Nissim Amon

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Nissim Amon
bald, middle-aged White male dressed in black monk-like attire, sitting on black cushion on wood platform next to shoreline, holding right hand up to chest, squinting with a slight smile at camera
Amon in 2022
Born
ניסים אמון

(1963-04-07) 7 April 1963 (age 61)
Jerusalem, Israel
Occupations
  • Author
  • translator
  • Zen master
  • meditation teacher
Known forTrilotherapy
Websitenissimamon.com

Nissim Amon (Hebrew: ניסים אמון; born 1963) is an Israeli Zen master and meditation teacher. He is the developer of the Trilotherapy therapeutic system and the author and translator of several books and publications.

Biography[edit]

Nissim Amon was born in Jerusalem in 1963 to a secular family. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces under the Nahal Brigade and fought in the Lebanon War.[1] After his military service, he went on a trip to the Far East and became acquainted with Buddhism.

Amon later joined a Zen Buddhist monastery in South Korea, where he enrolled in a curriculum in English for Western monks. At that time, Westerners were not required to undergo the long mentorship period of their Korean counterparts. At the Hwa Gye Sa monastery, he became the first Israeli monk in Korea.Under the guidance of Zen Master Seung Sahn, Amon received his accreditation as a meditation teacher. Afterwards, he continued on to Japan, there he joined the dojo of Zen Master G. W. Nishijima of the Soto Zen order. There, Amon was trained and certified as a Zen master. From there, he continued to Pune, India and taught Zen at Osho's Multiversity. There, he was exposed to various therapeutic methods that combined Zen Buddhism and Western psychological approaches, first amongst which was the Gestalt approach.

Upon his return to Israel, Amon established and managed a class for higher consciousness at Madison college. He published several books on the topic of meditation and hosted groups and retreats. He also hosted a television program entitled Sod Ha Osher Ha Pnimi (the secret of internal happiness) on Israeli Channel 8.

Amon married Merav and in 2001, the couple moved to the Greek island of Paros, where he established, along with his partners, a meditation and retreat center called Tao's. During his time there, he developed the Trilotherapy system.[2] In Trilotherapy, the therapist turns to two separate aspects of a patient's personality, intellect and emotion—"The Internal Children", according to the theory—and communicates with them separately.[3] This communication is claimed to awaken a third entity—The Middle, "The Parent", which, according to the theory, embodies the "True Self", towards which the path of Zen is aimed. Trilotherapy is not scientifically validated.

In 2008, Amon returned to Israel and currently resides with his family in Amikam.[1]

Controversy[edit]

In 2023, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in response to the 7 October Hamas attack, he published a video teaching Israeli troops how to shoot with an emphasis on breathing and relaxing while being "cool, without compassion or mercy".[4][5]

Publications[edit]

  • ISBN 978-965-070-669-2 – Hidat Ha Lotus (The Lotus Riddle) (1997)
  • ISBN 978-965-511-016-6 – KeShe Moshe Pagash et Buddha (When Moses Met Buddha)
  • ISBN 978-965-733-900-8 – Mi Natan La Pil Af Aroch Ve Mi Matach et Ha Girafa? (Who Gave the Elephant a long Snout and Who Stretched the Giraffe?) (Tao book for children) (2004)
  • OCLC 710974849 – Avkat Namer (Tiger's Powder) (2011)
  • OCLC 181941084 – Kwan Se Om (Music CD), with Ori Ofir
  • ISBN 978-161-984-736-1 Eastern Wisdom: The Treasure Box (Gatekeeper Press, 2017)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Basserglik, Billie (11 April 2012). יש הרבה אנשים עם מיליון דולר שלא ישנים טוב בלילה. Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  2. ^ Kimchi, Kathy (5 September 2008). שביל הזהב: שיטת טיפול המגשרת בין השכל לרגש. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  3. ^ Avrahami, Reli (1 April 2011). "Family Affair the Kugler-Florsheim-Cohens". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  4. ^ Smith, Mataeo (16 November 2023). "Israeli zen master's tips for IDF to become 'super fighters': 'Be cool, without mercy'". The Mirror US. MSN. Retrieved 31 December 2023.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Zen instructor inspires Israeli soldiers to become 'super-fighters'". TRT World. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.

External links[edit]

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