Sengyo

Sengyo Van Leuven (b. 1959, Belgium) is the abbot of the Tempio Buddhista Zen Jōhōji in Rome and one of Roland Yuno Rech's senior dharma heirs in Italy^[1][2]. He was ordained a Sōtō monk by Yuno Rech in 1992, moved to Rome in early 2008 to lead the city's small Deshimaru-line sangha^[2], and in 2011 received shihō (dharma transmission) from his teacher at La Gendronnière^[1][2][3]. The Sōtōshū Shūmuchō formally registered him as kokusai fukyōshi (国際布教師, international missionary teacher) authorised to spread Sōtō Zen in Europe, anchoring the Italian capital in the official Japanese registry of overseas teachers^[2][4].

Under Van Leuven's direction the Buppō Association acquired and consecrated Jōhōji (the Temple of the Continuity of the Dharma), the first Sōtō Zen temple in the Italian capital and an affiliate of both the Sōtōshū Shūmuchō and the Italian Buddhist Union (UBI)^[2][4]. He leads daily zazen, monthly zazenkai, and an annual cycle of sesshin in Italy, France, and Belgium, and has been one of the principal Italian translators of Yuno Rech's commentaries on Dōgen^[2][3].