ZEN TEACHER
Maddie E Shin Parisio started to practice in 1996 and received bodhisattva ordination from Jean Baby in 1998.She lived as a permanent resident at La Gendronnière for one year from 2006 to 2007. Having met Philippe Reiryu Coupey – a close disciple of Master Taisen Deshimaru – she became his disciple, receiving ordination as nun from him in 2007. Maddie is active as a respected teacher in the Sangha Sans Demeure and the British Sangha (IZAUK), & is IZAUK’s Membership Secretary. She lives in Norwich, England.
Zen is not a philosophy or religion, but rather a practice or perhaps, an attitude to life. The word Zen comes originally from the Sanskrit ‘Dhyana’, which can be translated as concentration, observation, meditation.
Central to Zen Practice is the practice of zazen – simply sitting, not grasping at the thoughts and emotions that arise within us, nor rejecting them, but allowing them to pass by. Through this, naturally, unconsciously and automatically, we become aware that many of our everyday preoccupations are not so important, and that clinging tightly to them brings suffering to us and to others. We become more aware of something – you may call this ‘something’ the inner source, big mind, holy spirit, buddha-nature, the cosmic order – something unnameable and indefinable, but which can be a quiet and calm source of inspiration and support in our lives.