Zen master Gu Ja (Namhee Chon) has a master’s degree in philosophy and sinology from the Free University of Berlin and studied yoga and meditation in India. Zen Master Gu Ja received Inka from Zen Master Wu Bong in 2008. She received the Dharma transmission from Zen Master Bon Shim in April 2017. She is the leading teacher at the Zen Center Berlin.

Zen Master Gu Ja met Zen Master Seung Sahn in Warsaw in 1989 and founded the Zen Center Berlin with her husband Zen Master Ji Kwang in 1990. Soon afterwards, the Kwan Um Zen School Germany was founded. She lives with her family near Berlin and works as a researcher for East Asian studies.

Zen master Gu Ja teaches regularly at the Zen Center Berlin.