Question
I have just watched your film and was very moved by your love for your master.
What makes you say you are your master’s true spiritual
son? Could he really not have passed the succession on
to you, or to Étienne and Roland, even unofficially?
Best wishes,
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
He passed it on to me unofficially, but in front of everyone.
What makes me say I am his true spiritual son is that he is my master, the master of my own mind. I prayed strongly enough for this to happen, and as always, it turned out even more wonderful than I could have imagined:
I had met my spiritual master, the one who saved me.
My spiritual master was zazen embodied by this man.
Master Deshimaru was not a Zen master I happened to meet, then became interested in, and eventually became his disciple and the successor to his business. No. I prayed to God with all my strength to send me a master, and I was ready to go to the ends of the earth to meet him. There was nothing else for me in life. One fine morning, I met a messenger who knew me well and said, “Stéphane, I have met your master.” That very evening, I began practicing.
Kosen