Master Taisen Deshimaru
Reverend Taisen Deshimaru (whose given name was Yasuo) was born in 1914 near the town of Saga, on the island of Kyushu. His father was a notable who led the local fishermen's union. His mother was a fervent follower of Jôdô Shinshu Buddhism (Pure Land school) founded by Shinran; she passed on to him her faith in the teachings of this school. He was also influenced by the spirit of bushido that reigned in Japan at the time, particularly in the city of Saga, a Mecca of the samurai spirit.
In 1935, while studying economics in Tokyo, he began practising Sôtô Zen with Kôdô Sawaki roshi, one of the great Zen masters of the 20th century, who was then godo (instructor of the monks in the dojo) of the Sojiji temple, one of the two main temples of the Sôtô school. He wanted to become a monk but Sawaki Roshi encouraged him to practise while continuing a secular life, which he did for the next thirty years. During the war, he was discharged thanks to his myopia and spent several years in Indonesia, where he later returned.
In 1965, before he died, Kodo Sawaki ordained him as a monk. Taisen Deshimaru felt that he had resolved the contradictions he had experienced between the material and spiritual aspects of life, and between the teachings of Jôdô Shinshu and Zen.
In 1967, invited by a group of French followers of macrobiotics, he came to France where he devoted himself entirely to teaching zazen and the Zen tradition. It was a favourable moment and his mission quickly received a great response. In the space of a few years, he increased the number of conferences and practice sessions, translated the fundamental texts of Zen, published works and created the Association Zen d'Europe (which became the Association Zen Internationale - AZI): the number of his disciples grew and he founded numerous places of practice. Gradually, his activity also gained recognition in Japan. He received the transmission of the Dharma from Yamada Reirin roshi in 1970 and was appointed Kaikyosokan (superior of missionary activities) for Europe in 1976.
From that moment on, his missionary work expanded even further and led to the creation of the temple of La Gendronnière in 1979. At the same time, the growing number of his disciples, the work of establishing and adapting the tradition, and the management of the whole required ever greater efforts. He planned to bring in other Japanese teachers to assist him, but he fell ill in 1981. Taisen Deshimaru roshi died of cancer on 30 April 1982 in Tokyo.
Endowed with exceptional energy, Taisen Deshimaru roshi was driven by an unshakeable faith in the practice of zazen, in the pure teaching of the Buddhas and patriarchs of Zen, and in the importance of this practice and teaching for the civilisation to come. Although he did not name a direct successor or give an official transmission (shiho), he passed on this faith to the many disciples he had trained, some of whom he had designated as future masters.
As the founder of Zen in Europe, Taisen Deshimaru thus firmly established the living tradition of Zen in a new land.
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