Teachers & Lineage
With only a few places available, the temple offers an intimate environment that supports focused, dedicated practice and personal guidance.
In Soto Zen, the Dharma is transmitted directly from teacher to student. This living transmission, known as the lineage, connects each generation of practitioners with the historical Buddha through an unbroken tradition of practice and realization. Keiryuji belongs to the Soto Zen tradition and the White Plum Lineage founded by Taizan Maezumi Roshi.
Keiryuji Teachers
Keiryuji Teachers
Peter Gakudo den Hollander
Peter Gakudo den Hollander Roshi was born in 1957 in Leiderdorp, the Netherlands. Before dedicating himself fully to Zen practice, he studied social work and worked with young adults from diverse cultural backgrounds in The Hague.
He began practising Zen in 1997 with Genpo Roshi and, in 2000, became a student of Tenkei Coppens Roshi, who would become his root teacher.
Together with his wife, Anjo Koren Kasman Sensei, he helped establish Zen River in the Netherlands. Since its founding, he has been deeply involved in teaching, temple practice, and the training of practitioners.
Gakudo Roshi received Tokudo in 2002 and Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Tenkei Roshi in 2013. As part of his formal Soto Zen training, he completed two traditional Ango training periods in Japan and performed Zuise at both Eiheiji and Sojiji, the two head temples of the Soto School. He is fully certified as a Soto Zen teacher by the Japanese Soto School.
Since 2008, he has led workshops, sesshins, and residential training programmes. In 2015, he and Koren Sensei moved to the Spanish Pyrenees to establish Keiryuji, a mountain hermitage dedicated to sincere and wholehearted Zen practice.
In 2023, he received Inka, the final seal of approval from his teacher, Tenkei Roshi, recognising the completion of his training and his ability to continue the teaching lineage independently.
He was appointed Nito-Kyoshi (Second Teacher) in 2016 and Kokusaifukyoshi (official overseas representative of the Soto School) in 2018, recognitions held by only a limited number of Western Soto priests.
Keiryuji was founded together by Gakudo Roshi and his wife, Anjo Koren Kasman Sensei, whose dedication and vision continue to inspire the temple today.
Anjo Koren Kasman
Anjo Koren Kasman Sensei (1956–2016) studied business economics and worked as an administrative manager at an academic hospital in Leiden, the Netherlands.She began practising Zen with Tenkei Coppens Roshi in 1999 and became a resident of Zen River, where she lived and practised for almost fifteen years. In addition to serving as the temple's financial manager, she was responsible for the sewing room, an important part of the daily life of the community.
Koren Sensei received Tokudo in 2002 and Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Tenkei Roshi in 2013. She completed her formal Soto Zen training in Japan, including Zuise at Eiheiji and Sojiji, and was fully certified by the Japanese Soto School.
In 2015, together with her husband, Gakudo Roshi, she founded Keiryuji in the Spanish Pyrenees. Her quiet dedication, warmth, and wholehearted commitment to practice helped shape the spirit of the temple from its very beginning.
Koren Sensei passed away in 2016. Her compassion, enthusiasm, and unwavering encouragement continue to be deeply felt at Keiryuji, and her example remains an inspiration to all who practise here.
Pascal Tetsuko van der Knokke
Pascal Tetsuko van der Knokke was born in 1968 in The Hague, the Netherlands. He began practising Zen in 1997 under the guidance of Cees van den Bunt. In 2000, he received Jukai from Genpo Merzel Roshi and shortly afterwards became a student of Tenkei Coppens Roshi.
During the following years, he was a regular visitor to Zen River Temple, where he often assisted Gakudo Roshi with maintenance and various temple projects.
In 2010, he moved to Spain with his wife and two children. Five years later, he became a student of Gakudo Roshi and joined the newly established Keiryuji, where he has played an important role in the construction, maintenance, and development of the temple.
He received Tokudo in 2019 and served as Shuso at Keiryuji in 2021. In 2022, he served as Shuso once again at Zen River, where he completed his Hossenshiki before the official Soto School witness for Europe. In 2026, he received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Gakudo Roshi.
Lineage
Lineage
In Soto Zen, the Dharma is transmitted directly from teacher to student. This living transmission, known as the lineage, connects each generation of practitioners with the historical Buddha through an unbroken tradition of practice and realization. Keiryuji belongs to the Soto Zen tradition and the White Plum Lineage founded by Taizan Maezumi Roshi.
