"To learn Zen, is to find ourselves, to find ourselves, is to forget ourselves,
Dogen Zenji (12th century Japan)
forget ourselves, is to find Buddha nature,
our original nature."
The Zen Bodai Dojo Association
The Zen Bodai Dojo Association was founded in 2008 in Alba, thanks to Master Beppe Mozuka and his students to spread the practice of Zen meditation known as zazen: ("za": sit - "zen": meditation).
The association is morally affiliated with the Association Zen Internationale founded by Master Taisen Deshimaru, and with the Abze Association Bouddhiste Zen D'europe Association of Disciples of Master Roland Yuno Rech.
Beppe - Mokuza
Zen master, belonging to the Soto Zen Buddhism tradition, founder and spiritual leader of the Zen Dojo "Bodai Dojo" in Alba (CN).
Beppe Mokuza has been dedicated to the practice of Zen meditation and its dissemination throughout Europe for 30 years. He is also a master of sumi-e, traditional Japanese Indian ink painting. Through his practice he has been able to combine these two disciplines in an unprecedented way, creating a unique school at the European level.
The new Gyogenji Zen Temple in Costigliole d'Asti: finding the source and building a future together.
The project involves the construction of a Zen dojo, a place for Zen meditation practice, and housing to accommodate our spiritual leader and some resident monks.
The Zen Center will rise in Costigliole d'Asti, in the wine-growing landscape of Monferrato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a panoramic, quiet and charming location among the hills overlooking the Alps, just 20 km from Alba and 15 km from Asti.
The block of flats is a farmhouse of more than 500 square meters surrounded by 6 hectares of land that provide the right privacy and freedom of expression for the practice.
All homes will be renovated according to green building principles, and the land will be cultivated following the principles of deep ecology and regenerative agriculture.
Gyogenji Zen Temple was established to cultivate a Buddhist response to the ecological crisis and to help activate a radical change in our thinking, creating an international community that promotes the values of a new ecology.
It will be a place for meditative practice but also for community work called in Zen "Samu" or "work for the community animated by a spirit of nonprofit and purposeless action". A bio-district where regenerative agro-ecology can be practiced in accordance and in union with the values promulgated by the UBI Ecology Agenda.
Experiencing meditation and sumi-e painting with the Bodai Dojo
Since 2008 we have been practicing and spreading meditation at the Zen Bodai Dojo in Alba, where over the years hundreds of people have experienced the practice of zazen.
Through Sumi-e painting, the mother of art therapy, we enable even novices to approach meditative practices and rediscover a part of themselves that has always been left behind.
We offer sumi-e meditation and sumi-e painting workshops and lectures led by master Beppe Mokuza in different parts of Europe with a focus on France and the Netherlands.
Turn your support into concrete action for the well-being of our planet.
Support our work to build the Zen Center and promote the values of a more inclusive, ecological and responsible society.