What are the 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

Black Mountain Zen Centre

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Black Mountain Zen Centre

Online zazen Mon-Fri 7 am, and Sat and Sun 10 am. Now also in person Tues 7 am, 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 Monastery. 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

02/02/2026

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

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.

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.

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.
~

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.
~

24/10/2025

This 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 are reading Seeing One Thing Through by Sojun Mel Weitsman

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.
~

19/09/2025

We’re going to have an all-day sitting on Sunday, 12 October 2025, from 9 am to 6 pm Belfast time.

You can also join us online (at our usual Zoom link). If you’re planning on being here in person please let us know as we’ll be preparing lunch – food will be vegetarian and gluten-free.

As always, this is a free event, and your donations are gladly accepted. Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to sign up.

~

09/09/2025

On Sunday, September 7, Mary Price became the first Zen priest to be ordained in Northern Ireland by our teacher, Paul Haller. Her name is Um Mon Yu Do (Cloud Gate Fearless Way), and we are delighted to welcome her as a new priest and deeply grateful for her practice.

21/07/2025

We’re going to have an all-day sitting on Sunday, August 3, from 9 am to 6 pm Belfast time.
You can also join us online (at our usual Zoom link). If you’re planning on being here in person please let us know as we’ll be preparing lunch – food will be vegetarian and gluten-free.
This offering is free and we welcome donations. Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to sign up.
~

19/06/2025

This Saturday 21st June 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 are reading Seeing One Thing Through by Sojun Mel Weitsman. This week, we’re going to read the short chapter “Zazen in Daily Life”, pages 245 and 246.

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.
~

23/05/2025

We’re going to have an all-day sitting on Sunday, June 22, from 9 am to 6 pm Belfast time, to celebrate the solstice.

The schedule is on the website, if you click through, and I’ve also attached a PDF. We’ll be doing a little yoga and stretching after the first period in the afternoon, so please dress with that in mind. We’ll be eating lunch in traditional oryoki style, with three bowls, so please let us know if you’re coming in person. You can also join us online on our usual Zoom link.

We’ll have another all-day sitting on Sunday, August 3, and our sesshin September 2-7, still has some places available.

Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org for further information.
~

07/05/2025

Some images from our recent Jukai ceremony led by Black Mountain resident priest Myogan Djinn Gallagher.
~
Pictured L-R are guiding teacher Ryushin Paul Haller, Diana Rooney (new name Daian Myoshin; Great Ease, Luminous Heart), Bethina Nordahl (new name Monshin Myogetsu; Listening Heart, Wondrous Moon), Darren Kennedy (new name Yushin Jihei; Heroic Heart, Warrior for Peace) and Myogan Djinn Gallagher.

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

Website

https://bmzcbelfast.org/

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