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Muhō Jōken Fernandes

Born in 1990 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, he began his zazen practice at the age of fourteen at Busshinji Temple under the guidance of Saikawa Dōshō Roshi, the Superintendent for South America. He received the Bodhisattva vows at nineteen and was ordained as a monk at twenty-one.

In 2012, he entered Kasuisai Monastery in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, where he trained for a year and a half. In 2016, he began a new period of training at Sōjiji Monastery in Yokohama, Japan, staying for four years. During his practice at Sōjiji, he was chosen as the first non-Japanese Shuso (head trainee) at a head temple (Honzan).

In 2020, he began a period of study at the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center in Tokyo, where he served for three years. He currently holds the position of Vice-Abbot at Chōsen-ji Temple, located in Yamagowa, Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, and works within the International Department and the Sanzen Sector (zazen guidance) of the Head Temple Daihonzan Sōji-ji.