The Way of ZEN in Greece …Konstantinos Sgoumpopoulos joins Angelos Stathopoulos on the show “Soil of my Soul” is.
Konstantinos Sgoumpopoulos teaches the ancient Way of Zen, as well as the martial arts governed by its spirit.
Konstantinos Sgoumpopoulos was born and raised in Athens. He has been practicing Tae Kwon do since 1986, he is a 7 Dan, and a 3 Dan in the art of Iaido. Since 1998 he has been studying and delving in Zen philosophy and practice. In 2001, he begins his three-month training in Zen meditation under the guidance of Shi Yong Chuan at a Shaolin Monastery in China.
Upon completion, he is anointed a monk and begins to delve into the daily practice of Zazen. In 2010 he visits Fudenji, a Japanese Soto Zen monastery in Italy. There he makes the final decision to devote himself to the practice and teaching of Zen in order to establish the first Soto Zen monastery in Greece.
In 2012 he travels to Hosshin-ji Monastery and is accepted by its abbot at the time, Koten Roshi, as a novice monk and disciple. In 2013, he receives the anointing of Soto Zen monk and since then has been returning to Hosshin-ji continuously twice a year for intensive practice. Meanwhile, in 2013, he founds the Zen Center Athens, where he still guides the Sangha and represents Koten Roshi in Greece.