Prefecture

No matter how surging with anger, if you think you have detached your head from your body and continue to behave as usual, the raging emotions will one day die down.

When anger or jealousy does not subside, it is counterproductive to try to force it under control. Even if, jealousy and anger swirl in your head, try to imagine separating 'up from the neck' from 'down from the neck'. Let the waves of emotion flow from the neck up. But from the neck down, the 'body' goes about its daily life unaffected.

If you try to control your anger by your will power or self-control alone, you will fail, but if you separate your head from your body and go about your daily life normally, you can continue to maintain a usual performance. Once you work through your anger in this way, you will find that the emotions that were swirling so violently in your head are actually not that big a deal.

Try, when you are angry or frustrated, write down what you are thinking on a piece of paper. You will be surprised at how quickly you can write down the feelings that have been dominating your mind for so long.

Walking the precincts of Eiheiji Temple, Fukui Pref. Eiheiji is one of two head temples for the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan.

-My Notes, words of gurus-

We often say that we are now living in a world, where life is hard.

But is there any period, in mankind’s history, where life has been easy?

Jikisai Minami, the Zen Monk

Jikisai Minami is a Japanese Zen monk of Soto-shu, trained in Eihei-ji temple in Fukui, Japan. He is now the master monk of Bodai-ji temple in Mt.Osore, Aomori, Japan.

-マイノート・グルの言葉–

現在は生きにくい時代 と言われるけれど、

人間が生きづらくなかった時代などあっただろうか。

南直哉

20200202（日）

「目が届く、手が届く、心が届く」

吉田酒造の六代目蔵元 吉田智彦氏が残した言葉だそうです。

吉田酒造のブランド「白龍（hakuryu, white dragon）」。「九頭竜川（kuzuryu river）に陽が差し水面を這う朝霧が天へ昇る様子が、白い龍が天空を目指しているようだった」ことから「白龍」と名づけられたとも伝えられているという。

本日、完全予約制で数量限定の純米吟醸無濾過生原酒「九頭竜の夜明け」といういわゆる「しぼりたて」をいただきに、永平寺にあるこの酒蔵へ行ってまいりました。

酒蔵では生原酒購入者に節分のお豆が入った「白龍桝」が渡され、甘酒ふるまいや酒粕詰め放題（酒蔵の方に「どんどん持てって」と声をかけられたため、遠慮なく頂戴しました）という太っ腹特典もあって、「九頭竜の夜明け」を一本しか予約しなかったわたくしめは、ちょっと申し訳ないなという気分になりました。