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Les Doigts d'or 2026
The retreat Les Doigts d'or
The Week of the Golden Fingers offers a unique opportunity to connect Zen practice and artistic expression by discovering a technique or deepening your understanding of it. And, as the Buddha recommends, it is the ideal occasion — within the setting of La Gendronnière — to see and observe the attachments, fears, and mental habits that stand in the way of our own creativity.
The practice of the Buddha's way
Zazen is seated meditation without an object, practiced by the Buddha and transmitted through time by an unbroken lineage of masters. It is a gathering into the silence and nakedness of the present moment. The time of meditation transcends time itself, for it is a return to the unmoving source of our existence.
When the original source is seen, each breath, each action, each movement spontaneously becomes the luminous expression of life itself, and the duality between subject and object disappears.
During the five days of workshops, zazen will be practiced in the morning and at the end of the afternoon.
Teaching
Emmanuel Ryugaku Risacher & Françoise Kosen Lauren
Programme
WOKSHOPS
- Arrival for the workshops: Friday, February 13, in the afternoon. Dinner at 8:30 p.m.
- Workshop: from February 14 to 18 :
7h00 Zazen
9h30 - 12h00 Workshops
12h30 luncj
14h30 - 17h00 Workshops
17h30 Zazen
18h45 Samu
19h30 Buvette
20h00 dinner
- Thursday, February 19: rest day.
- For those attending only the workshops, departure will take place on Thursday, February 19, after breakfast.
SESSHIN - From February 20 to 22
- Arrival on Thursday, February 19, in the afternoon. Dinner at 8:30 p.m.
- End of the sesshin: Sunday after lunch.
THE WORKSHOPS (Choose only one workshop)
Kesa sewing
It is traditional in our Zen practice to come together to sew the robe transmitted by the Buddha Shakyamuni. This transmission has been passed down from master to disciple up to our time, in a spirit of simplicity and deep faith. One chooses a fabric, washes it, dyes it or selects an appropriate color, cuts it, and assembles it according to precise rules. One focuses on each step and each stitch, with patience and determination. Unconsciously, naturally, and automatically, this practice transforms our mind; from our efforts, the pure robe of the Dharma is born.
Huguette Moku Myo Siréjol has been practicing at the Toulouse dojo since 1985 and has been teaching Zen and the sewing of the kesa for many years. She received Dharma transmission (Shiho) from Master Roland Yuno Rech in the summer of 2022 at the Gendronnière temple.
Calligraphy
Shodo is the Way of Writing, with its four treasures: the brush, the ink, the paper, and the inkstone used for grinding ink sticks. This workshop is especially intended for beginners. We will approach brushwork through the breath and the flow of energy that moves through us, with the brush becoming the sensitive extension of our body and the paper receiving its trace through the ink and the spaces it preserves.
This meeting of paper, ink, and brush will take place through various physical exercises preceding the study of basic strokes, after which we will apply them to kanji and simple compositions. If you have a brush, felt mat, or any personal materials, you are welcome to bring them. Otherwise, they will be provided.
Françoise Shojaku Lesage began the practice of zazen in 1978 and was ordained as a nun in 1985. From this practice of presence — to oneself, to the world — through posture and breathing, she encountered Ink and Brush in 2000. She first studied sumi-e under the guidance of teacher Robert Faure, then calligraphy itself with various other instructors. For the past ten years, she has been a student of the Chinese calligraphy master Shi Bo, who continues to nourish her relationship with “the dance of the brush.”
Yoga
Hatha Yoga teaches us “to listen and to hear” what our body is telling us. In this practice, we use postures that engage the joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons; improve blood circulation; stimulate the nervous system; make the body both supple and strong; and contribute to the development of mental faculties. Breathing techniques free the flow of energy and allow it to circulate freely. Relaxation practices aim to achieve complete release, while meditation unifies the mind and leads to inner peace.
This workshop will therefore be an ideal introduction to zazen — seated meditation without an object, practiced morning and evening within the Gendronnière temple — reminding us that the Buddha’s posture has its roots in this ancient Indian discipline.
Jean-Pierre Romain taught Hatha Yoga professionally for forty-two years. Trained by Maud Forget, Ajit Sarkar, and Clara Truchot, he also studied Ashtanga Yoga and the Iyengar method. His practice of Soto Zen, which began in 1981 with Taisen Deshimaru, gradually influenced his teaching of yoga. Over time, he became a Zen monk, teacher, and head of the Paris Zen Dojo.
