Winter Retreat in Borisa (4 weeks)
2026-02-28 18:00 - 2026-03-28 13:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Bori Sa, (Mas Puli) Sales de Llierca , Alta Garrotxa, Girona, 17853, Spain
February 28 to March 28 (1 month, minimum participation 1 week).
Join us for a 4 weeks meditation retreat in the mountains. Bori Sa is located amidst the magnificent scenery of Alta Garrotxa Natural Park, were we’ll practice sitting, bowing, chanting, working and eating together in complete silence.
There will be Dharma talks and kong-an interviews with the teachers every week.
• Week 1 (february 28 to march 7 ): Knud Rosenmayr JDPSN (online), lives in Vienna and received inka from Zen master Ji Kwang in Wu Bong Sa, Poland, in March 2016.
• Week 2 (march 7 to 14): Barbara Pardo JDPSN, resident teacher in Borisa, she began practicing at the Kwan Um School of Zen in 1994 and received inka from Zen master Bon Shim in 2019.
• Week 3 (march 14 to 21): Zen Master Bon Shim, met Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1978 and started practicing under his guidance. She received inka from Zen master Seung Sahn in 1992 and transmission from Zen master Wu Bong in 2006.
• Week 4 (march 21 to 28): Zen Master Bon Shim, met Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1978 and started practicing under his guidance. She received inka from Zen master Seung Sahn in 1992 and transmission from Zen master Wu Bong in 2006.
For more information and registration, please visit:
https://boricentro.kwanumzen.es/event/retir-dhivern-2026-1-mes/?lang=en

one week Zen Retreat with Zen Master Gu Ja in Zen Center Berlin, 2 -9 April 2026
2026-04-02 18:00 - 2026-04-09 15:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Zen Zentrum Berlin, Gottschedstr. 4, Berlin, 13357, Germany
We invite you to our one week Zen Retreat with Zen Master Gu Ja (Namhee Chon) in Zen Center Berlin, Germany.
If you would like to join us, please register via the registration formular on our website which will be online starting in February 2026 https://kwanumzen.de/en/events/
Costs: 390€ / 325€ for members of KUSZ / 275€ for Dharma Teachers (also in training)

There will be Kong An interviews with Zen Master Gu Ja and a question and answer session. We will practice meditation in sitting, walking, chanting, eating, and working.
If you have any questions please write us to berlin[at]kwanumzen.de

Zen Master Gu Ja (Namhee Chon) holds a master degree in philosophy and sinology from Freie Universitaet Berlin (Germany) and learnt Yoga and Meditation in India. In 2008 she received Inka (teaching permission) from Zen Master Wu Bong and in 2017 she received dharma transmission from Zen Master Bon Shim. In the video link below you can see parts of this Ceremony and you find here you can find her transmission speech (in German). She is the guiding teacher of Zen Center Berlin.
Zen Master Gu Ja met Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1989 in Warsaw, Poland, and founded Zen Center Berlin in 1990 together with her husband, Zen Master Ji Kwang. A short time after that they founded the Kwan Um School of Zen Germany. She lives close to Berlin with her family and works as a scientist for East-Asian studies.
Zen Master Gu Ja teaches on a regular basis in Zen Center Berlin.

The day after the one week Zen Retreat a transmission Ceremony will take place for Arne Schaefer JDPSN to become Zen Master. The transmission Ceremony will be held on Friday, 10 April 2026 in Zen Center Berlin, Germany, at 11 a.m. and will take about 2 hours.
Before the Transmission Ceremony we will have a kido in Zen Center Berlin to which you are also most welcome.
If you would like to participate in the Transmission Ceremony, we kindly ask you to register until March 31st 2026:
https://www.kwanumeurope.org/2025/10/03/transmission-ceremony-2026/

