June Exhibition at the dojo
We will be holding a series of events this June to mark the fifth anniversary of Shinzan Roshi’s passing. Each one is intended to be an opportunity, or a doorway, to meeting a teacher who was fearless, generous and awake. Please come and join us in this encounter.
On 7th of June we will hold a memorial ceremony at the Zenways London dojo. Within the ceremony will be a silent sanzen - a final chance to meet the master directly - beyond life, beyond death.
In East Asian tradition, calligraphy and the arts offer a way of touching the living spirit of a person. In the days following the memorial ceremony the dojo will be filled with the artworks of Zen master Shinzan. Each day there will be time to look, to listen, and to reflect. There will be opportunities to share memories, along with a series of workshops exploring different facets of his life and presence.
The celebration will come to its culmination on the 11th of June with Judith Charron’s performance of Enku’s In Heaven’s River - a suite of songs alive with the energy of the mountains around Zen master Shinzan’s temple.
Provisional timetable (correct as of March 2026)
Sunday 7th June
daytime: arrival of pilgrims
7pm: Memorial Ceremony for Zen Master Shinzan
In Zen, the memorial of a teacher is not only a remembrance. It is an encounter. What was singular and embodied in one life intersects with that which was never born and never dies. We find that the individual life and what is beyond all individuality are not two. In the past, there are many stories of practitioners awakening in the charged atmosphere that follows a teacher’s passing. As he was leaving his teacher’s funeral, the monk Tozan crossed a river. There, seeing his reflection in the water, he had a profound realisation. He expressed it in these words:
“Now I go alone;
Everywhere I meet him.”
Within the ceremony there will be a period of silent sanzen, a simple opportunity to meet the master directly, beyond life, beyond death.
Monday 8th June
7am: zazen meditation followed by tea
6pm: guided spotlight on a calligraphy with Daizan
Daizan will present one of Shinzan’s calligraphies, with explanation of the artwork and teachings behind it.
7pm: Zen Calligraphy workshop with Noriko Yamasaki
Over the past thousand years, Zen practitioners have developed a dynamic style of calligraphy. Known as bokuseki (“ink traces”), it expresses the calligrapher’s energy directly through brush and ink. This workshop is held in remembrance of Zen Master Shinzan, whose calligraphy continues to inspire—each piece embodying a vivid sense of presence and awareness. In this workshop, we focus on single-moment awareness, inviting you to be fully present. The session includes meditation, gentle body movement, and Zen line practice. No prior calligraphy experience is required. For in-person participants, all equipment will be provided. For online participants, please prepare a calligraphy brush, ink, and paper.
Tuesday 9th June
7am: zazen meditation followed by Shinzan-style simple breakfast of coffee, toast and jam
9am: Zen Yoga with Daizan
6pm: Hands-on jinshin workshop focused on the summer/heart energy system - with Shinkai Roshi
Jinshin (“meditation through compassionate awareness”) is an energy practice that Shinkai learned during his time at Gyokuryuji. While meditation creates the platform for physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your being to come free, releaseing various emotions, memories and tensions along the way, jinshin supports this letting go by bringing awareness specifically to these aspects (especially the stuck parts) when they do come up. Jinshin orients around the East Asian energy systems that are found in Zen practice, including the organs and energy lines and their link to the seasons. During this workshop we'll focus on aligning with the summertime and the heart and small intestine. When these systems are in healthy alignment, you tend to feel connected to others, yourself, and your community, and you also have the ability to discern clearly. Your heart can be open and also boundaried in a balanced way.
7:30pm: Talk on “The koan of Shinzan” by Shinkai Roshi
Shinkai lived in Japan for 7 years and spent the majority of this time at Gyokuryuji with Shinzan Roshi. Join him for a talk about memories of his life and practice there, including dealing with the force of nature that was Shinzan Roshi! Shinzan Roshi was truly a koan in himself. He could walk into a situation and meet it all the way, instantly. He was open to anyone, no matter where they were on their life path, and could see their potential. You could feel this when he looked at you. The way he structured his temple, Gyokuryuji, really reflected his approach to life and Zen practice. It was informal and formal, balanced and wild (at times), clean and messy... The environment around him really encompassed everything and truly forced you to face yourself.
Wednesday 10th June
7am: zazen meditation followed by tea
9:30am: Zen Yoga with Noriko
6pm: guided spotlight on a calligraphy with Daizan
Daizan will present one of Shinzan’s calligraphies, with explanation of the artwork and teachings behind it.
7pm: Jason - Clowning around the theme of ‘shugu’ (keeper of stupidity)
Thusday 11th June
7am zazen meditation followed by tea
10am: Zen Yoga with Mark
6pm: guided spotlight on a calligraphy with Daizan
Daizan will present one of Shinzan’s calligraphies, with explanation of the artwork and teachings behind it.
7pm: Closing ceremony with singing from Judith Charron
Judith Charron, composer and soprano singer, will share songs from her album “In Heaven’s River,” composed from poems written by the Japanese mountain monk Enku in the forests and mountains around Gyokuryuji, the teaching seat of Zen master Shinzan. The songs of In Heaven’s River invite you to enter a living current of beauty, of wonder, of quiet tenderness. They open the heart to the suffering of sentient beings, and at the same time to the deep bliss and beauty that run beneath. These songs will help bring these days of memorial celebration to a natural and resonant close.