コラム 歩く人（前編）
ラスベガスのお寺には色んな人が来ます。問題を抱えたある若い男性が、方向が定まらない様子で「歩いて」お寺へ来たことがありました。見知らぬ人がお寺へ来るときは、精神的に追い詰められている時もあるため慎重になります。
彼の場合は社会に上手くなじめず、家族を含め多くの人に阻害されたため、頭が常に混乱した状態にあったようです。一度兄弟に会いに行ったとき、周囲の皆の温かい対応で回復の兆しが見えたのですが、家に帰ると再び家族に否定され悪化しました。頭が混乱する中、彼は一千キロ近く離れた南カリフォルニアを目指して歩く事を決意しその道の途中で私のお寺へたどり着いたのでした。
お寺へたどり着いた彼に、私は法華経の教えを伝えたのですが、続きは次号で。
You meet interesting people in Las Vegas. A troubled young man walked into the temple not knowing where to go. Most times when a stranger walks into your temple, you remain cautious as some people are up to no good. He said he was hearing voices in his head and was not fitting in with society. Most people would dismiss him as crazy and kick him out of the building. But I was compelled to hear his story and lend him some assistance.
He tried to explain what was going on in his head, but his family resisted and became negative. He thought about suicide. Thinking better, he went to Japan to visit his brother. Here he saw how clean it was and how nice everyone was. This left him a positive impression. Thinking that he was cured, he returned to America, but again received negative input from his family. He then decided to go on a journey as a voice told him to go to southern California and began walking. (This distance is equivalent to walking from tip of Hokkaido to Okinawa) Thus he walked into my temple. What did I teach him? Find out next month.
