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Keynote Speaker

Joan Halifax (U.S.A.)

Rashi Joan Halifax, Ph.D.: Buddhist teacher. Zen priest, anthropologist, pioneer in the field
of end-of-life care. Founder and Abbot of Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico, she received her
Ph.D. in medical anthropology in B.E. 2516 (1973) and has taught at academic institutions
and medical centers around the world. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship
in Visual Anthropology, was an Honorary Research Fellow in Medical Ethno botany at Harvard
University, and a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress. Author of many
books, including Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Wisdom in the Presence of
Death; Standing at the Edge; Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet.

Title “Buddhism: Help for the Living”

Bullying, job loss, social withdrawal, poverty, elder care…life in Japan has long been fraught
with difficulties. Today, suicide is the leading cause of death among young people, and social
media postings are filled with words like “I just want to vanish” or “I want to die”. Why are
Japanese in such a hurry to die? Do we have no hope, no ability to find hope? People find it
hard to live; they don’t want to keep on living, they want to just disappear from the face of the
earth. How should we deal with these thoughts that so many human beings experience? What
support can we offer those who feel that life is not worth living? People are taking their own
lives every minute, even as I speak.

Today, I would like to look back on the 14 years I have spent talking with the suicidal or
the bereaved families of suicides and offer some insights gained through my exposure to different
attitudes toward life and death.

Speaker

Jyotetsu Nemoto (Japan)
Chief priest, Daizenji temple, Rinzai Shu

In addition to his main work as a priest, in B.E. 2547 (2004) he began a suicide prevention
counseling service aimed mainly at young people. He offers face-to-face counseling and also
counseling online or via email or social network services. Building on his experience as a part-
time worker and company employee, he developed a distinctive counseling style that has been
covered by various media.

He now heads “ittetsu.net”, teaching self-care for optimal physical and mental health. He
also holds self-care workshops and events throughout Japan.

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RECORD OF PROCEEDING | THE 29 GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE WFB
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