何も求めずにただ坐るだけー自給自足の禅寺・安泰寺

Key wellness / self-care / productivity strategies mentioned

• Practice “nothing” (no seeking, no bargaining)

  • The core Zen instruction at Antaiji Temple is: “If you ask for something, it is no longer Zen.”
  • Approach practice with the mindset of simply sitting and letting answers not be forced.

• Long, consistent sitting meditation (zazen)

  • Practitioners sit about 4 hours a day, both morning and night (~1,800 hours/year stated).
  • Training length: three years to complete the initial training phase.

• Silence as training (especially during work and meals)

  • A temple rule: during work, trainees cannot speak.
  • During meals, they don’t speak a word—treating eating concentration as part of training.

• “Daily life is training” (mindful work and routine)

  • Cooking, chores, and even reading/learning are framed as training.
  • Examples include:
    • Simple, practical meal-making with ingredients like wheat flour, pumpkin/porridge, seasonal wild plants.
    • Repetition of chores as grounding—turning “ordinary tasks” into practice.

• Self-sufficient lifestyle as part of mental discipline

  • They grow rice and ~20 kinds of vegetables.
  • Seasonal foraging/using what’s available:
    • In low-harvest periods, they gratefully accept wild plants.
  • A strong “effort-earned nourishment” attitude:
    • If you don’t practice diligently, you don’t “deserve” to eat (as described in the subtitles).

• Extreme focus during difficult periods (“completion” training)

  • December includes grueling practice:
    • ~15 hours of zazen/day for a week.
    • During that week, restrictions include no talking and no bathing.
    • In the peak phase, movement is described as extremely limited (barely able to move in one breath).
  • The frame: confronting discomfort so one can meet “what’s real” / “true self.”

• Letting go of control and perfectionism

  • One trainee reflects that at first they trained with “asking for nothing,” but later started seeking a perfect version of themselves—and recognizes this as a trap.

• Use discomfort to keep practicing (rather than quitting)

  • A reflection shared: even if you don’t like something in life, it doesn’t mean you quit life—you keep going and don’t need to “accept” it passively, but you continue.

• Meaning-making through perseverance

  • For someone who worries they may get no “answers,” the video emphasizes:
    • Even if “nothing comes out,” the sitting itself continues the path.
    • A metaphor: one step → next step → keep going.

• Life-choice training: responsibilities and relationships

  • A major theme is resolving tensions between monastic training and family ties:
    • One trainee debates whether to continue training while still being a father/having obligations.
    • The takeaway is that Buddhist training requires the resolve to start by discarding attachments, but this is portrayed as difficult and personal.

---

Presenters / sources

• Antaiji Temple (安泰寺 / “Zedera Temple” as transcribed)

• Head priest / priest figures at the temple (referred to by role; specific names in subtitles include):

  • Eco (head priest in subtitles; also described previously as a midwife)

• Individuals featured (trainees / practitioners):

  • Bogdan (24, France?; the subtitles describe him with reading ability and prior study)
  • Fabian (24, Germany)
  • Hikaru / Asa Hika (26, USA to Japanese parents)
  • Takahashi (former chef; also described as turning 43rd birthday)
  • Daibo-san
  • Myo-san
  • Jamin-san
  • Kumon-san
  • Hayako-san
  • Dogen Zenji (mentioned as a source of the plum blossom reference)
  • Dan-san (from Kyrgyzstan)