https://www.scribd.com/book/567617929/Autobiography-of-a-Zen-Monk-Taisen-Deshimaru
Autobiography of a Zen Monk Paperback – June 1, 2022
by Taisen Deshimaru (Author), Richard Collins (Translator)
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A story of bravery and false starts, The Autobiography of a Zen Monk candidly recounts the author’s development from a highly mischievous Japanese boy into a world-renowned Sensei (Teacher) of Zen. While countless memoirs exist written by Zen students and teachers, few are as engaging and as tantalizing as Taisen Deshimaru’s. Looking back at his early life, growing up in Japan, from the viewpoint of his status as a Zen teacher in Paris, the author reflects on his earliest misadventures―from defacing a valuable painting of Bodhidharma as a child, to turning the “Zen stick” on a young monk during a retreat. Adventures abound with stories about alcohol and women, during his student years, and his activities during World War II in working for the arms industry in Malaysia, where he was sympathetic to the underground freedom movement.
This first English-language translation of Taisen Deshimaru’s autobiography will be prized for its clear and honest documentation of this great master’s life. Many people all over the world have been influenced by Deshimaru’s Zen teachings, especially his book on Zen and the martial arts. This memoir fills an important gap in our knowledge of his teacher, Kodo Sawaki’s influence on the world of Zen. The story of how Deshimaru met Sawaki as a boy, even slept in the same room with him, and later received monastic ordination is the story of a lifelong friendship of two extraordinary characters in the history of modern Zen.
Deshimaru’s influence extends beyond Zen practitioners, though, especially in those interested in the martial arts, as he touches on his martial arts experience as a young man and offers a look into the master’s early training.
Additional interest extends to historians who recount the supposed “scandals” of Zen masters’ participation in the war effort. Although Deshimaru’s viewpoint is decidedly subjective, he was intimately acquainted with priests and generals alike, and approaches the difficult subject with a refreshing lack of judgmental disdain which counterbalances many other more lopsided works.
Translator, Richard Collins, a longtime Zen practitioner, and currently the Abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple, is a literature scholar and author of several books including No Fear Zen, Hohm Press, 2014. His knowledge of the subject matter and his finesse with language combine to make this book a delightful read for those who appreciate well-written memoir.
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212 pages
June 1, 2022
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About the Author
Founder of Association Zen Internationale, Deshimaru had a great influence on Zen in the West, especially Europe. He studied Rinzai Zen before finding his true teacher Kodo Sawaki and the practice of Dogen’s Zen. Kodo Sawaki asked him to spread Zen to the West, and he came to Paris in 1967, where he taught for the rest of his life. La Gendronniere, the practice center he founded (1979) in France, continues to be an important Zen center. He died in 1982, leaving a number of influential disciples, including Etiene Zeisler, Roland Rech, Kosen Thibaut, Philippe Coupey and Robert Livingston.
A Zen teacher in the lineage of Taisen Deshimaru, Richard Collins is currently abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple. Dean Emeritus of Arts & Humanities at California State Univ., Bakersfield, he’s held several research fellowships including a Fulbright Senior Lectureship. He received monastic ordination from Robert Livingston Roshi (New Orleans Zen Temple), & Kosen Nishiyama Roshi (Sendai Temple, Japan). He founded the Zen Fellowship of Alexandria, Louisiana and the Zen Fellowship of Bakersfield. His publications include poems, fiction, essays, and articles on Zen topics. He is the author of No Fear Zen.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
One day around the New Year just before I entered school, I accompanied my grandfather on a visit to the Buddhist temple of Manpuku-ji. In this temple, not far from our house, lived an old monk by the name of Tera Etsuo. In this part of the country, he was one of the few who could read and had a thorough knowledge of the writings of the Yuichi Kigaku school of thought. My grandfather had great respect for him. This old monk, a lover of antiquities, possessed a large number of precious scroll paintings. That day, he had proudly hung on the back wall a sumi-e painting of Daruma (Bodhidharma, the founder of Buddhism) from his collection of scrolls.
“What a beautiful piece! This portrait is far superior to those you usually see.”
“Really! If you compare it to those drawn by Shinran, which do you prefer?”
“Oh! This one here is much worthier!”
They began to discuss the merits of this painting. It must have gone on for at least a good two hours but it seemed to me to go on endlessly. I was bored to death. In front of this costly Daruma, with the frightening and silent face, I felt the impulse to do something foolish. With a leap, I seized a brush and inkstone that were on the table, and I drew my own Daruma above the head of this famous representation. All this took a matter of seconds.
Suddenly, the two men stopped talking and froze when they heard the scrape of my brush on the scroll. I can still see the expressions on their faces when they turned to see me with that brush in my hand. Their attitude being truly worrying, I quickly slipped behind the kakemono. Immediately after, I heard a double detonation, their two voices exploding in unison.
“Ah! What the hell has he done?” Their thunderous voices seemed terribly menacing. Never since then have I seen such looks. The abbot, normally impassive, had his eyes building out of his head. My grandfather, normally rugged, seemed to be on the verge of tears.
I hauled ass towards the main building, and both of them took off after me, but these old men could never catch me. They followed me inside the big building. I hid behind the big gong which was rung during the chanting of the sutras. I grabbed the wooden striker used to hit the gong and faintly resembled the clubs which cops used to carry on their hips. I brandished it and faced them.
