Dana Sangha

Welcome to Dana Sangha

Dana was founded in the Paris suburb of Montreuil in 1994 by Roshi Catherine Genno Pagès, a lineage holder in the Soto school, to offer regular Zen teaching and meditation in an urban setting. Its members form a community of lay practitioners who seek to honor the integrity of the ancient Zen tradition while integrating the practice into daily, modern life. It is easily accessible by the city's public transport system.

Dana offers daily meditation sessions and monthly retreats, which last one weekend or one week. Introductory classes are held for beginners. During summer months, there is a two-week retreat in the French countryside.

Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi is the first dharma heir of the American Zen master Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, who is a successor of the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi, founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles.

Teachers

Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi

Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi was born near Grenoble, France, and spent her youth in Paris. After studying art history at the Sorbonne, she pursued a career in various Parisian galleries and museums.

Beginning in 1978, she began traveling throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, India and Nepal, where she first encountered the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism and began practicing in that tradition.

Upon returning to Paris in 1982, she met the American Zen master Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, who became her teacher. For the next 10 years, she practiced Zen with him in Europe and America, and received dharma transmission in 1992. In 1994, she founded Dana Sangha in Montreuil, France. On January 16th, 2005, her teacher gave her the final seal of approval (inka).

Genno Roshi has given transmission to seven dharma successors who offer regular teachings in Portugal, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Thailand, and the UK.

João Cœur Eveillé Rodrigues Sensei

Born in Portugal, Joao Sensei met Genno Roshi in 2002. From 2003-2005, he practiced in Sogenji, a Rinzai monastery in Okayama, Japan under Shodo Harada Roshi’s guidance. He has lived at Dana Sangha since 2006. In April 2017, Genno Roshi gave him permission to teach. He was ordained as a monk in May, 2019 and received dharma transmission the same year. He teaches at Dana Sangha and since 2022 has been visiting and teaching regularly in Thailand.

Michel Genko Dubois Roshi

Michel Genko Roshi is a member and a teacher of the Zen Peacemakers, an association founded by Bernie Glassman to unite Zen Buddhist practice, social action, and work for peace. He is also the cofounder of “L’Un Est L’Autre” (One is the Other), a humanitarian organization that distributes meals to the needy in Paris.

He currently teaches at Dana Sangha in Montreuil and regularly leads retreats in France and Catalonia, Spain. He founded the Group Zen Voie du Coeur (Zen Way of the Heart). He is also a professional translator.

Calendar 2024 & 2025

All sesshins and meditation periods are held in Montreuil except the summer sesshin, which is in Château de Magny-en-Morvan.

Sesshins directed by Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi

July 20 to August 3 (Saturday 6 p.m.-Saturday 12 p.m.), Château de Magny-en-Morvan (Millay)
September 19 to 22 (Thursday 6:30 p.m. – Sunday 3 p.m.)
October 19 to 26 (Saturday 6:30 p.m. – Saturday 3 p.m.)
December 11 to 15 (Wednesday 6:30 p.m. – Sunday 3 p.m.)

2025

February 20 to 23 (Thursday 6.30pm - Sunday 3pm)
March 20 to 23 (Thursday 6.30pm - Sunday 3pm)
April 19 to 26 (Saturday 6.30pm - Saturday 3pm)
May 22 to 25 (Thursday 7:30 pm - Sunday 3 pm), work Sesshin, Montreuil
June 19 to 25 (Thursday 6.30pm - Sunday 3pm)
July 19 to August 2 (Saturday 6:00 pm - Saturday 12:00 pm, Saulières, 58110 Saint Péreuse)
September 18 to 21 (Thursday 6:30pm - Sunday 3pm)
October 18 to 25 (Saturday 6.30pm - Saturday 3pm)
December 3 to 7 (Wednesday 6.30pm - Sunday 3pm)

Sesshin directed by João Rodrigues Sensei 2025