Zen Master Il Yeo (Arne Schaefer)
Arne Schaefer, Zen Master Il Yeo, began practicing in the Tibetan Kagyu tradition (Diamond Way) in 1990. In 1992, he began practicing Zen in the Kwan Um School of Zen, attending a YMJJ in Berlin with Zen Master Seung Sahn. Since then, he has practiced with Kwan Um teachers in Europe, Korea, and the United States.
In April 2010, he received Inka from Zen Master Wu Bong. In May 2026, he received transmission from Zen Master Bon Shim at Wubongsa in Warsaw and became Zen Master Il Yeo.
He is the guiding teacher of the Dresden Zen Center and the Hamburg Zen Group. He holds master’s degrees in religious studies (1996) and psychology (2002) from the Free University of Berlin.
As a coach and trainer, he has worked with individuals, teams, and organizations, integrating Buddhist perspectives into his work. In 2010, he founded mindsweets, a small company selling organic “sweets for medita(s)ting”.
After many years as founder and CEO he transferred the business and the products he developed, retaining a role as licensor.
