Ten years ago, in October 2004, the first seeds of our Wild Flower Zen community in Portugal were planted when the Porto Buddhist Union invited my teacher, Roshi Catherine Genno Pagès, to visit for the first time. I accompanied Genno Roshi for that ground-breaking trip, and have since returned alone to Portugal year after year, cultivating those first seeds and helping them flourish with the help of innumerable dharma friends and practitioners in Portugal.

Now, it is my immense pleasure to announce that for the first time since that 2004 visit, Genno Roshi is returning to Portugal as the special guest of our Easter retreat near Lisbon, April 17-21. Genno Roshi is founder and spiritual director of the Dana Zen community in Paris and is among the leading Zen Buddhist teachers in Europe and the West. This retreat offers a rare opportunity to not only meet a great Zen master, but also to experience directly the living, embodied lineage of which we are all a part and to share with Roshi the fruits that have matured in Portugal since her first visit.

I’m hoping that the Portuguese Wild Flower Sangha can thank Roshi for her years of devotion to the dharma by welcoming her with our own wild, rich and deep practice that has blossomed thanks to her. Please join us for this exceptional retreat. For info and registration: wildflower.pt@gmail.com