Zen shiatsu & do-in
Both techniques will be developed during the workshop — one through shiatsu, in a giver–receiver practice involving mutual exchange, and the other through do-in, with self-applied exercises. Both aim to help the body express its optimal energetic potential.
Shiatsu (“finger pressure”) is a manual technique of Japanese origin whose fundamental principles are based on traditional Chinese medicine. By acting on the network of meridians, shiatsu harmonizes the circulation of Qi (energy) throughout the body, soothes tension, and revitalizes stagnant areas to restore balance to the body’s main functions.
The workshop is centered on practice: you will learn the katas (basic postures and gestures) for a shiatsu that is both invigorating and relaxing. We will also practice do-in — self-massage, gentle stretching, and qi-gong movements — all of which have beneficial effects on meditation and daily life.
Shiatsu is practiced while fully clothed (in comfortable garments); the touch is respectful, attentive, and adapted to each person.
Christine Marie Bottin studied Japanese and traditional arts, as well as the transmission and craft practices associated with Buddhism. A disciple of Master Taisen Deshimaru, she has been practicing zazen since 1978 and was ordained as a nun in 1981. Since 2009, she has been studying and practicing shiatsu of the Iokaï school, following the direct lineage of S. Masunaga, as taught by K. Sakaki.
Samu practice
Each gesture of daily life is an opportunity to practice the Way. Concentration on an action unifies body and mind — whether cutting vegetables, preparing or serving a meal, washing the dishes, or cleaning the floor. It is also a form of giving, a generous act essential to community life and to the proper upkeep of the temple, for the benefit of all.
The sesshin is offered to those who are registered for samu during the entire session.
Raku - Introduction to ceramics
Come and discover — or deepen — your approach to clay: shape, decorate, and experiment with raku firing! Originating in Japan, this technique was created for the tea ceremony. It is one of the fruits of the meeting between Zen and craftsmanship. Quick yet subtle, it combines control and letting go. Its shaping and firing methods invite concentration and produce simple pottery in which each piece is unique. On the fifth day, the creations will be revealed by fire.
All levels welcome. Please bring jeans and closed leather shoes for the firing sessions. Contribution to workshop materials (clay, glazes, equipment): €25.
A Zen nun and ceramic artist based in eastern France, Cécile Bardenet combines tradition with contemporary creation. She crafts functional objects while preserving the values of a craft in which nature and humanity meet. She has lived at La Gendronnière and has been practicing the Zen Way for many years.
Taï chi chuan
Slowness, lightness, gentleness — the three ingredients that make the practice of Tai Chi a school of well-being, where softness, ease, and harmony, combined with coordination, fluidity, and grace, allow the practitioner to cultivate genuine and lasting serenity in both body and mind.
In contrast to intensive “physical” practices that only mask stress through fatigue, Tai Chi Chuan — meditation in movement — transforms the inner being deeply and sustainably through the unification of the opposites that tear us apart. Vital rhythms are thus restored through slow, non-traumatic movement, bringing self-confidence and a sense of fulfilled wholeness.
Denis Clément has been studying Tai Chi Chuan for many years in its various forms, particularly the Yang style and the style of the Matsu no Ryu school led by Sensei Lazard. Denis Clément has been teaching and introducing others to Tai Chi Chuan for thirty years.
Sumi-e
An old saying claims that those who have immersed themselves in painting will live longer, because the life created by the touch of the brush strengthens life itself. The Japanese word sumi means “black ink,” and e means “painting.”
Participants will study the bamboo, which represents flexibility rooted in strength. Human beings, like bamboo, are “green in all seasons,” meaning they remain intimate and balanced through the changing seasons and phases of life. The orchid, bamboo, plum, and chrysanthemum embody the ki, or vital energy, of the four seasons and are regarded as the Four Nobles.
When painting, one does not think about technique or the final result — there is no conscious effort to make a good painting. Through learning the method and paying attention to posture and breathing, our complete bamboo will gradually take shape, and the painting will emerge as something unmistakably alive.
Contribution to workshop materials (brushes, ink, paper, and rice paper): €25.
Ariane Eigen Mercier is a Zen nun. At the age of 18, she went to live in Italy to study sumi-e and practice zazen under her teacher, Beppe Mokuza Signoritti. After fifteen years of daily training, she now teaches with great joy all those who wish to take a few steps along this Way. www.sumi-e.fr
RATES
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INSCRIPTION
- REGISTRATION FOR ONE OF THE WORKSHOPS LES DOIGTS D'OR 2026
- REGISTRATION FOR THE SESSHIN DES DOIGTS D'OR (only)
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