Retreat · Bahia
Escravidão e
Freedom in Brazil
Salvador and the Recôncavo region of Bahia
Ecos de uma Travessia | Jornada no Brasil: Monge Koho & Monja Daien
Dear community,
The Slavery and Freedom in Brazil Retreat
“Our retreat was a collective journey, shaped through listening, silence, and practice, in the presence of a history that may seem past yet still resonates powerfully today.”
Our journey began in Salvador,
where we were welcomed at Dom Amando Convent, a place of hospitality inspired by Franciscan simplicity and compassion.
We visited Luiza Mahin School,
in the Santa Luzia community—a place of transformation, care, and community service, where we joined local activities.
We then continued to the Recôncavo region of Bahia,
where we visited Quilombo Kaonge, immersing ourselves in the strength of community life, traditional knowledge, spiritual practices, and the wisdom that sustains this community to this day.
Along the trails of the Freedom Route,
we witnessed the legacies of the colonial period and Afro-descendant resistance. At the Convent of Santo Antônio do Paraguaçu, we held interfaith memorial ceremonies, including the “Gate of Sweet Nectar,” honoring every life marked by this history.
Memory
A collective journey
What do we carry from all this?
We carry the confirmation that this is not a path to understand, but to feel—to look, listen, and allow ourselves to be transformed.
The retreat is not only about facing suffering. It is also about finding within it the strength of life, culture, resistance, and the beauty that blossoms even under the most adverse conditions.
Each day was guided by the
Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemakers
Not Knowing
letting go of fixed ideas and judgments.
Bearing Witness
being fully present with the beauty and suffering of the world.
Taking Action
allowing care and service to arise from silence and listening.
Memory
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