Taisen Deshimaru’s initial meeting with Kodo Sawaki stands at the heart of his first true encounter with Zen. As a young man already drawn toward Buddhism and philosophy, he heard Sawaki Roshi give a public talk and was deeply impressed by the force and clarity of the teaching. This was not merely an intellectual attraction; the encounter stirred something more fundamental, prompting him to seek Sawaki out personally. That decision to go and meet the teacher face to face marked the threshold where curiosity began to turn into committed practice.

Under Kodo Sawaki’s guidance, Deshimaru entered into the concrete reality of Zen through the practice of zazen. Sawaki was known for emphasizing “just sitting” meditation, and this direct, unadorned approach to practice shaped Deshimaru’s understanding from the outset. Their relationship developed into a long discipleship that continued until Sawaki’s death, giving Deshimaru a stable axis around which his spiritual life could revolve. In this way, his first encounter with Zen was not a single moment isolated in time, but the beginning of an enduring apprenticeship in which hearing a talk, meeting a teacher, and sitting in meditation formed one continuous movement.