Kanshoji - The Grand Celebrations of March 2013


Gruppenfoto

A flower opens and... A new step in the growth of Kanshoji Zen Monastery...
A seed germinates, a plant grows and produces fruit which produce new seeds...
Last 5th and 6th March there took place, under the benevolent authority of Donin Miamizawa Roshi, the 10th anniversary of Kanshoji, the inauguration of the new dojo, and Jifu Olivier Pressac's hossenshiki ceremony.


Donin Minamizawa Roshi and Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, abbot of Kanshoji


Donin Minamizawa Roshi is Vice Zenji of Eiheiji, abbot of Chuoji (in Sapporo), and the founder of Kanshoji. He met Master Deshimaru in Japan and supported him in his mission. For these great celebrations he was accompanied by a delegation of monks from Eiheiji. A good number of kyoshis and the leaders of the International Zen Association were also present.


Kanshoji's tenth anniversary


Tea Ceremony (Honsokucha)


As a preamble to the hossenshiki ceremony, a tea ceremony was offered to the assembly. On this occasion, the case of doctrine was presented and the abbot gave a commentary.
The teaching given by Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure:
In our school we speak of "the Great Hero Peak Where One Sits Alone". Dogen presents it as the great gate through which pass all the Buddhas and the Patriarchs.
To sit down on that summit that surpasses all others is to experience the sublime solitude in which all the chatter of self with self is wiped away. At that moment the obvious, a wide perspective in which all discriminating consciousness is abolished, opens itself to us.(...)


Hossenshiki


During this ceremony, Jifu Olivier Pressac officially occupied the place of shuso, monk of the first rank. He expressed determination, force, and delicacy.


 


 Inauguration of the new dojo


On such an occasion local officials, leaders of the IZA, and the principal leaders of Kanshoji all said a few words. You can read here their interventions:

Pierre Crépon, President of IZA:
Ten years ago, a small group of people around Taiun Faure decided to settle here. They made a place here thanks to that blend of effort and letting go that is characteristic of the practice of the Way, supported by faith in the Dharma, the benevolence of Reverend Donin Minamizawa, and Buddha's blessing. (...) Continue reading

The Sub Prefect:
(...) Your presence here is an expression of the principle of separation of church and stat, which is not the negation of religion. That principle is one of acceptance and opening. It is protection and tolerance. (...)

Hosetsu Laure Scemama, Vice-President of Kanshoji Zen Association:
Today we inaugurate the new dojo, which has just been completed. The dojo is the heart of the monastery. It is here in this hall that we practise zazen, meditation with no object. Each one alone with him or herself but, at the same time, present with all the others. (...)

Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, Abbot of the monastery:
From the very beginning, humanity has constantly gone forward to overcome crisis after crisis. The crisis we find ourselves in today is not just economic or social. It is a crisis of the human mind. The response that we bring to it cannot be merely scientific or technological or even less ideological. It must come from a revolution of the mind. André Malraux, who was in his own way a visionary, said, "the 21st century will be spiritual or it will not take place."
We must be very attentive to the mind with which we approach situations, with which we seek new solutions, with which we adapt to changes. (...)