Black Mountain Zen Centre

Black Mountain Zen Centre Online zazen Mon-Fri 7 am, Mon and Wed at 730 pm, and Sat and Sun 10 am. Now also in person Tues 7 am, Mon and Wed 7:30 pm and Sun 10 am Whatever you do.

Welcome

Black Mountain Zen Centre is based in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and has affiliated groups throughout Northern Ireland. Our practice is Soto Zen in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. We are guided in our practice of the Buddha’s way by Ryushin Paul Haller Roshi, an authorised Dharma Heir of the Suzuki Roshi lineage, former Abbot of San Francisco Zen Centre and Tassajara Zen Mountain Mo

nastery. We emphasise the practice of Zazen (meditation) as the essence of Shakyamuni Buddha’s practice, together with the keeping of precepts and the cultivation of compassion and wisdom. Please browse our site and find out a little more or click here to get in touch.

“Just to be alive is enough. Each of you is perfect the way you are … and you can use a little improvement. In your everyday life, you always have a chance to have enlightenment. Everything is a teaching for us: the colour of a mountain, the sound of a river…each one is a teaching of the Buddha. Always have a new, fresh experience of your true self, here and now.”
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

New Black Mountain Zen Centre bodhisattvas from our recent Jukai ceremony.Pictured left to right:Guiding Teacher Ryushin...
05/05/2026

New Black Mountain Zen Centre bodhisattvas from our recent Jukai ceremony.
Pictured left to right:
Guiding Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller
Peter Herold (new name Soko Yakushin, Original Virtue, Healing Heart)
Ciaran O’Gorman (new name Jiryu Myodo, Healing Dragon, Wondrous Path)
BMZC Resident priest Myogan Djinn Gallagher

It’s the end of a wonderful visit to Belfast from our guiding teacher Paul Haller. Here are all the participants at our ...
04/05/2026

It’s the end of a wonderful visit to Belfast from our guiding teacher Paul Haller. Here are all the participants at our five-day sesshin at Tobar Mhuire retreat centre and some images from the Jukai ceremony yesterday afternoon.

To find out more about our community and what we do at Black Mountain Zen Centre, please email info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.

Our guiding teacher Paul Haller will be offering two workshops during his visit to Belfast this month, on Saturday 25 Ap...
11/04/2026

Our guiding teacher Paul Haller will be offering two workshops during his visit to Belfast this month, on Saturday 25 April 2026:

Engaging the Path of Zen, from 10am to 12:30pm and Seven Factors of Equanimity in the Midst of Turmoil, from 2pm to 4:30pm

We hope to see you at one or both of these precious opportunities to learn from one of the great dharma teachers of our time. Paul will also be at BMZC on Sunday morning, 26 April 2026, at 10 am to lead the morning programme, followed by a dharma talk. 

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.

We will have an all-day sitting with oryoki lunch on Sunday 29 March 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time. Everyone is inv...
23/03/2026

We will have an all-day sitting with oryoki lunch on Sunday 29 March 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time.

Everyone is invited to participate, either online at the usual link or in person at BMZC - if you’re planning on attending in person, please do let us know so we can make sure there’ll be food for everyone. 

This offering is free and we welcome donations. Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to sign up.

Yoga is back! Paddy Harte will once again be offering an hour of yoga before zazen on Sundays, starting at 8:45 am. We’d...
19/03/2026

Yoga is back!

Paddy Harte will once again be offering an hour of yoga before zazen on Sundays, starting at 8:45 am. We’d love to see you there, and even if you can’t make it, please let your friends know. 

This is an in-person event, and is a free offering, and donations are gratefully accepted. 

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.

We are delighted to announce that our teacher, Ryushin Paul Haller, will be offering an eight-week online class, ‘Alive ...
13/02/2026

We are delighted to announce that our teacher, Ryushin Paul Haller, will be offering an eight-week online class, ‘Alive with Wisdom and Compassion’, at Black Mountain Zen Centre. The class begins at 7pm Belfast time on Tuesday 24 February 2026.

Further details are available on
bmzcbelfast.org/events/feb26class/

You can participate live or watch the recordings at your own pace. 

There will be a follow-up meeting with Paul on Thursdays at 7:15 pm PST (i.e. 3:15 am Fridays in Belfast), and an opportunity to be part of one of the weekly small groups.
 
Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to register.

We will have an all-day sitting with oryoki lunch on Sunday 22 February 22 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time. Everyone ...
08/02/2026

We will have an all-day sitting with oryoki lunch on Sunday 22 February 22 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time. Everyone is invited to participate, either online at the usual link or in person at BMZC - and if you’re planning on attending in person, please do let me know so we can make sure there’ll be food for everyone. 

This offering is free and we welcome donations. Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to sign up.

Now on Monday as well as Wednesday - sit with us online or in person
02/02/2026

Now on Monday as well as Wednesday - sit with us online or in person

Our first all-day sitting of the year will be on Sunday 25 January 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time. You’re invited to...
12/01/2026

Our first all-day sitting of the year will be on Sunday 25 January 2026, from 9am to 6pm Belfast time.

You’re invited to join us online at the usual link or in person at BMZC - and if you’re planning on attending in person, please do let me know as we’re eating a formal oryoki lunch and need to make sure there’ll be food for everyone. 

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.

As always, this is a free event, and your donations are gladly accepted.

Christmas Times 2025We will be open for all of our usual sitting, in person and online, over the festive season every ...
22/12/2025

Christmas Times 2025

We will be open for all of our usual sitting, in person and online, over the festive season every day, except for Wednesday, 24th December when we will not be open at 7:30 pm (however, we’re online that morning as usual).

Hoping you have a joyful solstice, Christmas and end of year celebration, and looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Here at Black Mountain Zen Centre, we are delighted to let you know that we’re adding Monday evening at 7:30 pm to our z...
03/12/2025

Here at Black Mountain Zen Centre, we are delighted to let you know that we’re adding Monday evening at 7:30 pm to our zazen opportunities. We’ll be in person at Donegall Pass and also online at our usual Zoom link.

So we now offer nine periods of zazen every week, four of them in person, and we look forward to welcoming you:

In person
Sunday at 10 am
Monday at 7:30 pm
Tuesday at 7 am
Wednesday at 7:30 pm

Online
Sunday at 10 am
Monday at 7 am
Monday at 7:30 pm
Tuesday at 7 am
Wednesday at 7 am
Wednesday at 7:30 pm
Thursday at 7 am
Friday at 7 am
Saturday at 10 am
(Times are all local Belfast time)

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.
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Today, Saturday 24th October 2025 at 11am Belfast time (12 noon in Germany, France, and Slovenia, 1pm in Greece and Esto...
25/10/2025

Today, Saturday 24th October 2025 at 11am Belfast time (12 noon in Germany, France, and Slovenia, 1pm in Greece and Estonia) we’ll meet for our on-line study group.

We’re reading Becoming Yourself: Teachings on the Zen Way of Life, the new collection of talks by Shunryu Suzuki.

This week, we’re going to read the chapter, “Don’t Try to Figure Out Who You Are  “, pages 25 and 26.

We’ll use the same link for zazen beforehand, 10 am to 11 am, if you’d like to join us for that, too.

Zoom link: 763 077 3412
Password: zendo

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.
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Address

165 Donegall Pass
Belfast
BT71DT

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 8am
Tuesday 7am - 8:30am
Wednesday 7am - 8am
7:15pm - 8:45pm
Thursday 7am - 8am
Friday 7am - 8am
Saturday 10am - 12pm
Sunday 10am - 12pm

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