Speech by
Christophe Ryurin Desmur
disciple of
Stéphane Kosen Thibaut
pronounced in front of the very great sôtô sangha
at La Gendronnière temple in 2017
“Nothing but Master Deshimaru’s Zen is taught, and never anything more, nor anything less than what he taught us, from the first to the last day of his mission. And we have checked every time that this Deshimaru kit is perfectly adapted and capable of being assimilated by every country, by every culture, and that the Sawaki-Deshimaru lineage is a universal Zen and an authentic transmission.”
Photo: Dojo of the Yujo Nyusanji temple located 90km from Montpellier (zen-deshimaru.com)
Hello,
My name is Master Ryurin, and l'm in charge of the Lyon Dojo, a dojo which we have owned for three years now, in this city that was so fond of Master Deshimaru. Today, I am President of the Zen-Deshimaru Buddhist Association, which was founded by Master Kosen Thibaut, whom you know better under the name of Stéphane.
Stéphane is the oldest living disciple of Master Deshimaru, after Mrs Malika of course.
He has asked me to briefly describe to you the work done by our Sangha for over 25 years.
Our sangha has given around 2500 ordinations across all hemispheres. And Master Kosen has transmitted the dharma to 12 people, 5 women and 7 men, some of whom have already their descendants in lineage:
September 1993: The Shiho was given to three former disciples of Master Deshimaru
Fall 2002: The Shiho was given to Yvon Bee on behalf of Etienne Mokusho Zeisler, whose descendants in lineage are here.
October 2009: the Shiho was given to:
Pierre Leroux: Former Tenzo of our Sangha who now helps the Sangha in South America, especially in Chile and in Mexico
Christophe Desmur: Head of the Dojo-Temple of Lyon, which we have now owned for 3 years. This dojo was very close to Master Deshimaru heart, who wanted to settle down in Lyon. Myoko Horibe and Alain Kassan were very involved in the creation of this dojo, Jacques Gautron and André Meissner were in charge of this dojo for many years.
November 2013 :
Loïc Vuillemin: He was guardian of Yujo Nyusanji temple for 8 years. He is the deepest monk of Zen: he dives to a depth of 50 m in apnea.
April 2015:
Ariadna Labbate: Responsible and guardian of the Shobogenji temple in Argentina. Gran Maestra Argentina and business coach.
Ingrid Igelnick: New guardian of the Yujo Nyusanji temple in the Caroux, and secretary of Master Kosen, with whom she practised, by his side, for over 25 years.
Françoise Julien: Disciple of Master Deshimaru, founder and head of the Dijon Dojo. Compiler and proof-reader of the kusens and books of Master Kosen.
Paula Femenias: Head of the Gothenburg Dojo
October 2016:
Toshiro Yamauchi: Descendant of the Fujiwara clan and head of the dojo of Buenos Aires. He, together with Ariadna Labatte, is the head of the Zen Association of South America [AZAL].
Master Kosen’s sangha has built two 40-hectare temples, each with pure spring of water spouting from the earth and a river flowing joyfully through our hearts. Each temple HAS A BIG BELL AND A GREAT DOJO, as we learned from Master Deshimaru.
Description of the two temples:
Shobogenji : In 1999, the Kosen Sangha of Argentina acquired a deep valley on the slopes of the Uritorco, the highest mountain in the province of Cordoba. Shrouded in legends, and well known in the world of ufology, it is the ancient sacred land of the "Comechingones" aboriginals. For many years, it has been a point of convergence for all people in search of spiritual experiences.
The place where the temple is located is called “Ojo de Agua", because a river of pure mineral water flows there, and comes from a reservoir shaped like a large eye.
When we arrived there in 1999 to practice our first one-month summer camp, we had nothing but simply our practice ofzazen. We chose to use the resources we had at the time to build our temple, that is to say, little money, but a great capacity for work and our faith in the treasure of Master Deshimaru. We built a kitchen with a wood-burning stove, a dining hall, a dojo over 100 square meters in size, hot showers receiving water from a spring, an eco- friendly bathroom, a small house for Master Kosen, a workshop and a small dormitory, plus a complete remodelling of a portion of the land into terraces.
Altogether it is a living place that is harmonious and respectful of the natural environment.
Thanks to the mission of Master Kosen, we have a temple, Yujo Nyusanji, in the magnificent Caroux regional park in the south of France. It is a place in the midst of nature, on a mountain (a medium-size mountain of around 850 metres altitude), ideal for calm and deep practice of Zen.
For 7 years, Master Kosho Vuillemin has been in charge of the maintenance and improvement of the temple so that it meets the national standards. From September onwards, I will succeed him as guardian of the temple and I would be very happy to welcome you and accommodate you in the framework of the organization of your sesshins, according to the wishes of Master Kosen.
In all these dojos and temples, nothing but Master Deshimaru’s Zen is taught, and never anything more, nor anything less than what he taught us, from the first to the last day of his mission. And we have checked every time that this Deshimaru kit is perfectly adapted and capable of being assimilated by every country, by every culture, and that the Sawaki-Deshimaru lineage is a universal Zen and an authentic transmission.