This page lists every Zen teacher training program in our database — 60 programs, of which 30 are notable.
Programs are based across United States, Japan, France, Taiwan, Germany, with strong concentration in the first three. About 5% include online or hybrid components (3 programs).
Zen sits inside the broader meditation training landscape — see the full database of 597 programs across 17 traditions to compare across approaches.
Antaiji
Antaiji 日本語 English Deutsch Home Antaiji History Blog Yearbooks Contact Dharma Zazen How to sit The attitude of zazen Mind and zazen Classics Zazengi Fukanzazengi Genjokoan Shoji Talk on “Arousing Bodhimind” Teisho on the eight awarenesses of a true adult Teisho on the Arousing…
European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
Founded by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2008 in Waldbröl, Germany, the EIAB is the largest Plum Village practice centre in Europe with over 40 resident monastics. It offers a year-round programme of courses in Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness, and applied ethics taught by monastic and lay …
Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism
The Latest News 2026 Plum Village Hong Kong / Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism schedule is ready. Feel free to mark them in your calendar. Friendly Reminders Temperature in Ngong Ping is 5-7 °C different from that in the downtown, and the weather there can be unpredictable. So…
Bodhi Zendo
Bodhi Zendo in the Kodaikanal hills is led by AMA Samy Roshi, a Dharma heir in the Sanbo-Zen lineage. The center offers sesshin and koan training; long-term students can receive Dharma transmission and teach.
Upaya Institute and Zen Center
A Santa Fe, New Mexico Zen center with retreats, workshops, daily meditation, and weekly Dharma talks on Buddhist teachings. Certificated Buddhist Chaplaincy and Professional Training in Contemplative End of Life Care.
Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDM)
Teacher training in the Chan (Chinese Zen) tradition as taught by Master Sheng Yen. Monastic ordination and lay dharma teacher pathways at DDM centers in North America. The Dharma Drum lineage emphasizes huatou and silent illumination Chan methods.
Dharma Drum Mountain (Fagu Shan)
Dharma Drum Mountain Global Website Home About DDM Master Sheng Yen Chan World E-Publication Activities & Events Chan Buddhism Resources Contact us 繁 簡 Español Contact us Language --> Contact us Language 简体中文 繁體中文 Español Home About DDM Master Sheng Yen Chan World E-Publication A…
Plum Village Monastery
Thich Nhat Hanh's home monastery in the Dordogne, France. Offers monastic and lay dharma teacher ordination through the Order of Interbeing. The center of the global Plum Village practice community and the source of the tradition's teacher authorization.
Daihonzan Eihei-ji
The original head temple of Japanese Sōtō Zen, founded by Dōgen in 1244. Strict monastic training pathway in the original Sōtō Zen monastic forms. With Sōji-ji, the formal authorization source for Sōtō Zen dharma transmission worldwide.
European Institute of Applied Buddhism
EIAB in Germany is the Plum Village tradition's European training institute, offering retreats, year-round practice, and a multi-year Applied Ethics teacher-development program in the Thich Nhat Hanh lineage.
Fo Guang Shan Monastery
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Kwan Um School of Zen / Hwa Gye Sa
International network of Korean Seon (Zen) Zen centers in the lineage of Zen Master Seung Sahn. Trains Dharma Teachers (lay) and Master Dharma Teachers (ordained) through formal Kwan Um curriculum. ~50 centers globally.
Kwan Um School of Zen
Founded by Seung Sahn Sunim, the Kwan Um School trains dharma teachers through a formal path from Dharma Teacher to Senior Dharma Teacher to Ji Do Poep Sa Nim (guiding teacher) to Zen Master. Authorizations are granted after years of koan training and retreat practice.
