Sensei Okami
spritueller Leiter von Eido-Ji Meyerhof
Sensei Wolfgang Okami Schmachtenberg ran a music shop in Essen for many decades and imported upright and grand pianos from Japan and China as a wholesaler. Today, in addition to his diverse duties as a Zen teacher, he teaches piano and boot certificates in Germany.
Sensei Okami's Zen path began in 1989 with Zen teacher Johannes Kopp in Essen, Germany. He became his student and received a rigorous education until 2013. Okami's training was supplemented by classes from Zen masters Jiun Roshi from the Netherlands and Willigis Jaeger from Germany. He also received basic training in ZEN @ WORK from Zen masters Jo Kothes and Brigitte van Baren. ZEN IN WORK was released in 2017.
In 2013 he met and joined Zen masters Roshi Paul Genki Kahn and Roshi Monika Genmitsu Kahn, spiritual leaders of the Zen Garland Order in the USA. After a few years he received the license to teach ( Shiho 2017 ) and was ordained as a Zen teacher, Zen priest and Dharma successor of Roshi Genki. In 2016 he received training in Zen Focusing from Roshi Genmitsu and in 2019 he began studying the Zen Dialogue Process taught by Sensei Jikishin.
Okami is an active participant as a teacher of the Zen Garland Order, an active member of the Zen Garland Order Teachers' Circle, and involved in the development of the core practices of the Zen Garland Order:
The Zen Garland Practice :
The practice of private dialogue (docusan) with a Zen teacher
The practice of zen koan study and the study of sutras and texts
The practice of supportive bodywork such as breath walking, breath yoga
The practice of emotional wellbeing using Zen Focusing and Okami's InnerDialogue process.
The practice of service as a way of being based on the Zen garland vows
The practice of a living relationship and commitment to nature.
Sensei Okami is the spiritual leader of the Eido-Ji Sangha, born out of the Heart Touch Sangha, which was founded in Goch, Germany in 2015. He lives with his life in Germany, Ines Günther, who is a sound therapist.