Evelyn Reiko de Smedt

After several years spent studying and practicing Sanskrit and yoga, Evelyn de Smedt became interested in Eastern spirituality and collaborated on various publications focused on personal development, notably Planet , in January 1972.

In January 1973 she met Master Deshimaru in a workshop in Paris’ 15th arrondissement, where he was teaching the Buddha-Way: zazen.

This practice found a natural place within her and became the source of her daily life and existence. An increasingly solid and intimate connection was established with her master and in March 1975 she received the nun ordination. She also helped him edit and publish most of his works in French.

Since her master’s death, she has continued to spread his teaching through books, notably Zen and Christianity and The Light of Satori (Albin Michel), Zen Album illustrated in collaboration with M.Bovay and L.Kaltenbach, Les Patriarches du Zen (all in French) and through the sesshin she directs. One of the leaders of the Paris Zen Dojo, she spreads the experience that connects us directly to our profound nature, the mind of Buddha, the mind of God that is in each of us.