I’m Going to Work at My Dream Company, but I Feel Anxious

**May 16, 2026 – Online Dharma Q &A with Local Members of the Northern Europe Branch of the International Division, Meeting with Members **

Hello. This morning, Sunim took a walk and attended to administrative work. In the afternoon, he had an online Dharma Q&A session scheduled with local members of the Northern Europe Branch. In the evening, he had a time of meeting with Jungto members.

Sunim began his day with early morning practice and meditation. In preparation for the opening ceremony of the meditation hall at the Washington DC Jungto Center, many Jungto members have been visiting the center since yesterday. Members who came from distant areas are staying overnight to prepare for the opening ceremony, so today’s morning service and prayer at the Dharma hall was attended by more Jungto members than usual.

Sunim had breakfast at 8 a.m. and went for a walk along the Potomac River.

After returning to the center, Sunim had a late lunch and began the online Dharma Q&A with local members of the North America and Europe Branch of the International Division at 2 p.m. After the Three Refuges and Words for Practice, participants briefly introduced themselves and shared their reflections. The participants requested the Dharma from Sunim with three half-bows.

“Hello, everyone. It’s wonderful to meet you. I am currently in Washington, D.C. Until now, scheduling sessions in the morning for Korea and in the evening for the U.S. has always meant that, for Europe, they fell in the middle of the night, making it difficult for them to participate in the Dharma Q&A. So while I’m in Washington, D.C., I’ve set the time to fit the European schedule so that those of you in Europe can easily participate. I came to D.C. to meet with various people in search of ways to work toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, especially to enable dialogue between North Korea and the United States. Also, the meditation center at the US Jungto Center in Maryland has finally been completed after a long time, so we will be holding the opening ceremony together. This morning, I took a walk along the Potomac River, which flows along the border of Virginia and Maryland. The spring weather was truly beautiful. I don’t know which country each of you is in right now, but here in May, the spring weather is at its finest. I’m happy to meet and talk with you on such a beautiful spring day. I just heard the reflections from two of the participants here, and I was pleased to hear that meeting the Buddha’s teachings has lessened their suffering and softened their relationships with others. To resolve the problems we face, we usually think we have to change other people or change our circumstances. However, practice means leaving conditions, people, and situations as they are, and shifting our perspective to how we respond to those situations. Through this, we can escape suffering and find more peace of mind. You can live comfortably in this way, and from that comfortable state of mind, if there is a need to help others, you can act and practice within your capacity to change the external environment. Now, let’s listen to your stories.”

A total of four people who had submitted questions in advance, living in the western United States and Europe, had conversations with Sunim. Among these conversations, this post introduces the story of a questioner who was experiencing both excitement and anxiety about an upcoming new job and overseas move, and asked how to approach this situation with the right mindset.

I’m Going to Work at My Dream Company, but I Feel Anxious
“Recently, I was offered a job overseas. It’s a wonderful dream job for me. With both the overseas move and the new job preparations suddenly overlapping within a few weeks, I’m feeling both excitement and anxiety. Lately, I often wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep. In the past, when I couldn’t sleep, listening to a podcast or reading a book would usually help me fall asleep, but now that doesn’t work either. Right now, my present and future feel all jumbled up. I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m too attached to the new job, or because I have a strong desire to perfectly control every future situation. In this situation, what kind of mindset and approach do I need?”

“First, congratulations on getting the job you were hoping for. When you’re going somewhere because the pay is better, or because what you want is overseas rather than domestic, there’s joy because what you hoped for has happened, but going to an unfamiliar place, meeting new people, dealing with a different culture, having to move—all these various things can be burdensome. In other words, although there is good in it, there are many other things that come along with that good, so from my perspective, it seems you are under a lot of psychological pressure. Right now, you are in a state where that burden is so great that you can’t sleep, and even meditating, reading a book, or doing other things doesn’t help you shake off that anxiety or burden. In such cases, it would be good to go to a nearby psychiatric clinic, talk with a doctor about your psychological burden and anxiety, and receive some prescription that can ease those symptoms. Psychiatric treatment doesn’t solve the problem itself, but when you’re under excessive tension like now, I think the treatment can help ease the tension. One way is to try to overcome the burden you feel through resolve and determination, but it seems your situation has become too difficult to overcome that way. In such cases, receiving a doctor’s prescription that brings psychological stability for a week or two and getting treatment would be much more effective and helpful. While getting help from a doctor and stabilizing yourself psychologically, at the same time, since what you wanted has come true, there will be difficulties like finding a new home, moving, and adjusting to new people, but more than that, you need to keep telling yourself, ‘Going to do the work I’ve been dreaming about is a much bigger and happier thing. The rest is no big deal.’ You need to keep repeating this perspective to yourself. With this perspective, if you combine it with about 10 or 20 minutes of meditation each day, letting go of all attachments and being aware of your breathing, it will help. Also, if you do 108 prostrations in the evening or exercise for about 30 minutes to make your body slightly tired, then wash up and go to sleep, I think you’ll be able to sleep a little longer and deeper.”