Musangsa (Mu Sang Sa)
무상사 - Musangsa 무상사 무상사 소개 국제 관음 선 스승 사찰 수칙 선이란 무엇인가? 수행형식 법문 자료 수행자료 포토 갤러리 참고 도서 참선수행 결제 주말 참선 정진 추석 참선 정진 하루 참선 정진 템플 스테이 재가 5계 수계식 프로그램 주간 프로그램 행원 자원봉사 프로그램 행자 프로그램 국제 관음선원 건립 불사 신축 국제 관음선 센터 불사 진행 현황 및 갤러리 건립 불사 보시와 기도 보시 항목 무상사 기도 오시는 길 English 선은 아주 단순하다. “나는 누구인가?” 사람들은 대개…
Myōshin-ji
Largest Rinzai Zen sub-school head temple in Japan, with ~3,400 affiliated temples. Strict kōan-based monastic training pathway leading to inka shōmei (formal teaching authorization in the Rinzai lineage).
Plum Village International Practice Center
Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien) lay dharma teacher pathway in the lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh. Members ordain into the Order, then progress through years of mentorship to become recognized Dharma Teachers. ~750 Order members in 31 countries.
Plum Village (Order of Interbeing)
Transmission retreat for aspirant Dharma Teachers in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Includes Lamp Transmission and 14 Mindfulness Trainings for lay practitioners. Requires at least one year mentorship by OI members and active Sangha building.
Plum Village International
Training in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Teachers trained through the Order of Interbeing ordination path and extended community engagement. Zen-influenced mindfulness with social engagement emphasis.
Plum Village International Practice Centers
Plum Village, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh in the Dordogne region of France, offers a structured path for training in the Plum Village tradition of engaged Buddhism and applied mindfulness. Teacher training (called 'Dharma Teacher Transmission') is a multi-year process involving re…
Plum Village Thailand (Thai Plum Village International Practice Center)
The Thailand monastery in Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village tradition hosts monastic training and lay retreats. Senior Order of Interbeing members can receive Dharma transmission (Lamp Transmission) and are authorized to teach.
Sanbo-Zen International (San-Un Zendo)
Sanbo-Zen is a lay-accessible lineage founded by Yasutani Hakuun Roshi and Yamada Koun Roshi combining Sōtō and Rinzai approaches. Students work through the koan curriculum under authorized teachers; those who complete training and receive inka shomei are certified to teach. The …
Sanshin Zen Community
Founded by Shohaku Okumura Roshi (translator of Dogen and heir of Kosho Uchiyama), Sanshin offers residential and visiting practice in the Sōtō Zen 'just sitting' tradition. Long-term priest trainees in the Okumura lineage are ordained and authorized to teach.
Sogenji / One Drop Zen
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Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
Tassajara Zen Mountain CenterTassajara Zendo FireLate at night on March 26, a fire broke out in the Tassajara zendo. While no one was hurt, the entire building burned to the ground. To help keep the community informed, a blog post was created as a central source for information o…
Daihonzan Sōji-ji
One of the two head temples of Japanese Sōtō Zen (with Eihei-ji). Formal monastic training pathway leading to dharma transmission within the Sōtō school. Most senior Sōtō Zen teachers in the West trained at Sōji-ji or Eihei-ji.
International Zen Association (AZI) / Kwan Um School of Zen
The Kwan Um School of Zen, founded by Zen Master Seungsahn, trains teachers across Europe, North America, and Asia in the Korean Zen (Seon) tradition. Teacher authorisation — Dharma Teacher through Dharma Master — requires years of regular retreat attendance, kong-an practice, an…
Rochester Zen Center
One of the oldest Western Zen centers, founded in 1966 by Roshi Philip Kapleau in the Rinzai-Soto synthesis lineage. Teacher authorization requires at least 15 years of intensive zazen including koan training; ordained teachers progress from formal Teacher Sanctioning to full Dha…
Upaya Zen Center
Priest ordination, teacher training, and chaplaincy programs at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM under Roshi Joan Halifax. Combines traditional Zen training with socially engaged Buddhism. The Being with Dying professional training is widely used by healthcare workers.
