was a Japanese

Sōtō Zen Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher, who founded the ''Association Zen Internationale''.

Biography

Early life

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 , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...

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 The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

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 Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh� ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Master

Kodo Sawaki __NOTOC__ Kodo may refer to: Japan * ''Kōdō'' (香道), ceremonial appreciation of incense * Nippon Kodo (日本香堂), an incense company * Kodō (taiko group) (鼓童), a ''taiko'' drumming group * Kodo-kai (弘道会), a yakuza criminal o ...

.Association Zen Internationale, ''Master Taisen Deshimaru and the arrival of zen in Europe''
/ref> Following the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, 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

Deshimaru was exempted from the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

because of his

near-sightedness Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may includ ...

. He went to the island of Bangka,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, to direct a copper mine. There he taught the practice of ''zazen'' to the Chinese, Indonesian, and European inhabitants.buddhanet: Deshimaru
/ref> 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". Thereafter Deshimaru went to the island of Belitung, to direct a copper mine which was captured from the Dutch. After the war he was taken prisoner by the Americans, and sent to a camp in Singapore.

Further Zen studies

Deshimaru quickly rejoined Kodo Sawaki. He studied with him for fourteen years, until Sawaki's death in 1965. 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. 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.

Europe

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 René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

and

Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the ...

as philosophers who understood Zen without even knowing it.Archived a
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Wayback Machine
In the 1970s, his mission grew. In 1970 Deshimaru received dharma transmission from Master Yamada Reirin. 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

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

sect.

Students

* Reiryu Philippe Coupey, dharma transmission from Kojun Kishigami, who received dharma transmission from Kodo Sawaki.Kansas City Zen Center, ''Lineage''
/ref> * Kosen Thibaut, dharma transmission from Niwa Zenji in 1984.European Zen Center, ''Master Kosen''
/ref> * Robert Livingston * Master Sando Kaisen

Books

* ''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''

References

External links

Association Bouddhiste Zen Deshimaru

Association Zen Internationale

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshimaru, Taisen Zen Buddhism writers Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist monks 1914 births 1982 deaths Japanese Zen Buddhists People from Saga Prefecture 20th-century Buddhist monks