The teaching in Kanshoji

In Sôtô Zen, the teaching is transmitted from person to person.

At Kanshoji, it is given by Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, who received the Dharma transmission from Dônin Minamisawa Zenji, abbot of Eiheiji zen temple.

Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure’s teaching is based on that of Shakyamuni Bouddha rewritten at each period. It takes the different traditional forms of sôtô zen (see page “Sôtô zen buddhism“). All the teachings are translated into English.

Kusen

Oral teaching given during zazen

Kusen is the oral teaching given by the teacher during zazen.

It is not literature. Sentences are simple, short and straightforward. The kusen speaks to the deep part of the brain, to the heart of the disciple, who should not try to grasp it intellectually.

Kusen

A Universe of Resonance

In the 1960s, there was a craze amongst young people for things from the Far East. They set out for India, for Kathmandu. They opened up to the world of resonance. The idea started to spread that the flutter of butterfly’s wings above the Amazon rainforest could trigger a tornado in Texas.

The Universe unfolds by resonance. The slightest of our actions, or even our thoughts, influences the unfolding of the Universe. Everything resonates with everything else. All things are interdependent. All things are interlinked. Interdependence is a law of the Universe. The other law of the Universe is that of impermanence – everything changes at every moment, nothing is fixed.

When the mallet hits the bell, a sound spreads through the Universe; we say that the bell resonates. However, if you grasp the bell with your hand, you prevent it from resonating. As soon as your ego fixes things, you impair resonance. As soon as you want to control, possess, fix things, you prevent the Universe from unfolding harmoniously, freely.

To practice the way of the Buddha is to avoid grasping, of fixing reality with words. It is to avoid wanting to direct, to control others. In zazen, when a thought appears, whether we like it or not, we let it appear. When this thought disappears, we let it disappear. We respect the law of resonance. Every event, even the most insignificant, has consequences. The Universe is a universe of resonance.

Any desire to possess, any desire to control, any desire to reject, goes against resonance, a law of the Universe. This is how we encounter dissatisfaction and suffering, when we fail to embrace reality as it is at every moment.

All our thoughts, all our words, all our actions spread and resonate throughout the Universe. Therefore, the important point is to take into account the nature, the quality of our thoughts, our words, our actions.

Our zazen here and now influences the Universe for eternity. Indeed, we don’t practice for our personal comfort, we practice so that peace of mind may resonate within all beings.

Peace within oneself; peace in the world.

Taiun JP Faure, August 2026

September 21, 2026/0 Comments/by Gemmon Casimir Ostyn

Kusen

Our greatest blindness is to think that we do nothing wrong

A sutra says that taking care of living beings requires us to see our mistakes and to give them up. We make all sorts of small mistakes without seeing it, without knowing it. We have all sorts of bad habits that we don’t question. The sutra…

Kusen

All forms of existence support one another

Fully sitting, to the exclusion of all else, we practice patience in the face of reality as it is. Whether what we see is pleasant or unpleasant, we remain unmoved by what is. Through this repeated, profound practice, the eye of wisdom opens.…

Kusen

To live is to die

When you die, you will take nothing with you to the grave. Nothing can be kept; nothing can be possessed. When they realise this truth, some people are writhe in pain. Yet it is this reality that must be accepted, lived with, and embraced. Everything…

See all the kusens

Chosan

Meeting with the abbot

The teacher expounds the Dharma freely in the presence of his disciples, around a cup of tea.
The teaching relates to real-life situations.

A monastery is not great because of its many disciples.
It is great because chosan is practiced daily.
Master Dôgen

Chosan

Chôsan on engaged Buddhism

The premise of this chôsan is a film, The Venerable W, about a Burmese monk who encourages racism towards Islam. I have reservations about engaged Buddhism that shifts towards politics. That monk, pointing the finger at crimes committed…

Chosan

Zen and psychoanalysis

" [...] Zen is different: its purpose is not to fix the ego, to make it compatible with society or the others. Zen deals with issues having to do with a whole other nature [...]"

Mondo

Questions and Answers

The mondo is the opportunity, for the disciple, to ask the teacher a question on some aspects of the teaching and how to realise them in daily life.

