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The teachers
- Master Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh - Abbot of the monastery
- Master Dosho Saïkawa
- Master Taisen Deshimaru
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Master Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh - Abbot of the monastery
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Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh has been practicing Sōtō Zen since 1973. He was ordained as a monk in March 1977 by Maître Taisen Deshimaru, whom he diligently followed during numerous sesshin (retreats), both in France and abroad, until the latter’s death in 1982. During those nine years, he practiced at the Strasbourg dojo, then led by Jean Shōgen Baby, and actively contributed to its development. In 1986, he took over its leadership.
Starting in 1987, he expanded his commitment on a regional scale. With the help of German practitioners, he founded several dojos in the main cities of Baden-Württemberg (Freiburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Mannheim) as well as in Alsace (Mulhouse, Colmar, Sélestat, Benfeld…). The Strasbourg dojo became a regional Zen center, organizing large retreats in the Vosges mountains in collaboration with the other dojos.
In 1992, he began ordaining monks and nuns, gradually forming a sangha (community) of several hundred practitioners, both lay and ordained.
In April 1999, with the support of the entire regional sangha, he founded the Taikosan Ryumonji Monastery in Weiterswiller, Alsace. About fifteen monks and nuns joined him there to lead a monastic life in accordance with the traditional rules of Sōtō Zen.
In 2001, he received Dharma transmission from Master Dōshō Saikawa.
In turn, in June 2011, he transmitted the Dharma to his senior disciple, Konrad Tenkan Beck, followed by several other close disciples.
Actively involved in the organization of Buddhism in France, Master Wang-Genh serves as Deputy President of the Buddhist Union of France, after having held the presidency for many years. He is also President of the Association Zen Internationale—which brings together the majority of Master Deshimaru’s former disciples—as well as President of the Buddhist Community of Alsace.
Master Dosho Saikawa (introduced by Master Wang-Genh)
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"Master Dōshō Saikawa is the abbot of Hossen-ji Temple in Yamagata Prefecture, in the northwest of Japan. In recent years, he has also become the abbot of Kasuisai Temple, located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. For several years, he was in charge of welcoming foreign visitors at Sōji-ji Temple in Yokohama, one of the two main temples of the Sōtō school in Japan.
Previously, he spent nearly ten years in the United States, serving in various temples and helping to establish Sōtō Zen on the American continent. His knowledge of Western culture and his outstanding human and teaching qualities were universally appreciated by both American Buddhists and Europeans who practiced with him.
When I met Master Saikawa for the first time in June 1999 at Sōji-ji Temple, our connection was immediate, and I asked him to become his disciple.
‘Why me?’ he asked. ‘There are many masters in Japan who are more prestigious and would be much more interesting for you!’
‘Because it’s you!’ I spontaneously replied, looking him straight in the eyes—then we both burst into laughter…
After he accepted, I traveled several times to his temple in Japan or to Sōji-ji to practice with him. In turn, he has come almost every year for the past ten years to lead a sesshin at Ryumon-ji, and the connection with our sanghahas always been warm and completely trusting. His intuitive intelligence and open-mindedness, his deep interest in zazen, his warm and humorous human presence, his delicate way of relating, his profound understanding of Western culture, and his sensitivity to the necessary adaptation of Japanese tradition in Europe are all qualities that have fostered a real and living filial relationship.
For a few years, Master Saikawa was the representative of Sōtō Zen for the entire South American continent. He is now the abbot of Kasuisai, one of the largest monastic training temples (sōdō) in Japan.
My successive masters, Master Deshimaru and Master Saikawa, are the founders of the Taikosan Ryumon-ji Temple in Weiterswiller.
My gratitude to them is immense, and my recognition boundless."
Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh,
Abbot of the Taikosan Ryumon Ji
Master Taisen Deshimaru
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A Japanese Zen monk and master of the Sōtō school, Taisen Deshimaru is recognized as one of the pioneers of introducing Zen Buddhism to Europe. Born in 1914 in Saga, on the island of Kyushu, he discovered Zen teachings at an early age and became a disciple of Kōdō Sawaki, a renowned master who advocated a return to a simple and rigorous practice centered on zazen, seated meditation.
Following his master's wish to spread Zen beyond Japan, Taisen Deshimaru arrived in France in 1967, without institutional support but with unwavering determination. He settled in Paris, where he began teaching Zen to a small circle of Westerners curious about Eastern spirituality. His direct, demanding yet accessible teaching quickly attracted a wider audience.
During the fifteen years of his presence in Europe, he developed a network of dojos in many cities, laying the foundations for a vibrant Zen practice focused on daily experience and mindfulness of the present moment. In 1979, he founded the Gendronnière Temple near Blois, which became a major center of European Zen.
He published numerous works, in both Japanese and French, and was deeply involved in translating classical Zen texts, making these teachings accessible to a Western readership.
Philosophers, scientists, therapists, and artists crossed his path, and he fostered a rich dialogue between Eastern traditions and Western thought. His approach, both rigorous and deeply humanistic, aimed to help modern individuals rediscover inner balance and an authentic connection to the world.
Taisen Deshimaru passed away in 1982, leaving behind a dynamic community. His disciples, including Master Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh, continue to transmit his teachings in Europe and beyond, in the spirit of a living Zen—rooted in practice and engaged with society.
