Subjective report Sesshin Buxton 2023
First times in life are very memorable, this sesshin was my first for several reasons:
It was my first time on a foreign sesshin, my first time meeting Master Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure’s teaching and my first time in Buxton.
Zazen was not unknown to me, as the Buddhist College (1991-1995) introduced me to Eastern and Western views related to Buddhism, which became the theoretical foundations of Buddhist meditation for me. I received a comprehensive outlook on life from my teachers, to which zazen, as their practice, fit organically. I have experienced that in practice there is a significant difference between theories and zazen.
A long chain of events led me to Buxton.
It started last August, as can be seen from the above, rather it continued. One evening in August, as I was walking home after work, I really wanted to rest somewhere, that is, to be together, to practice Buddhism together. Therefore, I immediately looked for practice opportunities, but unfortunately I found quite a few of them. The nearest dojos were either closed or unreachable in space and time.
My own dojo was unreachable in several ways, first of all, the chain of disciples was broken when I moved to England, and secondly, renting a building for this purpose is also not a solution, since the rules here allow renting such a building for business purposes, which was far beyond my financial means.
Luck led me to Singleton Village Hall, as this building is a ten-minute bike ride from my current residence, and my day off was the Monday evening appointment, which was not booked in the building either. But for what? I asked myself. The answer came right away, first of all, to revive the almost forgotten technique, I brought my pillow and kimono, as well as the bodhisattva rakusu, from Hungary years ago. All I had to do was practice sitting. Unfortunately, due to practicing alone, I didn’t have any feedback, so I recorded the sessions and looked back later to see how I was sitting, I quickly uploaded these recordings to www.gatelessgate.one. The website address was suggested by the Buddhist College.
The above antecedents thus led to the Buxton sesshin.
The sesshin was held by the Kanshoji https://www.kanshoji.org temple community, and IZAUK was present as an implementer. IZAUK’s thorough and conscientious organizational work made the sesshin a pleasant memory for me.
Regarding the sesshin itself, I can say that there was essentially no difference compared to other sesshins. In fact, every moment was a difference, if for no other reason, but certainly compared to my changes. The first important point was that on the evening of the second day, it turned out that my pillow, carefully stuffed with fresh kapok, was short of the one kilo of kapok that I had stuffed into it, so I asked for the help of an experienced monk. Seats were painful due to the low cushion. The blanket placed under the pillow provided significant help, I reported back that I felt in heaven compared to the pain of the first two days of suffering.
The approximately thirty participants had apparently known each other for years, and it was not easy for me, as a newcomer, to fit in, the language was also a small problem. I first have to get used to the accent/language used and only then can I understand what is being said. I think this would also be the case with a Hungarian who uses local language, if he comes into contact with a foreigner who understands Hungarian moderately.
I was attracted to the sesshin by learning more about the teachings of master Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure, since at the Tan Kapuja Buddhista Főiskola/ Buddhist College I was able to learn about the teachings of another representative of the Deshimaru lineage, Yvon Beck, and I was pleased to learn that the teachings of master Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure also originate from this lineage. Their voices are also very similar and of course the language as well, since they are both French. During the teachings, master Taiun Jean-Pierre Faure spoke sometimes in French and sometimes in English, and as I am used to in Budapest, I also waited for the Hungarian translation, which for some reason was not given and so I had to rely on my own understanding to understand what was said.
I debated what was said during the teachings and afterwards, because according to the wording on Kanshoji’s website, “Master Deshimaru says ‘Zen is zazen and all things in life’”, zazen as a “thing” can be found in every moment, including in the events of everyday life. . If all “things” are only unique moments, then the concepts created about them are also unique, so they cannot be compared with each other, so singularities – as phenomena – cannot be compared either, so words have only a relative meaning in this way, which Buddhism very well he grasps the comparison of lokasamvrittisatya and paramárthasatya.
The other main line mentioned was the excellently managed kitchen, the chef – tenzo – presented me with previously unknown flavours. The masterfully used spices and vegetables, innovative preparation methods, and the morning played a role in genmai, which, as you know, consisted of rice soup, vegetables and sesame seeds. The participants were also the preparers of the meals, based on voluntary application.
The accommodation was a priority, an off-site experience camp building, in which the many rooms provided the opportunity to hold events for 30-40 people, a separate room was available for zazen settings, the living room for classes and a dining room for meals. I would also like to thank IZAUK for the excellent organization, realized with apparently a lot of effort.
There was a pre-announced train strike on the closing day, so thanks to IZAUK, the organizer, I was able to use the help of a zenmonk Peter, who lives in nearby Manchester, where after a pleasant conversation I had a relaxing sleep and the next day, after a five-hour journey, I was back in my usual room. Today, Peter left for Kanshoji, where I was also invited, and hopefully I will fulfill this request this summer.