Question
I would like to know whether Zen teaching can help combat anxiety, anguish, and certain psychosomatic illnesses. Thank you for answering.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
Zen teaching allows us to see and develop a different relationship with what usually bothers us or makes us suffer.
We do not always need to fight it; instead, we can become intimate with it and find its deeper cause.
Anguish or anxiety need not necessarily be seen as negative phenomena, just as fever is not necessarily a negative phenomenon in an illness.
In any case, the aim of Zen practice is not to treat psychological illnesses. It is preferable to be in good physical and mental health when practicing.
Kosen