Michel Genko Dubois

Born in 1947, Michel Genko Dubois has practiced Zen since 1978. In 2007, he received Shiho (Dharma Transmission) authorization to teach Zen, from Genpo Merzel Roshi and Inka (Final Seal of Approval) from Bernie Tetsugen Glassman Roshi. He has also studied with Maezumi Roshi and Deshimaru Roshi. He has received as well the teachings of several Tibetan lamas, such as Chhoje Tulku Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Anam Thubten Rinpoche.

From 1970 to 1974, Michel Dubois travelled across Africa, hitchhiking, teaching English and doing various odd jobs. His first experience with meditation was in the mountains of northern Ethiopia in 1974.

The year after, he travelled across Central America and the United States, before finally settling in San Francisco, where he became a taxi driver and began practicing Zen regularly. In 1980, he took part in the «Long Walk for Survival», a spiritual march San Francisco to New York led by traditionalist Native Americans, to pray for peace on Earth and the closing of the uranium mines on Native reserve lands.
During the 1980s he co-produced and co-wrote the documentary film, “The Spirit of Crazy Horse”, which tells the story of the Lakota Sioux Indians and their struggle to recover their sacred ancestral land – the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Michel Dubois is a member and a teacher of the «Zen Peacemakers», an association founded by Bernie Glassman to unite Zen Buddhist practice, social action, and work for peace. He is also the cofounder of the “L’Un Est L’Autre” (One is the Other) humanitarian organization, which distributes meals to the needy in Paris.
He currently teaches Zen at the Dana Zen Center at Montreuil, suburban Paris, and regularly leads retreats in France and Catalonia, Spain. He is also a professional translator.