San Francisco Zen Center
You will acquire this kind of ability by practicing zazen. Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make our effort, moment after moment, is our way. ― Shunryu Suzuki, founding teacher of San Francisco Z…
Zen Mountain Monastery
Zen Mountain Monastery • Catskills Monastery and Retreat Center Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By compassion alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law. - Shakyamuni Buddha Mountains & Rivers Order About MRO Teachers and Staff Governance Newsletter Sign U…
Born as the Earth Zen Academy
Sōtō Zen apprentice and facilitator training founded by Ekan Nangaku Leisching (student of Seido Suzuki Roshi, Tōshōji lineage). Integrates Japanese Zen with earth-based wisdom. Cape Town-based.
Bukkokuji Monastery
Bukkokuji, established by the late Harada Tangen Roshi, is a small Sōtō Zen training temple in Obama that welcomes international practitioners for intensive sesshin and extended residency. Lay and ordained students train in zazen, samu, and koan practice.
Chung Tai Chan Monastery
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Deer Park Monastery
Plan Your Visit Step through the open gates of Deer Park Monastery. Wherever you come from, however you look or identify, whomever you love — you’re welcome here. Mindfulness We invite you to apply the transformative practice of mindfulness in each moment of daily life. A Plum Vi…
Magnolia Grove Monastery
Magnolia Grove Monastery is a residential monastery and is simultaneously, a Mindfulness Practice Meditation Center in the tradition of Plum Village. Visit Us what is happening Personal Retreats Join the community of monastics and lay practitioners in following the daily rhythm a…
Ordinary Mind Zendo
Founded in 1996 by Barry Magid (dharma heir of Charlotte Joko Beck) in New York City, Ordinary Mind Zendo is dedicated to full Zen realization within lay life. Magid offers two authorization levels — full Dharma Transmission (Denbo) and Permission to Teach (Denkei) — and is a fou…
International Seon Center (Jogye Order)
The Jogye Order's International Seon Center in Seoul offers Templestay, Seon meditation retreats, and training for foreign practitioners in Korean Buddhist meditation and culture.
Pacific Zen Institute
Founded in 1999 by John Tarrant Roshi in Santa Rosa, CA, PZI trains koan meditation teachers within a contemporary Sanbo Kyodan-influenced lineage. Tarrant has pioneered accessible koan work for modern practitioners and trains teachers who can guide others through the full koan c…
Blue Cliff Monastery
Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, NY is a Plum Village tradition monastery founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, home to over 30 resident monastics. Aspirants stay a minimum of 3 months before novice ordination, then enter a 3-year novitiate leading to full bhikshu/bhikshuni ordination. I…
Clouds in Water Zen Center
Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, MN practices in the Soto Zen lineage of Dainin Katagiri Roshi with a strong social justice lens. The center actively trains and ordains priests and lay teachers, holds Jukai ceremonies every two years, conducts Shuso (head monk) ceremonies,…
Nebraska Zen Center / Heartland Temple
One of the oldest Zen communities in the US, founded in 1975 by Dainin Katagiri Roshi in Omaha, NE. Nebraska Zen Center launched a formal residency program in 2023 for Soto Zen priests-in-training and priests on sabbatical, offering 3–6 month immersive training under teacher guid…
Hidden Valley Zen Center (Yuukoku-ji)
Hidden Valley Zen Center was founded in 1968 by American Tien-li Lola Lee, Osho, long-time student of Dr. Henry Chikuen Kugai Platov, whose primary teacher was Sokei-an [Shigetsu Sasaki, founder of the First Zen Institute of America in New York City]. In 1996, her health deterior…
Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji
Formal Rinzai Zen training and dharma transmission at Dai Bosatsu Zendo in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Founded by Eido Shimano Roshi. Full koan curriculum, sesshins, and formal teacher authorization. One of the most traditionally rigorous Rinzai training monasteries in No…
Sotoshu North America
Official Soto Zen priest training as recognized by Sotoshu (Soto Zen headquarters) in Japan. Formal priest ordination (Tokudo), dharma transmission, and robe and bowl training.
