Zen Group of Western Australia Zen Group of Western Australia The Zen Group of Western Australia (ZGWA) is an organization of lay zen practitioners located in Perth, Western Australia. The ZGWA is formally affiliated with the Diamond Sangha tradition of Zen Buddhism, which was founded in Hawaii in 1959 by Robert Aitken Roshi. In keeping with Diamond Sangha tradition, the ZGWA uses rituals from both the Soto and Rinzai schools. Mediation practices of Shikantaza from the Sōtō school and koan training from the Rinzai school are typical forms of practise employed by students in the group, under the guidance of the groups roshi. ZGWA's senior
Buddhism in Austria of Vienna, became the home for Zen, Kagyu and Theravada groups. From 1981 there is a branch of the Arya Maitreya Mandala in Austria, which was founded by Lama Anagarika Govinda. When official recognition was granted by the government in early 1983 a new era of Austrian Buddhism was ushered in. A widely visible ‘Peace Stupa’ was opened at the banks of the river Danube and a retreat and study centre, Letzehof, affiliated with the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism was opened in the western province of Vorarlberg. Vanja Palmers, a Zen monk of the Japanese Sōtō school, and Brother