Taizan Maezumi Roshi
Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931–1995) was one of the great pioneers of Zen Buddhism in the West. Through his teaching, he introduced authentic Soto Zen practice to thousands of students and established what later became known as the White Plum Lineage.
Maezumi Roshi received Dharma Transmission in the Soto tradition from Baian Hakujun Kuroda Roshi.
In addition, he received Inka in both the Shakyamuni Kai and the Sanbo Kyodan traditions, giving him an exceptionally broad training and allowing him to transmit a rich and balanced approach to Zen practice.
Today, the White Plum Lineage continues throughout the world, with Keiryuji standing within this living tradition through the Dharma transmission from Maezumi Roshi to Genpo Roshi, Tenkei Roshi, and Gakudo Roshi.
Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi
Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi was born in 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in California. He began formal Zen training with Taizan Maezumi Roshi at the Zen Center of Los Angeles in 1972.
He received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Maezumi Roshi in 1980 and, from the following year onward, began teaching extensively in Europe.
In 1984, he founded the Kanzeon Sangha, bringing together his students in the United States and Europe.
Among his Dharma successors is Anton Tenkei Coppens Roshi, whose teaching continues through Zen River and Keiryuji.
Anton Tenkei Coppens Roshi
Anton Tenkei Coppens Roshi was born in 1949 in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. He is a Dharma successor of Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, from whom he received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) in 1996.
During the following four years, he assisted Genpo Roshi full-time in Salt Lake City, where he was closely involved in teaching and training.
In 2000, together with his wife, Tamara Myoho Gabrysch Sensei, he founded Zen River Temple in Uithuizen, the Netherlands. Since then, Zen River has become an important centre for Soto Zen practice and priest training in Europe.
Tenkei Roshi is the author of Timeless Calling, Timely Response: A Guide for Zen Buddhist Practice and has edited several important publications, including The Echoless Valley and Teaching of the Great Mountain, collections of Dharma talks by Taizan Maezumi Roshi. He also& co-edited Beyond Sanity and Madness by Genpo Roshi.
Teachers Who Have Supported Our Training
Tamara Myoho Gabrysch Roshi
Tamara Myoho (Tammy) Gabrysch Roshi was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She began practising Zen with Genpo Roshi in 1988 and soon became Tenzo (Temple Cook), integrating Zen practice with the art of mindful cooking.
Together with Tenkei Roshi, she founded Zen River Temple in 2000. In 2008, she received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Genpo Roshi.
Myoho Roshi is one of the contributors to The Hidden Lamp, a collection of stories of female Zen teachers. She is also the author of the two-volume Zen River Cookbook, sharing the vegetarian cooking tradition that has become an integral part of life at Zen River.
Baigaku Junyu Kuroda Roshi (Hojo-san)
Baigaku Junyu Kuroda Roshi (1940–2021), affectionately known as Hojo-san, was the younger brother of Taizan Maezumi Roshi and served as abbot of Kirigayaji in Tokyo and Fujidera in Gotemba, near Mount Fuji.
After graduating from Komazawa University in 1963, he received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from his father in 1968.
Following his traditional monastic training at Sojiji, he completed the advanced Soto training programme that qualified him as a Zen Master in 1970.
Throughout his life, Hojo-san travelled extensively, teaching and supporting Soto Zen both within Japan and abroad. He also developed a long-standing connection with Bhutan, where he contributed to intercultural and Buddhist exchange.
In 2010, he was appointed Gondai Kyoshi (Vice-President of the Soto School), and in 2012 he received the title of Daikyoshi, one of the highest teaching ranks within the Japanese Soto School.
Hojo-san maintained a close relationship with Zen River Temple for many years. Tenkei Roshi and Myoho Roshi visited him regularly in Japan, and Gakudo Roshi and Koren Sensei also stayed with him on several occasions. He served as Jokeshi during the Hossenshiki of both Gakudo Roshi and Koren Sensei, and his encouragement and support have been of lasting importance to the training and development of Keiryuji.
Links
Links
Contact
The temple is located in the mountains of the Alta Garrotxa Nature Reserve, near the village of Camprodon in the province of Girona, Catalonia.
The journey to Keiryuji gradually leaves behind the pace of everyday life, as the road climbs into the Pyrenees, the mountains, forests, and silence prepares the way for practice.