‘It is all about daring to live your life as it enfolds, to the fullest,
just be there, with all sentient beings, the mountains and the stars!
In the end there is nothing magic about it,
there are no means, that will help you find the ultimate truth,
so, when you are really there with your heart (mind) open,
there will be nothing to see’
*

Ben Claessens (Heerlen, 1956) is a Zenmaster (Roshi) and priest in the formal Sōtō Zen tradition. He is the spiritual leader of Zen Centre ‘Ensō – Zen Circle’.

He received Dharma transmission (Shiho) in 2019 from Zen master Maurice Shonen Genko Roshi, and on January 19, 2025, Inka, the Final (mind) Seal of Approval. He is the 83rd successor in a formal lineage of successive Zen teachers that, via Genko Roshi, Genpo Roshi and Taizan Maezumi Roshi, traces back to the 5th century BCE, to the historical Buddha,

Ben Roshi conducts the various ceremonies in Soto-Zen tradition:
– Jukai (becoming Buddhist)
– Unsui ((homeless as clouds and water – Shuke Tokudo)
– Shiho (formal transmission)

For video’s on aspects of the essence and practise of Zen in our daily life, please watch his Youtube Channel

For more click Background Ben Gendo Roshi