Mosteiro Zen Morro da Vargem, Buddhist temple in Ibiraçu, Brazil.
Mosteiro Zen Morro da Vargem is a Buddhist temple and monastery in the state of Espírito Santo, located along the BR-101 North highway near Ibiraçu. A large part of the property is set aside for protecting and replanting Atlantic Forest, so the grounds feel more like a forested hillside than a formal religious compound.
The monastery was founded in 1974 by monk Ryotan Tokuda and was the first Zen Buddhist center established in Latin America. It follows the Soto Zen school, a tradition that traces its roots to Japan.
The monastery has an art studio where artists can live and work away from city life. Visitors who come for this reason often stay for several days, spending time between the studio and the forest trails.
The monastery is easy to reach by car from the BR-101 Norte, but public transport options are limited in this rural area. A morning visit tends to work best, as the forest is cooler and the grounds are less busy than in the afternoon.
Although it is an active monastery, it regularly welcomes laypeople to multi-day retreats where meditation is combined with hands-on work in the forest. These retreats are open to people of different backgrounds, not only to those who follow Buddhism.
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