Stef Lauwers

I was born in 1964 in Belgium, did an MA in Religion and  learned a lot about Christianity and Judaism. At the same time, I was practicing Aikido and had an interest in Eastern wisdom. After my military service I continued my studies with Cultural Anthropology, which enabled me to stay in Israel for one and a half years. 

I started a job in The Netherlands teaching religion at BA level.
When my relationship crashed, I noticed that Buddhist insights and especially Zen meditation practice were very helpful to stay focused in a difficult time. I started to put more and more time into them.
In 1999, Ama Samy became my formal Zen teacher, an Indian Jesuit who had trained with Yamada Koun in Japan, with a great love for koans and the historical Buddha. Also Bernie Glassman and his book “Bearing witness” were very inspiring to me.

I had started a job as chaplain, working with people with dementia and their families. In Buddhism, there is mention of the three ‘heavenly messengers’: sickness, old age and death. In this job, I encountered these every day; it  was intense practice for me.
During a Zen retreat I met Ciska. We started to go to Zen monastery Noorder Poort in Drenthe together often. I did Jukai with Jiun Roshi later on and she gave me the name “Great Heart-Mind”. 

I had started working as a Buddhist chaplain in a number of prisons in the Netherlands and  some years later became an assistant professor in Buddhist chaplaincy at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. During this period I also completed the mindfulness teacher training and the supervisor training. 

My dream was traveling and sitting retreats for longer periods of time. That is why in 2019, I took a sabbatical year. Highlight was the 200 hours yoga teacher training in Rishikesh (India) together with Ciska. 

Since I have happily started working again as a chaplain in a number of nursing homes in Amstelveen.

In 2024 both Ciska and me were appointed zen teachers by Jiun Hogen Roshi of the Noorder Poort. I was given the name Hosan, Dharma Mountain.

Meditation, chi qung and yoga practice are part of my everyday life. I find it really special to practice these together with others. 

..

…