Ensoji il Cerchio

The zen monastery Enso-ji Il Cerchio (Japanese: 円相寺, Ensō-ji; eng.: "Temple of the Circle") is a Buddhist community and a cultural association recognised by the Italian Government. It is affiliated with Soto Zen Buddhism and was founded by the Italian Zen Master Carlo Zendo Tetsugen Serra (1953-),[1] He was disciple of the Japanese Zen Master Ban Tetsugyu Soin (伴鐵牛, 1910-1996), between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Later, he would be recognised as Zen Master in his lineage by his direct heir, the current abbot of Tosho-ji (東照寺), Tetsujyo Deguchi.

Entrance of Enso-ji, Milano

The zendo of Sanboji, Berceto, Parma

Part of a series on
Zen Buddhism
Main articles Zen Chan Buddhism Vietnamese Thiền Korean Seon Japanese Zen Zen in the United States
Persons Chán in China Classical Bodhidharma Huineng (Enō) Mazu Daoyi (Baso) Shitou Xiqian (Kisen) Dongshan Liangjie (Tozan) Xuefeng Yicun (Seppo) Linji Yixuan (Rinzai) Dahui Zonggao (Tahui) Contemporary Xu Yun Zen in Japan Dōgen Hakuin Ekaku Seon in Korea Taego Bou Jinul Daewon Seongcheol Thiền in Vietnam Thích Nhất Hạnh Zen / Chán in the USA D. T. Suzuki Hakuun Yasutani Taizan Maezumi Shunryū Suzuki Hsuan Hua Seungsahn Category: Zen Buddhists
Doctrines Zen and Sutras Doctrinal background of Zen Buddha-nature Yogacara Śūnyatā Bodhisattva
Traditions Dharma transmission Zen lineage charts Zen ranks and hierarchy Zen organisation and institutions Zen Narratives
Awakening Kenshō Satori Sudden Enlightenment Shikantaza
Teachings Ten Ox-Herding Pictures Five ranks of Tozan Three mysterious Gates Four Ways of Knowing
Practice Zazen / Shikantaza Kinhin Koan practice Hua Tou Samu Ōryōki Raihai Buddhist chant Issatsu
Schools Sanjiejiao Oxhead school East Mountain Teaching Heze school Hongzhou school Five Houses of Chán Tibetan Chan Trúc Lâm Plum Village Tradition Order of Interbeing Jogye Order Kwan Um School of Zen Taego Order Rinzai school Sōtō school Ōbaku school Sanbo Kyodan White Plum Asanga Ordinary Mind Zen School Zen Peacemakers
Related schools Mādhyamaka Yogācāra Huayan Tiantai Pure Land Buddhism

Part of a series on
Western Buddhism
Main articles Western Buddhism Buddhist modernism Buddhism in the United States Historical Greco-Buddhism Buddhism and the Roman world Greco-Buddhist monasticism
Tibetan dissemination 14th Dalai Lama In the United States Chögyam Trungpa In England Geshe Kelsang Gyatso In Germany Lama Anagarika Govinda
Theravada dissemination Thai Forest Tradition Vipassana movement In England Anagarika Dharmapala Sangharakshita Ajahn Chah In Germany Nyanatiloka Nyanaponika Thera In the United States Thanissaro Bhikkhu Joseph Goldstein Jack Kornfield
Zen dissemination Zen in the United States Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Hsing Yun Rinzai Zen D. T. Suzuki Soto Zen Shunryu Suzuki Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani White Plum Asanga Taizan Maezumi Korean Seon Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thích Nhất Hạnh Listing of Zen Buddhists
Amidist dissemination In England David Brazier In Canada Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
Exchange Buddhism and Christianity Buddhism and Gnosticism Buddhism and psychology Buddhism and Western Philosophy Buddhism and Pyrrhonism
General Buddhism Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Traditions Hinayana Theravada Mahayana Vajrayana Navayana Asian countries Indian Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Korean Buddhism Listing of Buddhist topics

"Il Cerchio Enso-ji" is also member of the Italian Buddhist Union (UBI), that collects in a federation the principal buddhist centers in Italy [2] and of European Buddhist Union (EBU).[3]

"Il Cerchio" is a creation of the Sangha della Foresta di Bambù (literally: Sangha of the bamboo forest)[4] and, inside a Zen Soto lineage, follows the teachings of Harada Daiun Sogaku (原田祖岳, 1871-1961).[5]

The school of Harada Daiun Sogaku distinguishes itself from the usual Soto traditional methods, based exclusively on the practice of sitting meditation, zazen (坐禅) known as shikantaza (只管打坐, "simply sitting"). The peculiarity of the School of Daiun Sogaku was the adoptation of frequent and intense use of kōans, questions or paradoxical sentences with the purpose to let go a severe rational approach to the practice, helping practitioners to obtain the kensho. Koans are still peculiar today of Rinzai and Obaku traditions.

The sangha of Il Cerchio is located in two places: the Monastery "Ensoji – il Cerchio", founded in Milan, in 1988, and the Monastery "Sanbo-ji – Tempio dei Tre Gioielli," (三寶寺), founded 1996 nearly Berceto, Parma.