Testimonies

I simply wanted to thank you for everything you gave us during this retreat. I felt as if something was unblocked, and since then, many changes have started within me. I thank you because this place has healed a part of me, and has healed me from all kinds of hatred and other negative feelings that had been weighing me down for a long time.

Your teachings and your words continue to work in my mind, and I keep them close to guide me. I will come back!

Ninon

I spent 10 days at the monastery and I highly recommend this experience. If you want to return to simplicity, to simply be in the present moment… you are in the right place.

Sharing community life, cooking, gardening… Simple things that we can easily lose sight of.

Céline

I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to go back-I found it very beneficial.

You know when an osteopath puts your back in place and you feel immediate relief? I feel like the same thing happened with my mind. Getting up early for zazen, being focused during meals, being aware of others and being part of something greater than oneself. All these things gave me a much healthier perspective and I feel much more unified. I really want to dive back into the practice.

Rosalinde

Thank you again for your welcome, your availability and your attentive ear. By coming to Kanshoji, I found a true Sangha, a haven of peace and tranquility, a beautiful place and, of course, an authentic master, a true guide on the way of Buddha.

Laurent

My stay at Kanshoji was very enriching and I was very happy to meet the abbot, as well as the monks and nuns. I wanted to experience Buddhism for the first time, and it touched me deeply. I left the monastery with the feeling that I had received a treasure. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have given me, especially through the teachings. What Kanshoji has given me, I hope to keep for the rest of my life.

Raphaëlle

It was for me a discovery of Soto Zen Buddhism. Thank you for your teachings, your guidance, your behavior… you embody the Buddha’s path through your hospitality, the presence of the elders, your delicious dishes prepared with love… all these little details made me feel helped at every moment and allowed me to devote myself fully to the practice, with trust. Thank you!

I greatly admire your ability to welcome and to transmit. This weekend, I understood that your monastery is an open home for everyone. I could go on and on with the thanks, and I would never be exhaustive because your teaching is much deeper than what we can see. It is living it that matters, and now I know where to turn to take my next steps in Soto Zen.

Aline

Dear all,

I left in silence, without saying anything. I don’t like goodbyes. I wanted to thank you with all my heart; this week has been life-changing. I know that for me there is a before Kanshoji and there will be an after. All this was possible thanks to all of you. I keep a memory of each of you-a shared moment, a kindness, a look, a smile, a piece of advice, a teaching…

Respectfully,

Thank you.

Harmonie

My stay at the monastery was unique and special. It was my first “workaway” experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better start. I was welcomed very warmly, and the people who live there are kind and always want you to feel good. I participated in morning and evening zazen (meditation), and I felt so calm and clear afterwards! The work was varied, sometimes in the kitchen or cleaning, but I mostly did gardening in their beautiful large vegetable beds. If you need anything, everyone is there for you. The food was really delicious, mostly vegetarian, and always more than enough!

I highly recommend this beautiful place. I arrived nervous and anxious (because of my life and the world situation), but I left with a newfound peace and meaningful conversations with the people I met there. Thank you for being so accommodating, I hope to return one day!

Jasmine

I arrived with two very heavy bags. When I left, the two bags weighed much less…

I suddenly realized that it was my being that had somehow lost the weight I had been carrying until then. What the luggage and my mind contained no longer mattered as I took my first steps into a new, peaceful, and harmonious existence.

I hope we meet again soon.

Thank you all for opening my mind and heart to your profound existence of well-being and wisdom.

Kevin

Just to say thank you for this wonderful weekend spent at the monastery.

Thank you for your kindness, your warm welcome, and for this discovery which was, for me, like a liberation, a revelation.

It will remain engraved in my memory. Among the zazen sittings, the words spoken, and the moments of sharing, the donation ceremony particularly moved me to tears; my heart was filled with joy at that moment. Thank you.

Céline

Thank you all for this incredible discovery. In perfect organization, a setting of such regenerative beauty, activities rich in sharing.

The zazen, the teachings-a source of so much serenity with which I returned. A true connection with myself.

I will return to Kanshoji.

Catherine

Back in Seine-et-Marne, my thoughts return to you. Thank you for these few days of discovery and sharing. Thank you for your reassuring presence throughout these moments of welcome and integration into the life of the monastery.

I was truly struck by your commitment to practice, the authenticity of the teachings, and the rigor in all daily acts. Thank you also for the conversations around my own reflections; I return to society with the “koan” of choice and responsibility still resonating in my ears.

Emmanuel

I came for a silent retreat and to learn the practice of zazen meditation.

I thank the abbot and the monks for their teachings, their attentive listening, and their respect for everyone…

The place is restorative, surrounded by soothing nature…

The magic of life that operates in the silence of each person’s feelings…

For all those who wish to find calm within themselves, or simply to have an experience, the practice of zazen brings serenity to our body, heart, and mind…

Whatever one comes to seek in this place, one leaves with a gift given to oneself, which infuses within us this openness to the consciousness of life… of our life.

Karine

I think no one can forget their time at the monastery; it’s a journey into your unique, welcoming, rich world-another world, but a true world…

Thank you especially for your hospitality and such warm support. See you again, no doubt!

Angel