Buddhism in Morocco is a small religious minority in the kingdom of Morocco. Estimates for the number of Buddhists in Morocco range from a few dozen,[1] to under 0.01% of the population [2](or about 3000 people). The Pew Forum estimates that about 0.1% of Morocco's population is Buddhist.[3]
In 1977, the Zen Association of Morocco was founded by the doctor and writer Claude Durix[fr][6] and his disciple Driss Badidi.[7] In 1981, Taisen Deshimaru initiated six Moroccans into the Zen tradition, during a retreat that brought together 200 people near Marrakech.[6] The Zen dojo of Casablanca was created in 1983 by Claude Durix, himself a disciple of Deshimaru.[6]
This dojo, as well as the association, are now led by Driss Badidi.[8][9]
Badidi broke with the Association zen internationale[fr], and distanced himself from the Buddhist tradition in favor of a convergence between Zen and the mystical traditions of Islam.[6] This syncretism is made possible through a correspondence of concepts. The sirr (the spiritual “secret”) is interpreted in terms of “energy” or “spiritual flows”. Allah becomes “the Being”. Religiosity is reconfigured as “a path toward self-knowledge”.[6] This system of syncretic correspondences then allows Driss Badidi to see in Zen a means of deepening his Arab-Muslim identity.[6][7]
According to him, around 50 Moroccans initially benefited from his spiritual guidance.[6] During the 1990s, his spiritual techniques gradually took on a more local character.[6] These techniques took root not only within expatriate circles but also among the Moroccan bourgeoisie, which was undergoing significant political and religious transformations.[6] However, the number of disciples at the dojo never exceeded about a dozen at a time.[10] Driss Badidi adapts Zen by removing its Buddhist and Japanese elements,[10] favoring a minimalist approach focused on posture, breathing, frugality, and the universality of the practice.[6][11] For example, he refuses to place Buddha statues in his dojo and rejects all iconography with Japanese references.[6] Badidi practices Zazen, a form of seated meditation derived from Japanese Zen Buddhism, adapted to the Moroccan context, following the Soto Zen school, which, according to Badidi, is in harmony with Arab-Muslim culture.[11]
Similarly, Rachid Ben Rochd, a former entrepreneur who became a writer after his business failed, practices Zen and yoga, which he combines with the teachings of the tariqa of Sidi Hamza.[9]
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