Mondo

Question: What is the “self” D.T. Suzuki refers to?

Mondo

Question : I often hear that zen is rigorous.

Mondo

Question : What is the difference between rebirth and reincarnation?

Teisho

Lectures

Teisho - Lectures

The commitment of a nun in the city (Hosetsu Laure Scemama – IZA seminar)

The commitment of a nun in the city (Hosetsu Laure Scemama) There exits several styles of life for a Zen monk or nun. I would like here to present an account of the style of life of a nun who is totally engaged in city life. In Japan,…

Teisho - Lectures

Personal experience: the monastic life (Yashô Valérie Guéneau – IZA seminar)

As you can see, it is possible to live in a monastery for a number of years and remain quite normal! In our Sangha of the AZI certain members imagine that monks and nuns live in a monastery like “extra-terrestrial” beings – austere,…

Teisho - Lectures

Zen monk, bodhisattva : the-vows of the candidate for Awakening (Taiun JP Faure – IZA seminar 2014)

Human beings are religious animals. The Absolute is present at the heart of all phenomena of the universe. The entire universe practises the Way, naturally, unconsciously, and automatically. That gives rise to the question that Master Dogen…

See all the teishos

Frequently Asked Questions

Ask questions

You are welcome to feed this page with questions. So, please feel free to send them to webmaster@kanshoji.org

Question: What does “body and mind unified” mean?

There is no mind without a body, no body without a mind. They are two aspects of a single reality. When body and mind are unified, we can remain present to ultimate reality, like Buddha Shakyamuni says so well: “The sound that is heard and the one who hears it are instantly forgotten”
That is what we get into the habit of doing in zazen. In other words, regardless of the situation, we are totally open to it, totally available. When we let go of everything that appears on our consciousness, without running away from or rejecting anything, nothing separates us from reality. Body and mind in unity, we become one with all existences in the universe. Being in unity with all existences, we can respond to them with wisdom and compassion.

Question: Is zazen the means to an end, the end being experiencing the nature of the self?

Zazen is not at the service of anything. Zazen is simply the manifestation of ultimate reality, which has no end per se. Bringing this ultimate dimension within us has the power to change our life… We realise then that our points of view, our conceptions, our interpretations are relative, and that in no case should they be confused with ultimate reality.

Question: Ignorance, waywardness,”the true nature of life”, “the true nature of all things”, “reality as it is”… Can you explain?

A wrong vision of reality leads us to believe that all things in life are permanent, solid; that they have their own existence, independent from the rest. But the opposite is true.
In reality, all things in life are impermanent: they exist in interdependence with all other things, and have no separate existence.

Question: Could you explain what the three poisons are?

Buddha teaches that we are the cause of our suffering, which comes from our ignorance, greed and aversion. However, he also asserts that we can put an end to our suffering, if we free ourselves from those three defilements, the three poisons.
Ignorance (waywardness):
Not seeing the true nature of life, the true nature of all things, that is to say, Buddha nature. Ignorance stops us from leading our life the right way, harmoniously, because we do not see reality as it is.
Greed (envy):
Neglecting our true nature and that of all things, we do not have access to the satisfying feeling of peace and plenitude. Consequently, we are in a state of frustration and lack, which leads us to look for happiness in material possessions, social status, fame, recognition, etc.
Aversion (anger, violence, hatred…):
Oblivious to the state of awakening, we accuse others; we feel aversion for everything that bothers us; we feel anger and hatred towards the outside world.
It is because we follow the three poisons – often unknowingly – that we entertain relationships with the world which are not right, which prevents our fulfillment and that of others

Question: Could you tell me about compassion and the relationship to dana - giving?

To practice the Buddha way is to show wisdom and compassion. This can be realised when we become free of the three poisons — ignorance, greed and aversion — and of all the resulting toxic flows. Then, we are no longer locked up in our selfish thoughts, and consequently, no longer separate from other beings. We see the others as they are, with their joys and their sorrows. We feel the desire to help them with their sufferings. Being compassionate is being in unity with the others. The river of giving then flows naturally and freely between all existences. When we are free of the three poisons, the virtue of giving arises naturally. It’s a characteristic of Buddha’s functioning.