ZEN THERAPY

Jion (慈温) studied Gestalt Therapy and Power Psychology in Germany. He developed his own therapeutic approach, combining Gestalt Therapy, Transpersonal Psychology, Trauma Therapy, and Zen. He continues to develop and refine this method through his ongoing practice and experience. The name Jion (慈温) represents unconditional love and warmth. Jion has more than two decades of experience in Zen Therapy, specializing in trauma, relationships, and the integration of Zen into everyday life. He is also a life coach and Zen master (Rōshi), as well as a husband and father.

His work encompasses the challenges of ordinary life, including relationships, family, childcare, personal development, and life coaching. He also supports people through major transitions, including accompanying those who are dying.

His work brings together people from many different cultural and professional backgrounds. Among those who have worked with him are therapists, teachers, artists, scientists, astronauts, programmers, athletes, and leaders.

Jion’s path has been shaped by years of training and practice as a Zen monk in Japanese monasteries, including Eigenji and Sogenji. He is also the author of Zen Therapy and Koans, a singer with Bach and Zen, and a Butoh dance teacher and performer.

Teachers, Mentors, and Formative Experiences

On his ten-year journey through Japan, India, Nepal, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, the United States, and Israel, Jion encountered teachers from a wide range of spiritual and therapeutic traditions.

Some of his teachers, mentors, and formative experiences, in chronological order:

1993
Humanistic philosophy, with Michel de Montaigne as a central influence

1995
Dao Yoga with Mantak Chia
Seven years of martial arts training, including Taekwondo, Judo, Aikido, Iaido, and Kyudo

1996
Jungian Psychology

1997
Tibetan monastery near Berlin, Lama Dechen

1998
Zen Center Berlin, Zen Master Seung Sahn

1999
Soto Zen Monastery KoSanRyuMonJi in Strasbourg, with Zen Master Reigen Wang-Genh

2004–2008
Four years of continuous training as a Zen monk in Japanese Zen monasteries, including under:

Zen Master Dai-Yu Roshi, Eigenji, Rinzai Zen Monastery, Japan
Zen Master Taigen Shodo Harada Roshi, Rinzai Zen Monastery, Japan
Zen Master So-Kan Daiosho Roshi, Rinzai Zen

2010
India and Nepal: Mother Teresa’s Kalighat and Gandhi’s Welfare Center
Volunteer work in a hospice and English teaching for street children

Early 2011
Training in Zen Shiatsu and energy work in Berlin

Late 2011
Jion received transmission and authorization to teach Zen from So-Kan Daiosho Roshi in Kyoto, Japan.

An Insight into My Work

You may have reached a point where you understand a great deal about yourself, yet something still does not change. Perhaps you keep repeating the same patterns in relationships, struggle with anxiety, self-doubt, anger, or emotional overwhelm, or find yourself achieving the things you thought would make you happy, only to feel that something is still missing. Sometimes we know what we want, but cannot seem to move toward it. Other times, we have achieved our goals and still do not feel at home in our own lives.

This is where my work begins.

As a Zen therapist, I work with trauma, its imprints, and the patterns that continue to shape our emotions, relationships, choices, and sense of self. Some patterns may not originate solely in our own personal history and can also involve transgenerational or epigenetic influences. I draw on Jungian psychology, archetypes, and shadow work to explore aspects of ourselves that may have remained outside conscious awareness.

As a life coach, I can help you clarify what you genuinely want and find practical ways to move toward it. This can be particularly useful when you are facing a specific challenge, starting a new project, making an important decision, or wanting to create meaningful change in your life.

At the same time, not every goal we pursue is necessarily our own. What looks like ambition, success, personal growth, or even self-improvement is often driven by trauma, fear, social expectations, old conditioning, or an unconscious need to prove ourselves. In such cases, achieving the goal may simply reinforce the pattern we are trying to leave behind. Part of our work may therefore be discovering what you actually want beneath all of this.

Zen brings another dimension to the process. Rather than asking you to become a different person, Zen invites you to meet your experience directly. We learn to notice what is happening without immediately judging it, fixing it, or pushing it away.

As a Zen master, I teach a practice of turning toward your actual experience and learning to stay present with what is. This can change our relationship with difficult emotions, old patterns, relationships, and the circumstances of our lives.

Zen is not about withdrawing from ordinary life. It becomes meaningful when it enters our relationships, our work, our family life, our decisions, and the way we meet everyday difficulties. The aim is not to escape life, but to meet it more fully.

There is no fixed path that everyone has to follow. Your life is unique, and the work begins with where you are now. We may explore trauma, relationships, personal goals, family patterns, emotional difficulties, or questions about meaning and direction. Sometimes the work is deeply therapeutic. Sometimes it is practical. Sometimes it is simply about learning to be present with what is.

I see Zen Therapy as a journey into the less conscious parts of ourselves, and as a way of bringing what we discover back into everyday life. It may begin with tears, confusion, or a difficult question. Over time, it can open into greater clarity, freedom, connection, and a more intimate relationship with yourself and the life you are actually living.

Zen can be as simple as drinking a cup of tea. There is no achievement at the end of it. You simply drink the tea and are there for the experience. In the same way, our work together is not ultimately about becoming a better version of yourself. It is about discovering what becomes possible when you no longer have to constantly become someone else.

Sessions are available worldwide in English, German, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian and Romanian language.

zenmasterjion@gmail.com

 

 

Jion´s Music (Bach&Zen)