Enso-Ji, an urban Monastery PDF Print Email
Founded by Master Testugen Serra in 1998, the Enso-Ji Il Cerchio Monastery, an urban monastery for the practice of Zen, is located a few kilometers away from downtown Milan, in the area of Romolo. Its privileged location within the inner garden of a detached building on Via dei Crollalanza shields it from the daily hustle and bustle of Milan, making it an ideal spot to retire in silence for the practice of Zen.

The circle (enso in Japanese) is one of the most frequent images in Zen painting. It signifies unity, strength, illumination, and the universe. The circle is born from a long inner search, and materializes with a single gesture and brushstroke that reflect the depth and vibrancy of the artist's accomplishment on paper. It takes shape in an instant, expressing that which is beyond expression.

Complementing Zazen Meditation, Shiatsu Zen is the other main scheduled activity at Enso-Ji. When we become aware of our own being, we experience as a result harmony and well-being. Whether unassumingly sitting in meditation or by means of the gentle touch of Shiatsu Zen, drinking a cup of tea or "entering" a koan... the vibrating pulse of our accomplishment will become manifest and, as the poet Ogiwara Seisensui put it, "the moths trapped in the cage will one by one turn into stars."


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