Product details
Publisher : Hohm Press (June 1, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 212 pages
ISBN-10 : 194249372X
Taisen Deshimaru
Taisen Deshimaru | |
|---|---|
 Taisen Deshimaru in the Netherlands (1967) | |
| Title | Rōshi |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1914 |
| Died | April 30, 1982 (aged 67–68) |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Sōtō |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | Kodo Sawaki |
| Predecessor | Yamada Reirin |
| Website | Association Zen Internationale |
Taisen Deshimaru (弟子丸 泰仙, Deshimaru Taisen, 29 November 1914 - April 30, 1982) was a Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhist teacher, who founded the Association Zen Internationale.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Born in the Saga Prefecture of Kyūshū, Deshimaru was raised by his grandfather, a former Samurai before the Meiji Revolution, and by his mother, a devout follower of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism. Interested in the world, he abandoned his mother's practices and studied Christianity for a long while under a Protestant minister before ultimately deciding that it was not for him either. He returned to Buddhism and eventually came into contact with Rinzai teachings.
Eventually, he also grew distant from Rinzai Buddhism and was unsatisfied by his life as a businessman. In 1935, when he was studying economics in Tokyo, Deshimaru began to practice under Sōtō Zen Master Kodo Sawaki.[1]
Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, his master predicted that Japan would lose the war. When Deshimaru departed from his Master, Kodo said "Our homeland will be destroyed, our people annihilated . . . and this may be the last time we see one another. Nevertheless, love all mankind regardless of race or creed."
War years[edit]
Deshimaru was exempted from the Imperial Japanese Army because of his near-sightedness. He went to the island of Bangka, Indonesia, to direct a copper mine. There he taught the practice of zazen to the Chinese, Indonesian, and European inhabitants.[2] He defended inhabitants against the violence of his own people, and was therefore almost thrown in jail, in which case he would have been released by "the highest military authorities in Japan".[2]
Thereafter Deshimaru went to the island of Belitung, to direct a copper mine which was captured from the Dutch.[2] After the war he was taken prisoner by the Americans, and sent to a camp in Singapore.[2]
Further Zen studies[edit]
Deshimaru quickly rejoined Kodo Sawaki. He studied with him for fourteen years, until Sawaki's death in 1965.[citation needed] Deshimaru received ordination as a monk shortly before Sawaki became ill. Deshimaru claimed to have received dharma transmission at Sawaki's deathbed, but it was never registered with the Soto school.[citation needed] Sawaki is said to have expressed his wish to spread Zen to other parts of the world on his deathbed, and asked Deshimaru to travel to Europe and spread the teaching.[citation needed]
Europe[edit]
In 1967, Deshimaru went to Europe and settled in Paris in order to fulfill his master's wish and spread the teachings of Zen. In an interview Deshimaru affirmed he chose France to teach because of its philosophical tradition; he cited Michel de Montaigne, René Descartes, Henri Bergson and Nicolas Malebranche as philosophers who understood Zen without even knowing it.[3] In the 1970s, his mission grew. In 1970 Deshimaru received dharma transmission from Master Yamada Reirin.[1] He became Kaikyosokan (head of Japanese Soto Zen for a particular country or continent) in Europe.
He died in 1982, after he had solidly established Zen practice in the West. After Master Deshimaru's death, three of his closest disciples, Etienne Zeisler, Roland Rech, and Kosen Thibaut, traveled to Japan to receive the shiho from the highest Soto authority, Master Rempo Niwa Zenji. In 1977 Master Deshimaru ordained Olivier Wang-Genh into his Soto-lineage. In 2016 Olivier Wang-Genh was re-appointed President of the Buddhist Union of France.
Influence[edit]
Deshimaru founded the Association Zen Internationale in 1970, and La Gendronnière in 1979. Deshimaru trained many disciples, and was the catalyst for the creation of a multitude of practice centers. His teachings and multitude of books helped spread the influence of Zen in Europe and America, particularly of the Sōtō sect.
Students[edit]
- Reiryu Philippe Coupey, dharma transmission from Kojun Kishigami, who received dharma transmission from Kodo Sawaki.[4]
- Kosen Thibaut, dharma transmission from Niwa Zenji in 1984.[5]
- Robert Livingston
- Master Sando Kaisen [6]
Books[edit]
- Za-Zen, the practice of the Zen
- Sit: Zen Teachings of Master Taisen Deshimaru
- The Ring of the Way: Testament of a Zen Master
- Questions to a Zen Master
- The Zen Way To Martial Arts
- The Way of True Zen
- The Voice of the Valley
- Mushotoku Mind: The Heart of the Heart Sutra
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Association Zen Internationale, Master Taisen Deshimaru and the arrival of zen in Europe
- ^ a b c d buddhanet: Deshimaru
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "TAISEN DESHIMARU Hannya Shingyo excerpt, interview in English, zazen and kinhin demonstration..." YouTube.
- ^ Kansas City Zen Center, Lineage
- ^ European Zen Center, Master Kosen
- ^ "Sandó Kaisen – ZEN | Buddhovo sezení".
External links[edit]
- Association Bouddhiste Zen Deshimaru
- Association Zen Internationale
- Buddhist Masters and their Organisations
- Mokusan Dojo de Madrid Zen master Barbara Kosen Sangha
- New Orleans Zen Temple (Robert Livingston Roshi, Deshimaru's student)
- Taisen Deshimaru in My Space
- Zen Association Germany (ZVD), Ludger Tenryu Tenbreul Roshi
- International Zen Association United Kingdom
- Zen road - Rei Ryu Philippe Coupey
- Mokusho Zen Haz Budapest (Zen master Yvon Myoken Bec)
- Zen Soto Monastery Parma, Italy (Fausto Guareschi Roshi, Deshimaru's student)
- Taisen Deshimaru: Expansion of Consciousness
