Loneliness Hell by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Short summary

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The mother’s story concerned her great-grandfather. The art lover was a regular visitor to a brothel, where he met a monk. To disguise himself he disguised himself as a doctor. One day he confessed that he was looking for a change because he was in a hell of loneliness. Now the great-grandson, sitting all day in his office, understands this man perfectly.

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My mother told me she heard this story from her great-grandfather. An acquaintance of many poets, he liked to drop in at a famous brothel. One day he noticed an acquaintance in the corridor. He approached him, gave him a friendly pat on the ear and realized he had made a mistake. That was how he met the abbot of the local Zen temple. To avoid being recognized, the monk disguised himself. Everyone took him for a doctor.

The two became friends, and often talked. One day Zentyo looked especially sad. They got to talking. He was sad, as is usual for visitors to this place, and his sadness could not be drowned out by debauchery. During the conversation he mentioned the circles of hell that Buddhists believe in. According to him, he was in a hell of solitude.

The thought of death used to be hateful to him, but lately it came more and more often. They never saw each other again. Many years had passed. Only now, sitting for days in his office, did the great-grandson understand what the man meant.