The 2022 Winter Ango

The 12th winter ango went well in Kanshoji. During this training period, the monk Mokusho Eric Hadjadj, from the Limoges Zen Centre, took on the role of shuso, the first of the monks, guiding the other five participants by his example.

Throughout the three months, members of the Sangha came – for a few days or a few months – to support this time of excellent practice.

The Venerable Sokan from Europe Minegishi Roshi, our friends Rev. Seijo and Dokan Crépon from Kokaiji Temple in Vannes, and Rev. Kōren Robel from Myô-Unji Temple came to give teachings.

Ango means: to dwell in tranquillity; it is to live daily life with a peaceful mind.

The founding abbot of the monastery, Todo Taiun Roshi, said of ango during the closing ceremony:

Three months spent together maintaining the body of Buddha,
seeing with his eyes of profound wisdom
that in fact nothing stands in the way of truth, that it is always there before our eyes.
Three months of seeing that it is we who attach ourselves.
Three months of seeing that it is always possible, at any time,
to escape one’ s karma, to hold one’ s discriminating conscience at bay.