Understand the Fundamentals of Zazen
A course designed for the beginner and the experienced meditator,
join Zen teacher Paul Haller in four weeks of experiential practice with zazen.
Essential Practice
This 4-week program drops you into the core practice of Soto Zen Buddhism: zazen. Find out how concepts of awareness and breath can be applied directly to your meditation as you embody hundreds of years old spiritual wisdom in your day-to-day life.
Body
Study the elements of posture that offer solid support the the body so it expresses itself naturally and brings balance and steadiness to zazen practice.
Breath
Explore attention to energy, the release of tension, and the soft but engaged posture developed through the act of breathing in zazen.
Awareness
Bring awareness to the natural cycle that returns to presence. Open to the possibilities that arise from an attitude of flexibility and skillfulness.
Curriculum
Your Instructor
Urban Temple Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller has lived and practiced at San Francisco Zen Center since the 1970s and held many positions at Tassajara and City Center. He received Dharma Transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman and has been teaching for over 30 years. He served as Abiding Abbot at City Center from 2003 to 2012, and is currently the Urban Temple Dharma Teacher at City Center. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he teaches throughout the US and Europe and has led mindfulness programs to assist with depression and recovery. Paul has also taught in prisons and has a long involvement with the Zen Hospice Project. He has been practicing yoga for 30 years. Paul teaches at the Black Mountain Zen Centre in Belfast.
Founder and former Director of Outreach at SFZC, Paul is interested in finding ways of expressing our practice in society: as compassionate service and making it available to as many people as possible.
- See our livestream page and audio page for dharma talks.