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (Ganshoji)
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (Ganshoji) in Minneapolis has trained Soto Zen priests since the 1970s in the Katagiri Roshi lineage. Priest training follows the SZBA Guidelines for Training Soto Zen Priests in the West, requiring long-term zazen commitment, direct teacher relati…
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Welcome to the Zen Community of Oregon The primary purpose of ZCO is to express and make accessible the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teachings, as transmitted through an authentic, historical lineage and to support and maintain Zen Buddhist practice in order to realize o…
The Dharma Centre
Our Teachers Our Centres Our Practice About Us Practice Teachers Contact Us Retreats Resources The Dharma Centre, Robertson, South Africa Knysna Zen Centre Contact Us 26 White Street, PO Box 795 6705, Robertson, South Africa (083) 703 - 3160 [email protected] Social Sangha P…
Plum Village North America
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Toshoji International Zen Center
Toshoji is a Sōtō Zen training monastery in Okayama Prefecture that accepts international monks and laypeople for monastic training including zazen, oryoki, and sutra study. Long-term residents can be ordained in the Sōtō lineage.
Rochester Zen Center
Teacher training in the Rinzai Zen tradition as transmitted by Roshi Philip Kapleau. Intensive koan study and dokusan (private interviews). One of the oldest and most respected Rinzai training centers in America.
Zen Peacemakers
About About Mission Statement The Three Tenets The Three Tenets Daily Practice Staff and Board of Directors Bernie Glassman, Zen Master Events Haiku Challenge Online Events Core Trainings Bearing Witness Retreats Auschwitz-Birkenau: Bearing Witness Bearing Witness to Racism in Am…
Sweetwater Zen Center
Sweetwater Zen Center in National City, CA is a Soto Zen temple in the White Plum lineage, founded in 2000 by Anne Seisen Saunders Roshi. The center trains and ordains priests, authorizes Dharma Holders, and grants lay teacher transmission. Training emphasizes koan study, Dogen Z…
Empty Hand Zen Center
Empty Hand Zen Center in New Rochelle, NY is a priest-led Soto Zen practice center in the White Plum lineage. Guiding Teacher Ryo received Dharma Transmission from Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara in 2008 after earlier training with Roshi John Daido Loori at Zen Mountain Monastery. The cen…
Boundless Way Zen
Soto and Rinzai-influenced Zen teacher training in New England under James Myoun Ford Roshi and other teachers. Dharma transmission lineage rooted in the Harada-Yasutani tradition. Multiple sanghas across Boston and New England.
Village Zendo
Serving as a sanctuary in busy Manhattan, we offer daily meditation, dharma talks, Buddhist services, retreats, workshops and study groups. Participation is open to all. Practice Online Practice In Person Calendar --> About Us Calendar Daily Schedule Teachers Support Us Featured …
Dharma Rain Zen Center
Proof of vaccination no longer required, though vaccination is recommended for everyone’s safety. Masks are recommended. All welcome at Sunday morning program. Proof of vaccination no longer required, though vaccination is recommended for everyone’s safety. Masks are recommended …
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center - Home Home Programming Zoom Program Links Introductory Class Sunday/Tuesday Talks Calendar Classes Retreats and Workshops Daily Meditation Curriculum Affinity Groups Mentorship Youth Programs Resources Sunday Talk Archive Chants and Services MZMC …
Brooklyn Zen Center
We offer zazen (sitting meditation) , dharma offerings , classes , retreats , and engaged practice groups . We operate two temples: Boundless Mind Temple in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and Ancestral Heart Temple in Millerton, Dutchess County. Whether you are new to zen practice or int…
Atlanta Soto Zen Center
Atlanta Soto Zen Center About Giving Weekly Schedule Events Teachings Residental Practice Back Atlanta Soto Zen Center Silent Thunder Order Lineage Leaders Back Calendar Teaching and Retreats Back Zen at Home Books By Matsuoka-Roshi The Original Frontier The Razorblade of Zen Res…
Chapel Hill Zen Center / North Carolina Zen
Soto Zen teacher training at the Chapel Hill Zen Center in North Carolina under Taiun Michael Elliston Roshi. Part of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center sangha network. Priest ordination and dharma transmission in the lineage of Matsuoka Roshi.