Buddhism discovery weeks in July, August and September

July 6th – 11th or  August 3rd – 8th  or  September 22nd – 27th 2019

You’re dissatisfied with life in our society and want to take a step back?
Do you want to give meaning to your life?
Are you looking for the peace of a soothed mind?
Something in your heart aspires to see more clearly in a world where you do not share all the values?

So come and spend a spiritual holiday in the world of Zen,
discover Buddhist practice and meditation.

A spiritual holiday

In the heart of the Périgord vert, by a small lake, you will be welcomed to the monastery of Kanshoji where in a haven of peace you will be able to live a true spiritual holiday.

You will be accompanied during all of your stay, throughout the various activities, by monks and nuns who will help you discover the life of the monastery.

Initiation to meditation will of course be at the centre of this week of discovery.

Daily life

You will be able to follow the daily life of the residents, punctuated by the sounds of wood, metal, bells and drums.

• As soon as you get up, the sound of wood will call you to the dojo for zazen sitting meditation, facing the wall (facing yourself), in deep silence.
• It will be followed by a brief ceremony of homage and gratitude to the Buddhas and masters of the Soto Zen lineage.
• Then comes breakfast! Genmaï, a source of health, traditional rice soup with its accompaniment of lacto-fermented vegetables…
• It will then be necessary to participate, as the whole community, in the tasks that concern living together: washing dishes, cleaning, peeling vegetables, tending and watering the vegetable garden… samu . The samu Samu is a selfless gift to the community.
• Finally, coffee tea and small cakes!! With all the residents and the abbot of the monastery (or an elder monk). This is a very friendly time for sharing, questions, exchanges… and sometimes an informal teaching of the abbot, always very appreciated.
• Then, at the sound of the bell samu resumes, a collective work carried out with attention and concentration conducive to the development of a vast and calm mind…
• The lunch will be announced by a pretty cascade of metallic sounds and is, in principle, taken in silence, with attention to and respect for the foods that keep us healthy and those who prepared them: It is notorious that meals in Kanshoji border on gastronomy!! (vegetarian, organic and of course local!)
• After a well-deserved rest, the round of samu, lectures, meals and meditation continues until the end of the day.

Teachings

During this week, several teachings on Buddhist practice and wisdom will be given by the abbot of the monastery, the Zen master Taiun Faure: teachings during zazen meditation, lectures, talks and mondo : questions-answers.

In the midst of the abundance of meditations of all kinds very much in vogue on the internet,
it is necessary to return to a meditative practice
based on a thousand-year-old experience
and on universal and eternal values.

Come and experience for yourself,
during this spiritual holiday,
the value of this teaching and practice

See you soon!