About
Raúl Kahlil Betancourt began Buddhist studies at age 16 in Los Angeles. He trained in Vietnamese Zen in Los Angeles and Soto Zen in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and at Green Gulch and Tassajara monasteries. He spent a year as a personal student to a head instructor from Eiheiji monastery in Japan. Betancourt also holds a black belt in Aikido. He is affiliated with East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland and teaches science at a high school in San Francisco, where he also leads meditation.
Teaching focus
Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Zen tradition. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include in-person. The bigger move Raúl Kahlil Betancourt keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Raúl Kahlil Betancourt teaches in the Zen tradition. The teaching home is East Bay Meditation Center. From the teacher's own profile: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt began his Buddhist studies when he was 16 in L.A. and has been studying steadily since. He has studied Vietnamese Zen in LA and Soto Zen in Santa Cruz and SF as well as Green Gulch and Tassajara. He spent a year as a personal student to a head instructor from Eijeiji, at his home temple in Japan. He also earned a black belt in Aikido. He eventually found his spiritual home at EBMC in Oakland. He is currently teaching science at a high school in SF where he is also a teacher meditation leader. In a Zen container, what Raúl Kahlil Betancourt offers is steady, mostly silent practice with short pointed teachings. The form is the teaching as much as the words are. Sitting, walking, work practice, and the relationship with a teacher all carry weight. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Raúl Kahlil Betancourt's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Raúl Kahlil Betancourt teaches as a lay teacher in the Zen tradition. The institutional home, per the source listing, is East Bay Meditation Center, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Zen lineage frame here, where stated, is what authorizes a teacher to lead practice, and the source page usually names the dharma teacher or root teacher when relevant.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. The container is shaped by East Bay Meditation Center, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
