INTRODUCTION TO ZEN 14.11.2023

Dear Zen Center Athens Sangha,

As the days grow cooler and the daylight wanes, we hope that your practice is steady source of nourishment and peace and that we can each offer that peace to this world on fire.

On the evening of Novemeber 14th at 7:30pm we will gather to offer our usual Introduction to Zen but this time with a special guest. Τhe beloved friend of the Zen Center Athens Bernd Bender will accompany the conversation with our abbot Jiho san Konstantino Sgoumpopoulo and everyone present.

Bernd Bender is the guiding teacher of Akazienzendo in Berlin and has been practicing Zen since 1987. He lived for 18 years at the San Francisco Zen Center where he was ordained as a Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki (Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind) and received Dharma transmission in 2017. He is authorized to teach Zen and to ordain people in this tradition. Since 2012, Bernd has been living in Berlin, offering Zen meditation and courses, giving lectures, leading secular meditation and mindfulness seminars, and accompanying people on their spiritual path.

Konstantinos Sgoumpopoulos is the initiator and the abbot of Zen Center Athens, who had the vision of offering the practice of Zen to Greece. He was ordained as a Zen priest in 2013 by his Master Koten Roshi, who gave him the permission to guide the meditation practices of the Center.

We look forward seeing you on Tuesday Novemeber 14th at 7:30pm at the Zen Center Athens. Remember that daily zazen sessions continue at the Zen Center
(morning 8:20-9am and evening 20:20-21:00pm).

Once you’ve attended Introduction to Zen, which is offered every first Tuesday of every month, as part of the regular program, you’re welcome to join us for any of the daily zazen sessions and the Zen Day sessions announced on our website and by our newsletter. Just show up a few minutes before the session is scheduled to begin.

Let this be a good habit!

If you have questions about any of the Zen Center Athens programs, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter.

Take care and stay connected,

Zen Center Athens