Practice Zen With Us

Whether you’re a newcomer, curious about Zen and wanting to explore how meditation might fit in your life, but not quite sure where to start (or even if Zen is right for you)…

Or you’ve already been practising Zen for some time and want to deepen your understanding and embodiment of your true nature, but feel stuck or need further guidance…

Finding your Zen way of being

Our organisation is led by Julian Daizan Skinner, the first Englishman to go to Japan and become a Roshi or Zen master in the rigorous Rinzai tradition of Zen. Read more about Daizan Roshi.

Under his guidance, we offer a range of options for establishing and deepening your practice, such as weekly Zen practice meetings including talks and led meditation sessions, short and long retreats, regular opportunities to discuss your practice 1-to-1 with a Zen teacher, a mentoring scheme, online meditation courses, study resources, books and more.

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Daizan chanting Practice with Zenways

Opportunities to practice Zen

Weekly Zazen

We meet twice a week for formal Zen practice (which includes zazen, kinhin, sanzen and chanting) at our dojo in south London and simultaneously online.

How to join our community

Our sangha is led by Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner, who founded Zenways in 2007.

We have a thriving sangha centred in the UK and increasingly spread across the world, with people practicing with us both in-person and online.

Sanzen

Daizan Roshi, together with our other Zen teachers, offers weekly sanzen (private 1-to-1 meetings about your practice) available to all members in-person or online.

Zen Retreats

We offer a variety of shorter and longer meditation and insight retreats across the UK and online, including our ever-popular Breakthrough to Zen Retreats.

Learn Meditation for Wellbeing

Zen has a long and distinguished history of teaching meditation as a way of boosting health and wellbeing as well as awakening to our true nature.

Learning to Become a Zen Teacher

We offer a Dharma teacher training programme over four stages or levels:
  • Trainee teacher.
  • Junior-level Zen teacher
  • Senior-level Zen teacher
  • Zen master

The path to becoming a Zen teacher is much more like an apprenticeship than a training course. It takes different lengths of time for different people depending on their propensity, engagement and understanding.

Under the guidance of Zen master Daizan Skinner, our group of trainee teachers create a vibrant, creative, friendly and very supportive place to learn how to offer the dharma in a way that will be of most benefit.