Misson

Black Mountain Zen, in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, offers teachings that meet the profound request that lies at the heart of everyone’s fundamental nature — to awaken and live for the benefit of all living beings. These teachings offer the spirit of zen training through the practice of zazen and within our everyday activities. They are free to all who wish to practice. Donations are gratefully accepted.

At present, Black Mountain Zen is dedicated primarily to the ongoing teachings of Ryushin Paul Haller. Ryushin offers teachings on the fundamentals of zen training, drawing on his own training in Soto Zen and also his mindfulness training in Theravadin Buddhism and Rinzai Zen. As the site evolves, your feedback on how we can better enact this vow, is welcome.

Teacher

Black Mountain Zen was founded by Ryushin Paul Haller Roshi who has practiced at all three temples of the San Francisco Zen Center since the 1970s and served as Abiding Abbot at City Center from 2003 to 2012. Initially ordained as a Theravada monk in Thailand, Ryushin became a Zen priest in 1980. He received Dharma Transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Ryushin has sat sesshin with several Rinzai Zen teachers and practiced yoga throughout his years of zen training. He founded Black Mountain Zen Centre in 1998 in N.Ireland.

Originally from Belfast, N.Ireland and based in San Francisco, Ryushin teaches in the US and Europe and has crafted trauma-sensitive mindfulness programs to assist with depression and recovery. He has also taught in prisons and through the Zen Hospice Project. Ryushin is interested in finding ways of expressing Zen practice in society, through compassionate service and by making practice accessible to as many people as possible.