Ten Bō Rin Projects

An association is realised and sustained by the projects it undertakes.

Guy Mokuho proposes the large scale objective of a Zen Centre project (or temple) that the association could implement in the near future.

It is submitted that an inter-generational practice place be founded. The proposal is to found a place centred on Zen practice (zazen, samu, …) as practiced in the Soto Zen School, and that will develop in parallel with social action:

• Firstly, practitioners, men and women, will be able to live in true long-term monastic commitment. It is envisioned therefore that monastic rules will be created that are adapted to our practice in the west, while being founded both on the rules of the Zen tradition as well as on the experience of European monastic traditions.

  The principal task of the monks, nuns and monastics will be to bring life to the temple while undertaking zen practice, functional responsibilities (gardening, cooking, organization, management, …), taking care of the elderly practitioners in the sangha or close persons (it remains to be defined to what degree of dependence this care will extend !), to prepare, and maintain the space for the practice of sesshins and various other sessions and the creation, for the temple, of other resources of Zen creativity (crafts, painting, pottery …).

• Associated with this community of monks and nuns would be a community of lay people living in the temple (in rented rooms or independent co-owned homes) or in the nearby neighbourhood. The laypeople will be Zen practitioners who come to meditate in the temple and recharge there for the length of time that suits them. In particular, retired or elderly members of the sangha will be aided in their daily lives by the monks and nuns. In exchange for this assistance, they will bring real financial support to the temple, allowing the monastic community to meet the needs of its members (social security cover, retirement, pocket money …) and its running costs.

• Additionally, the temple will receive all those who, whatever their age, wish to participate in temple life, the sesshin programme, ango and other activities designed in accordance with the association’s objectives. The children of practitioners will be welcome.

Exchange between the generations is a vital necessity that is forgotten in today’s world and is a deep source of enrichment for everyone. Assuring a dignified old age in accordance with the practice of the Way of Buddha for the members of the sangha, is an essential objective.

Ten Bō Rin will be established as a religious association or congregation to give a legal status to the monks and to nuns and to also allow the association to be able to receive donations and legacies.

The financing of the project will depend on dynamics and wishes of the members of the association. A first pledge of 300 000 € has been made for the near future.

All of the actions Ten Bō Rin engages in in the next few years will be dedicated to the implementation of this project. Of course, at the personal level, each person will find a way of contributing according to their means, capacities and competencies.

It is still possible to find places to buy or restore in France that are within reach of a sangha such as Ten Bō Rin with modest capital. An example is a collection of buildings in the Puy-in-Velay region (approximate value of 300 000 € with a capacity of 30 to 40 persons). We soon will think about the ways to create the required economic potential.

The project should also subscribe to an ecological vision and a spirit of self-sufficiency with respect to energy and resources (solar panels, photovoltaic cells, windmills, …), and use economically and environmentally sustainable materials. It seems obvious to build such a practice place with respect to nature and the environment (houses of straw or similar material, energising and economy of water, cultivating the earth…) with an open spirit.

And because the practice of giving is a true Buddhist virtue, all help will be welcome. Those who concur with and wish to be involved with the Ten Bō Rin project can participate according to their means and availibility: gifts of a little time, secretariate help, searching for an appropriate place, gifts of money etc.

This plan is not utopian. It's future reality is a question of faith as much as of financial means. If these remain modest, it will always be possible to begin in a simple way and to muster our energies around a place, it being modest. All places are good places to awaken to our true nature.

Or, make a donation for the TenBoRin Project now, online, with paypal!