Zen Around the Table (Medicinal Mushrooms on My Plate)
2026-04-29 18:00 - 2026-05-03 12:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Bori Sa, (Mas Puli) Sales de Llierca , Alta Garrotxa, Girona, 17853, Spain
Vegan Cooking Workshop Retreat with Chef Avital Sebagg
April 29 to May 3, 2006
Limited places
A unique retreat for those who love plant-based cuisine, local ingredients, and creative cooking with a wide variety of mushrooms.
The course focuses not only on recipes, but on learning how to be efficient, mindful, and joyful in a healthy kitchen.
Avital Sebbag, a vegan chef and certified practitioner of Chinese Medicine, will inspire us to cook a stunning variety of nutritious and delicious vegan recipes based in mushrooms.
The workshop will take place in our mountain Zen Center, located in the middle of the pristine wilderness of the Alta Garrotxa Natural Park. Participants will also experience the ancient practice of korean zen of the Kwan Um School of Zen, we will meditate in the morning and evening, and there will also be a daily yoga class.
Teacher: Avital Sebbag, an anthropological food researcher and accomplished vegan chef, known for her book “Five Seasons in the Kitchen –Zen Inspired Vegan Cooking“, has been practicing Korean Zen for two decades, and today , teaches and manages the Hasharon Zen Center in Israel. Avital has integrated her wide worlds of culinary content with Zen teaching, and conducts cooking and enrichment workshops in the kitchens of temples, Zen centers and various bodies that invite her knowledge. Avital teaches to make the connection by choosing dishes based on the seasons’ vegetation, most suitable for her retreats.
For more information and registration, please visit:
https://boricentro.kwanumzen.es/event/zen-al-voltant-de-la-taula-temporada-de-tardor/?lang=en

Dharma talk in London with Zen Master Dae An
2026-05-10 09:00 - 11:00 (Europe/London) | 42 Crouch Hill Road N4 4BY, 42 Crouch Hill, London, N4 4BY, United Kingdom
Dharma talk in London with Zen Master Dae An will include introduction talk, questions and answer time, chants and meditation and closing circle .

Transmission Ceremony for Arne Schaefer JDPSN, May 17th 2026 in Warsaw, Poland
2026-05-17 10:30 - 12:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Wu Bong Sa, Warsaw, Małowiejska 24, Warszawa, Poland
Zen Master Bon Shim will give transmission to her dharma successor Arne Schaefer JDPSN to become Zen Master.
The transmission Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 17th 2026 in Zen Center Warsaw (Wu Bong Sa), Poland, at 10:30 a.m. and will take about 2 hours.
For further information and registration (until April 12th 2026) to the Ceremony please follow this link:
Transmission & Inka Ceremonies 2026

Spring YMJJ in Israel
2026-05-27 18:00 - 2026-05-30 12:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Naot Smadar, Israel, Israel
We invite you to our YMJJ Zen Retreat with Barbara Pardo JDPSN in Kibutz Neot Smadar Israel. During our retreat we will practice meditation in sitting, walking, chanting, eating, and working.
If you would like to join us, please register via the registration formular on our website online at https://www.kwanumeurope.org/event/spring-ymjj-in-israel

If you have any questions please write us at avitality@gmail.com
About the teacher:

Barbara Pardo
Ji Do Peop Sa Nim
Barbara Pardo JDPSN received inka from Zen Master Bon Shim in 2019. Barbara’s father, Fernando, was one of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s first students in Spain, and has been the abbot of Bori Sa Temple in Barcelona since the 1980s. Her mother, Rosanna, also was a strong practitioner. Barbara started practicing soon after meeting Zen Master Bon Shim in 1994, sitting many Yong Maeng Jong Jin and Kyol Che retreats since then, and serving in many roles in the Bori Sa sangha in various locations in Catalonia. In 2008 she reestablished a permanent home for the sangha in Barcelona. Later, in 2012, she and her husband, Tonda, moved to the Pyrenees mountains to help establish Borisa Retreat Center. Barbara is a graphic designer who works for the publishing company La Liebre de Marzo, which has published many Buddhist books, including the Spanish edition of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, titled Tirando Cenizas sobre el Buda.

Retreat in London with Dae An Zen Master
2026-07-04 10:00 - 18:00 (Europe/London) | 9 Manor Gardens London N7 6LA
Retreat in London with Dae An Zen Master will be in July 04 /2026.It is in person and online retreat includes kongan interviews .
