I'm a Buddhist Priest. Ask Me Anything.

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We believe in the power of empathy for human good. Ultimately, we aim to inspire people to EMBRACE EMPATHY.

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#Jubilee #AskMeAnything

[jubilee]

Thanks for watching another Ask Me Anything! Did you learn anything new? What questions would you have asked Gyokei (who is amazing - we wish he was always around to answer our questions)?

[tula]

My man lost his mom at 12, had a divorce, and had a kid with an extremely rare genetic disorder and he’s the happiest guy in the video.

[lv]

I think talking to this guy would improve everyone's mental health.

[pflh]

It's lovely how FREE he seems at expressing his emotions.

He's not trying to achieve a "wise" or "calm" look or something. He is embracing his humanity.

[Axiomatic]

The Buddhist monk at the hot dog stand joke actually has another punchline. After the monk gets his hot dog, he pays with a $20 bill. The guy just takes the bill and doesn't give him any change. "What about my change?", the monk eventually asks. "Change comes from within", answers the vendor.

[himalayanprinces]

“It’s better to conquer yourself
than to win a thousand battles”
. ~Buddha

[lulzywizard]

The way he genuinely carries emotions on his face when discussing them is so pure.

[Ricky_]

I'm agnostic but I love the Buddhist religion the most. The Buddhist religion is all about clearing your mind and doing what's right. The Buddhist lifestyle is the lifestyle I want to live.

[The-biry]

The best thing I love about him is that you can see he's still figuring it out. He's fighting through his impulses as well. It's so comforting to me to see that you won't have all the answers and human existence is a really hard thing to make sense of, even for a Buddhist monk.

[cthedroid]

“Today I decided to forgive you. Not because you apologised or because you acknowledged the pain you caused me, but because my soul deserves peace.” -Najwa Zebian


Edit 1/4/2024:
For those who didn’t understand the quote or found it egoistic. Here’s a pov I’ve read recently that encapsulates what I understood when I first read the quote myself.

“Imagine being bit by a snake and instead of trying to help yourself heal & recover from the poison, you are trying to catch the snake to find out the reason it bit you and prove to it that you didn't deserve that.”

I don’t believe forgiveness is inherently about empathy towards the perpetrator. It’s about empathy towards oneself, as you will never gain the maturity to see the tragedy of those who do you wrong, without realising yourself you’re digging your own grave, more than they ever did it for you in the first place. You’re only hurting yourself by holding onto that resentment. They have already moved on. Letting that resentment go instead, that anger, you take away their power over you; the power you’re giving them.

Only then the compassion will come. First for yourself and then for those who wronged you.

Whether you are religious or not, and I am not, empathy I do believe is fundamental. It also takes maturity.
Forgiveness doesn’t entail empathising as a process but I do believe it’s byproduct of it. In forgiving someone you gain the clarity needed to perceive the perpetrator for who they are. It doesn’t mean you consider what they did acceptable or underserving of the just punishment. It doesn’t mean you consider them unworthy of understanding either, or yourself above them. It means you come to see things for what they are.
The more you let go, the clearer your head, the surer your steps and actions will be.
You could have retaliated, gotten revenge and sacrificed who knows what for it, maybe even lowered yourself to their level, but you didn’t, you saw beyond it and gained the experience and strength those who wronged you lacked. How could you not empathise? Not see how we are humans made of the same flash? Tempted in the same ways?
True forgiveness will inevitably give you some empathy. If you don’t feel any empathy for the other I don’t think you’ve really let go.

[thibaudbailly]

This man has such a calming demeanour, its inspiring.

[frank]

Bruh, This guy is so positive even though life nerfed him a lot.

[florie]

"If you don't get along well with another person, they could had been your mother in your previous life."
Mum, you were my mum in my previous life as well. I love you♥️.
That applies to many people.

[kennyhanphotos]

I met him at a Japanese fair in Long Beach! I talked to him briefly and he was the sweetest person ever and was just filled with peace!

[chillieice]

This man reminds me of my classmate. He never had anything negative to say about anything. He broke his leg during a mountain climb once and his comment was "I was lucky because it happened on the way down from the mountain" instead of complaining of how rough the climb was. I'm trying to be more like him :)

[juanjosemorales]

The two most important Buddhist teachings to me are:
-Don’t a worry about what you can’t control.
-Everyone has a struggle, problems and sufferings, no matter if rich or poor, lonely or accompanied.

[wassupbitchesitsmyouimina]

As a Buddhist and introvert, nothing makes me more happier than a peaceful and quiet environment.

[sand]

It's absolutely incredible how strong this man is. He's reached this state of mind through reconciling through his traumatizing experiences. Respect.

[javaddsales]

I like Buddhism because it's more like a lifestyle than a religion

[nathanwatches]

Even in ancient times, Buddha just sat there, waiting for people to come and ask stuffs. In Buddhism one need to seek until there's no more seeking.