“When I do 108 prostrations in the evening, is there a prayer I could memorize and recite?”

“No matter where you go to live or what you do, it’s actually good to think, ‘It’s no big deal. Don’t be too burdened. It’s no big deal.’ Right now you feel burdened, but once you get to the actual place and start working, the anxiety and burden actually disappear. The psychological anxiety arises because you’re worrying about it in advance. So while doing prostrations, keep giving yourself the suggestion, ‘It’s no big deal.'”

“Yes. Thank you.”

In addition, the following questions were asked:

I have a desire to live in a sangha and a sustainable community. What does it mean to accept, as it is, the limitations that technology has in human interaction?

As I’ve been studying the Buddha’s teachings, I’ve realized that I easily become attached to people. How can I manage my attachment to others?

My self-employed husband contributes to childcare, and I know this, but as the one bearing the main financial responsibility for the family, I find the situation burdensome, and I feel resentment and frustration coming from the economic imbalance with my husband. How can I let go of these negative feelings?

The online Dharma Q&A came to an end. Sunim spent the rest of the day resting and attending to work until dinner.

At 7 p.m. local time, all the volunteers who had come to the US Jungto Center had spent the whole day cleaning, preparing food, and getting ready for the opening ceremony. They gathered in the Dharma hall in the evening for the evening service. After the service, Sunim had a time of meeting with the volunteers.

About ten members from Maryland and Virginia, who live near Washington D.C., spent the day preparing for the opening ceremony and returned home before the evening service. The members who remained at the center prepared for tomorrow’s event and will clean up and head home after tomorrow’s event. With about 40 people sitting facing Sunim, the Dharma hall was packed. About two-thirds of them were members who came from New York and New Jersey. Several Jungto members came from various regions including Hawaii, Seattle, and Pennsylvania. There was even a member who drove 12 hours from Georgia. Among them were members who were meeting Sunim in person at the Dharma hall for the first time today.

Sunim introduced to the Jungto members the twists and turns of the process leading up to the completion of the meditation hall and its opening ceremony. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Min Deokhong (민덕홍) and Dharma Teacher Beophae (법해), who were in charge of the construction project. Although it takes a long time to come to this retreat center from other regions, Sunim said it would be good to make good use of the meditation hall, which was completed after many twists and turns, as a retreat center for the time being. He also discussed what would be needed for the meditation hall to be well-managed.

“We’ll use this place for the time being, and if there’s also a need for a retreat center near New York, we’ll prepare a new one. But while it’s difficult to prepare a retreat center, there also need to be people to maintain it. Of course, the most immediate priority is securing land for construction and building the retreat center, but after that, the question is who will maintain that space. In Korea today, and overall, the population is decreasing. In the past, we couldn’t run programs because we didn’t have facilities, but these days, it’s difficult to operate training centers and facilities. Because of operational difficulties, homes keep being vacated, so apartment prices rise only in places like Seoul where the population concentrates, while rural areas become empty and neglected, causing problems in managing buildings and spaces. Let me stop here and listen to your stories. Not just questions, but if you have anything to share about your current situation or anything we can share together, please feel free to speak.”

Four members asked Sunim about their questions and had conversations with him.

I am currently in my mid-80s. It has been 25 years since I met Jungto Society, and starting with the Awakening Retreat, I have participated in all kinds of programs. My mind is at peace through practice and volunteering, but my body keeps aching here and there. How should I continue my activities going forward?

What does it mean to see things as they are? Does this apply only to phenomena, or does it also include the essential nature of things? Is there a connection between seeing things with insight and seeing things as they are?

Looking back, there were opportunities for reunification, but they seem to have been missed for various reasons. When do you think such an opportunity will come again, Sunim?

I’ve been serving as a volunteer in the U.S. military for about a year and a half. The training is tough, so there are times when my body is exhausted, and at those times, I become irritable. I shouldn’t be emotionally irritable with my subordinates, but how should I handle this? If I’m deployed to combat, situations may arise where I have to take lives as part of my job. Is there a way to reduce that karmic consequence?

Sunim had about an hour and a half of conversation with the Jungto members. Since it was bedtime, and some members still had to finish preparations for tomorrow’s event, they decided to wrap up today’s meeting time here and concluded the conversation. Sunim also wrapped up his day’s schedule.

Tomorrow is the day the meditation hall at the US Jungto Center opens. The opening ceremony will be held in the morning, and in the afternoon, there will be a Dharma Q&A session with Jungto members.