Taisen Deshimaru – författare

Mushotoku mind means an attitude of no profit, no gain. It is the core of Taisen Deshimaru's Zen. This respected master, the head of Japanese Soto Zen for all of Europe, moved from Japan in 1967 and brought this work to Paris, from where it was disseminated throughout the West. This book presents his brilliant commentary on the most renowned of Buddhist texts, the Heart Sutra, known in Japanese as Hannya Shingyo-a philosophical investigation on the futility of philosophical investigation. Deshimaru's work fills a great gap in the interpretations of this seminal text in that he emphasizes "mind-emptiness" (ku) as the foundation of Zen practice, in contrast to the usual "mindfulness" focus of other Zen approaches. This "emptiness" and "purpose of no purpose" is one of the most difficult ideas for Westerners to understand. Yet we know that our most cherished values are based on mushotoku mind when it comes to love. We value the unselfish love of family or country that is based not on what we can get from the relationship but on what we can give. We know, too, that these virtues are not accomplished directly through our will but indirectly through dropping our expectations. In his lectures on this subject, gathered here into one volume by translator and Zen teacher Richard Collins, Deshimaru returns to a chorus: Mushotoku mind is the key attitude characterizing the way of the Buddha, the way of the bodhisattva, the way of Zen and zazen, and the way of all sutras (teachings). The written word has a checkered past in the history of Zen, which offers mind-to-mind transmission of wisdom without scripture and without words. Still, it is difficult to imagine Zen without its literature. Poems, koans, anecdotes, autobiographies, commentaries, sutras, all play a role in the transmission of Zen from the fifth century to the present. Ultimately, these written records can always be only fingers pointing at the moon of zazen. Interpretations of the Heart Sutra abound, from as early as the T'ang dynasty. Deshimaru's contribution to this wealth is coloured by his Japanese heritage, his knowledge of Western philosophy, the cross-fertilization received from Parisian students of the 1960-70s and above all by the central place he gives to mushotoku, which Richard Collins translator calls "the heart of the Heart Sutra."

Ce livre bilingue nous fait réfléchir sur le lien qui existe entre le zen et les arts martiaux. Il est accessible à tous publics, initiés ou non. This bilingual book encourages us to reflect on the link between Zen and the martial arts. It is accessible to anyone, practitioner or not. Taisen DESHIMARU (1914-1982) est un maître bouddhiste zen japonais de l''Ecole Soto. Il est le fondateur de plus de deux cent dojos en Europe, Afrique du Nord et au Canada, ainsi que du premier temple zen en Europe, La Gendronnière, situé dans le Val de Loire. Taisen DESHIMARU (1914-1982) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist master in the Soto school. He founded more than 200 dojos in Europe, North Africa and Canada as well as the first Zen temple in Europe, La Gendronnière in the Loire Valley. Philippe COUPEY, moine zen américain et proche disciple de Maître Deshimaru dès 1972, est enseignant au Dojo Zen de Paris. Il est aussi référent spirituel d''une trentaine de dojos en France, Allemagne, Angleterre et Suisse. Philippe COUPEY<:b>, an American Zen monk and close disciple of Master Deshimaru from 1972, teaches at the Paris Zen Dojo. He is also the spiritual referent for some 30 dojos in France, Germany, England and Switzerland.

Hasta hace poco, todo lo que en el mundo de habla hispana se sabía sobre el Zen venía a través de algunos libros exclusivamente teóricos. Por primera vez se publica la enseñanza de un auténtico maestro Zen, enseñanza que hasta la fecha sólo se transmitía por vía oral. En el libro se contienen, además, dos textos sagrados: El Hokyo Zan Mai y el San Do Kai; textos procedentes de la más remota antigüedad china, y que están considerados como la base del actual Zen japonés. Se incluye también el Teisho, enseñanza impartida a los discípulos durante el Za-Zen.El Za-Zen o Zen en posición sentado, es la práctica de la postura de vigilia, la práctica del despertar. Este despertar no se puede disociar de la práctica del mismo Zen. Su enseñanza, profundamente anclada en lo concreto, apunta a una transformación psicofisiológica del individuo y se ha revelado hoy de una eficacia singular. El Zen no es un conjunto de ideas que se puedan aprender sino esencialmente una experiencia que hay que realizar. Es una disciplina de concentración y de meditación cuya esencia se remonta, al parecer, a la iluminación de Buda.