Family sesshin 18-19 June
The family sesshin is back after a two-year break! It was an opportunity for practitioners to show the temple to their spouses and children.
The adults practiced as during a classical sesshin (4 zazen per day) while the children participated in different workshops.
During the weekend, the temple welcomed a dozen children from 3 to 10 years old. This French-Swiss-German flock brought a good dose of joy to the Ryumonji.
During the guided tour of the temple on Saturday morning, the children discovered the life of Buddha: "a prince in a beautiful castle...with a fire engine", summarised 3-year-old Louan. They were also able to test the big bell (boncho), the drums and other bells of the temple.
The main activity of the weekend was the construction of a bee hotel that will serve as a home for solitary bees. A real small construction site was set up: drilling, polishing and assembling a wooden frame, planting bamboo tubes in clay....
Master Wang-Genh also took the time to answer all the children's questions in a Mondo (question and answer session), in particular about the life and death of Buddha "but how did he manage to sit in meditation for so long without eating or drinking?
Through a playful workshop, the children were introduced to the Six Paramitas and the Buddhist values: generosity, effort, patience, concentration, wisdom, precepts.
The family sesshin would not have been complete without an introduction to group meditation, meditation guided by very simple questions: "who smells the tickling grass or the drop of water running down the neck from the wet hair" (after a water fight). The children were asked to say what makes them angry and at the sound of the bell, to transform that anger into calm by taking a deep breath.
On Saturday evening, everyone gathered around a campfire to enjoy "Stockbrot" (bread dough cooked directly in the fire), sing and listen to the story of Koan and the Old Dragon.
Sunday was a Three Treasure hunt! A challenge for each Paramita: pick different flowers for the altar, draw Buddha, make a gift to a monk in the tempple, wait patiently for the incense stick to burn down....
During the whole weekend, the children also participated in tasks such as washing up and serving and experienced meals in complete silence.
Two ceremonies closed this unique sesshin. During the first, the children were able to offer incense for the good health of their grandparents. The second ceremony inaugurated the bee hotel, which found its place at the foot of a tree in the temple.
The families returned home happy to have shared warm and caring moments.
But let's leave the last word to one of the children: "Here, people are calm and don't have wrinkles on their foreheads".
