—Personal Healing and Social Healing Healing is not only for the individual. It is also necessary for society. As we heal, distorted ways of seeing begin to soften, and our capacity to see facts as they are gradually returns. And when we are healing, we become less likely—often without realizing it— to pass our pain onto others. In organizations and communities, even a few people who have not yet had the support or capacity to tend to their own healing can unintentionally cre

Seeing things exactly as they are is not easy. Most of the time, we don’t realize that we are seeing the world through what is inside us. This is often the root of our confusion and suffering. In psychology, this is called projection . Projection happens when we unknowingly place our own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs onto other people or situations. For example, imagine there is a belief deep inside you that says, “I have no value.” Even if you are not aware of it, that bel

Krishnamurti, a spiritual teacher from India, taught that much of what we perceive, think, and feel arises from conditioning—social, cultural, and psychological. Freedom begins the moment we become aware of these patterns. Krishnamurti wrote, “The world is an extension of you, a mirrored and amplified expression of who you are.” At first glance, this may sound philosophical or abstract, but it points to something deeply practical: the world you experience is shaped by percept

Hello everyone, recently I received a thoughtful response from someone who read my blog post on mindfulness and compassion . He shared honestly about a time when compassion felt impossible for him—when a homeless encampment near his home led to fear, crime, disruption, and a deep sense of unsafety. He asked: “Are there times when compassion is not called for?” This is a question many people struggle with. It reveals a common misunderstanding: compassion is often confused with

Sometimes mindfulness is discussed separately from compassion, as if they were two distinct practices. Yet to truly cultivate compassion, mindfulness is essential. Mindfulness is the capacity to pause and be with our thoughts, sensations, emotions, and the world around us without immediately reacting. It creates inner space. When we are mindful, we see more clearly what is happening within ourselves and in others. In that clarity, we recognize suffering—not as something to fi

Even without thinking, we are already living at 100%. We breathe, see, hear, feel, and respond. Life is not something managed or carried out by the head— it is the natural activity of life itself, arising before thought. To attune ourselves to that living movement—this is the way of zazen (sitting Zen). We are always in action. The eyes receive light, the ears receive sound, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, the skin touches, and thoughts arise . From morning to night, and

Human beings are social creatures, shaped continuously by our relationships, environments, and experiences. Because of this, we all carry multiple identities—roles, expectations, norms, beliefs, and values—that naturally shift according to context and situation. Who we are at work may differ from who we are with our family, our partner, our community, or when we are alone. This ongoing change is part of our human nature. Like all living beings, we adapt to our surroundings in

The Aspiration to Know Your True Self — Returning to Your Original Nature Beyond Concepts From time to time, we may suddenly wonder, “Who is my true self?” But what exactly do we mean by this “true self”? In this reflection, I invite you to explore—through the lens of Zen—what our original nature truly is, and how a simple aspiration becomes the key that opens the path back to it. Knowing Your True Self In Zen, awakening is described as knowing your true self . And the state

Everyone experiences a victim mindset to some degree at times. What we must remember is that this interpretation is  not fact but illusion. This mindset's root lies in dependence —a subtle reliance on others or society. We begin to believe that our happiness and peace must come from the outside world. Yet this, too, is a fabrication of the mind , an illusion of our own making. Another root is self-doubt. The belief that “I can’t do it” or “I have no power” quietly suppresses

We often wish to “know our true self.” But who is this “self” we are trying to know? Zen Master Dōgen taught that to study the self truly is to forget the self. To study the self is to forget the self.  To know one’s true self is the most essential point of Zen practice. If we wish to be freed from confusion, there is no other way than to return to our original nature. To “know the true self” is not to analyze the everyday “me” — the one who feels joy and sorrow, compares wit