...this website
To study Zen is to study ourselves.
To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
To forget ourselves is to be enlightened by the ten thousand Dharmas.
On this website, I will focus on the study of the “self” from the point of view of Zen Buddhism, as I have learned it from my teachers since 1989 and tested it over the last 30 years.
The goal of the study is the enlightened life: To reduce suffering and to act in a beneficial manner appropriate to the respective situation. It is about creating joy and space in a challenging world for us and the beings around us – and appreciating our lives.
Since we all have a “self” that can be explored and studied, every reader has the prerequisites to understand Zen Buddhism. This website aims to awaken and deepen this understanding.
I am particularly interested in two areas of Zen studies:
- The MeditationI use the term “Meditation” on this site as a name for comfortable and relaxed sitting in any posture – and without any purpose.
Meditation (or also: right concentration or contemplation) is the eighth part of the Noble Eightfold Path of The Buddha.
Meditation in Zen is called “sitting” or “zazen”. More about Zazen here > (The Link opens a new browser window)
- The insight that allows us to transform the power of meditation into action.
Some people remember with regret: as children we caught house flies and tore out a wing of them. Then we were thrilled about the fly humming in circles on the table. Meditation and insight are like the two wings of a fly: if only one wing is developed, then we stagger in a circle. We need both wings: meditation and insight, to be able to fly .
I promise to articulate clearly and precisely at all times. No boredom shall come up and I will not waste the time of the reader.
You can move freely on this website. Neither do I place cookies in your browser, nor do I track or analyze your surfing behavior. The contents are not subject to copyright and can be used freely.
...Christian Jikishin von Wolkahof
All images: Laura Boschke
My name is Christian von Wolkahof; my Buddhist name is Jikishin. I am the father of three sons, architect and ordained Zen monk, Zenteacher and Lineage-Holder (Sensei) of the Japanese Soto School in the White Plum lineage of Hakuju Taizan Maezumi, Roshi and Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi. I have been a student of Genpo Roshi since 1989. As co-founder of Kanzeon Sangha Deutschland e.V. and Kanzeon Zen-Zentrum Düsseldorf, I managed the center together with my then wife Marci Forand until the end of 2007.
Since early 2008, we lived with our children Carl and Toni for five years in the “Kanzeon Zen Center International” (Temple Hosshinji) in Salt Lake City, USA. Under the direction of Abbot Genpo Merzel Roshi, we were responsible for the training of the monks, nuns and lay people living there.
I have a special interest in translating the old – partly monastic – principles of Zen into modern language, western lifestyle and northern climate.
I am living as family man and Zen-Teacher in Düsseldorf. Drawing on the experience of my monastic training, I combine Zen Buddhist principles and daily life into a vivid and meaningful practice.
...my services
When I started zazen (sitting meditation) in 1988, it was not easy to find companions on this sometimes rocky, sometimes hazy path – let alone a Zen teacher as a mountain guide. Nowadays I am a mountain guide myself and offer you short and long trips through the area:
- Personal consultation (once or twice)
- Personal guidance (long-term)
- Talks and workshops
- Zazenkai (single Days of Zen)
- Sesshin / Retreat (2 – 5 days)
- Rituals and Ceremonies of the White Plum Lineage of the Soto Zen School
...my events
- Starting March 6, 2019 I will be teaching regularly, twice a month, at the Kanzeon Zen Center Düsseldorf.
- Several times a year I will lead retreats at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion in Görlitz, the next time from April 12 – 14, 2019.
Upcoming events (details in German language):
- Düsseldorf > Kanzeon Zen Zentrum > Zazen & Dharma am 3. April 2019 19:30
- Görlitz > Center für Achtsamkeit und Mitgefühl > Workshop/Retreat am 12. April 2019 18:30
- Düsseldorf > Kanzeon Zen Zentrum > Zazen & Dharma am 17. April 2019 19:30
- Düsseldorf > Kanzeon Zen Zentrum > Zazen & Dharma am 1. Mai 2019 19:30
- Görlitz > Center für Achtsamkeit und Mitgefühl > Workshop/Retreat am 6. September 2019 18:00
