This is an exceptional event that has happened, for the first time in Europe, in its traditional form at the temple of the Gendronnière, at the beginning of June. Almost 150 monks, nuns and lay people lived there for five days of continuous practice (zazen, ceremonies, teachings, ritualised meals) receiving at the end the precepts of […]
Visit to France by Donin Minamizawa Roshi At the end of November we had the pleasure of meeting Minamizawa Roshi at La Gendronnière on the occasion of a working meeting concerning the organization of the important ceremonies associated with O-jukai (“O-jukai” = receiving the precepts) that will take place between the 8th and 12th June […]
Kusen from Taiun, abbot of Kanshoji, November 1st , 2016 Who are we ? Tiny human beings in the vastness of time, walking in the long night, walking in suffering, disdainfully, at times despairingly. With their powerful egos, those small human beings steal the fire of the gods, hang flowers on Buddha’s clothes, are sometimes frightened […]
Kusen from Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, Thursday, September 22nd , 2016 In zazen, unnecessary tensions must be cast off. On the other hand, imperceptibly, push the ground with the knees, push the sky with the top of the head. That imperceptible tension is the tension of awakening. It is sometimes compared to the young shoots of daffodils piercing the frozen earth […]
Kusen from Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, Abbot of Kanshoji, August 2016 Buddha’s message takes us into tranquillity and puts an end to fear, to existential anxieties. You are profoundly Buddha. Simply sit in silence and stillness. Do not pay attention to the steam that arises in your mind. Experience this at the most profound level – it’s peace. […]
Kusen from Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, Abbot of Kanshoji, July 2016 Returning to silence is a universal practice: returning to the silence, returning to the original mind. The silence Buddha talks about is not the silence of the mafia, it is the silence of the sublime solitude where we stop all the internal chat. Returning to silence is to open […]
Funeral Ceremony for our friend Francis The practice taught by Buddha is that of awakening: realizing that our life must be devoted to helping others awaken. That is how monks alleviate the suffering of their contemporaries. In Japan, monks are there for grieving families during funeral ceremonies. This buddhist practice is not widespread in Europe, […]
Kusen from Taiun JP Faure, June 2016 … Master Dogen said : ” During the whole day and the whole night, things come to mind and the mind bothers about them. In peace with them, we perseveringly pursue our path.” This is to say that we practice sincerely, whole heartedly, during all the activities of the […]
(Excerpts from an interview with Taiun JP Faure in “Regards bouddhistes”, January 4th, 2016. Regards bouddhistes: There is a preconceived idea about non-violence, inherited from the “peace and love” movement of the 70s, when hippies were experimenting with drugs and when non-violence meant “everybody’s nice and kind” in a sort of naive, childish bliss. […]
Sotoshu :
Ecole zen Sôtô
UBF :
Union Bouddhiste de France