The noise of humanity

Grows ever louder

Attempts to be free

Turn into more doing...

Zobzen is different.

It’s not a religion, not self-help, and not a quick fix.

It's not meditation, mindfulness or spirituality.

It’s a living school of radical attention—rooted in the ancient art of Zen practice—refreshed and renewed by teachers with deep insight—completely adapted to the times we are living now.

If that sounds like it might be for you... read on...

Living the Zobzen way

The Zobzen Way is the practice of seeing, listening, sensing, and moving in the real world.

Zen practice is very simple.

Just see what is here.

Then carry on with your usual activity—without losing that sense of `What is`...

To sit down and listen.

To walk and see.

To return to the way things are.

This isn’t a practice for the cushion—it’s for the whole of life.

For your work. Your family. Your relationships.

To meet each moment differently with awareness, with your feet on the ground, and with a deep enthusiasm for not losing your s**t, but instead learning how to be Zen right in the middle of it all.

This isn’t spiritual fluff or a polished philosophy.

It’s real Zen practice, alive in everyday life.

What You’ll Learn

Through practice, you might discover:

How to enter reality—free from thought, narrative and identity.

How to listen deeply—to yourself, to others, and to life as it unfolds.

How to see beauty everywhere—even in the ordinary and the imperfect.

How to orient to the luminous mind—the awareness that shines beneath everything.

How to understand yourself—your patterns, emotions, and sense of purpose.

How to be kind in an authentic way—grounded, honest, and real.

How to enter the unknown—returning to a mature innocence, open to what is.

When you walk this path, and keep showing up for the practice,

These qualities grow with each step you take…

Apply now →

“Each day I practised, my perspective on life changed. Small worries felt meaningless. I started noticing how alive everything is.”

Zen Student

“I notice that beneath every circumstance there’s a base of stillness to return to before reacting.”

Zen Student

“This week was difficult. I realised how often I criticise myself — and how exhausting that is. I’ll keep practising stopping, because I can see how much it softens me.”

Zen Student

“Not-knowing was like opening a tightly clenched fist. Knowledge felt like a barrier in front of a bright, vast, unknowable beauty.”

Zen Student

“Stories pop up and fade away before I can ponder them. Is that normal? Pondering them is already better than being lost in them.”

Zen Student

“When sitting, vision and surroundings merged — no separation, no borders. It lasted only a moment, but I felt addicted to that glimpse of vastness.”

Zen Student

“Observing the space around objects — the world became like transparent jelly, glowing with light. It was mind-blowing.”

Zen Student

“At work, when irritation rises, I imagine holding it between my palms. It instantly changes shape — lighter, smaller, less solid.”

Zen Student

“This week, I saw clearly that my perspective is not fixed — it’s alive. I don’t have to be trapped in one way of seeing.”

Zen Student

“I learned that there is hidden beauty in everything. We just need the eyes to see freshly.”

Zen Student

“This practice helps me face difficult memories without being swallowed by them. I can look, sense, and then return to the room — the present moment becomes the anchor.”

Zen Student

“I found it hard to focus during sitting, but easy during the day. Most of what I saw was unpleasant — but it was excellent training in gratitude and acceptance.”

Zen Student

“The stories are bubbles — fleeting, weightless. Seeing them rise and burst makes the heart lighter.”

Zen Student

“Grateful for sadness and joy alike — part of the rhythm of the heart. The world breaks us open so that love can flow through.”

Zen Student

“This practice was refreshingly non-intellectual. Emptiness stopped being an idea and became direct experience.”

Zen Student

“Not-knowing challenged me, but its timing was perfect. I faced something that would normally shake me, but thanks to this practice, I stayed calm.”

Zen Student

“Too many years I tried to discover what’s wrong with me. Now I’m asking what’s right in me.”

Zen Student

“Sitting in the garden, surrounded by beauty — flowers in the wind, birds calling, clouds passing. So utterly grateful there is no gratitude remaining.”

Zen Student

“Walking through my city at golden hour, everything familiar felt unfamiliar again — just light, sound, and movement. Strangely new.”

Zen Student

“Through this practice I became more comfortable with uncertainty. I embraced the present and found peace in the unknown.”

Zen Student

“I lay still, imagining my last breath. Tears came, not from sadness, but gratitude. I realised how precious it is to be alive.”

Zen Student

“The small walks lightened my body, stopped the intensity of life for a moment, and changed my perspective. The scent of the soil made me feel alive.”

Zen Student

“I learned that beauty exists even in places of suffering. Seeing the full moon above the hospital garden gave me hope.”

Zen Student

“Inside my home, I was simply me. Outside, I became a friend, a daughter, a customer, a sister. I saw that we are all mirrors of one another — peaceful and turbulent at once.”

Zen Student

“Everything was empty and everything was full. These lessons are for life and death — for being truly present.”

Zen Student

Who This Is For

Zobzen isn’t for everyone.

It’s not entertainment and it’s not a gimic.

It is for people who:

Want real transformation.

Feel drawn to do the work necessary to glimpse Enlightenment.

Are skeptical of religion, gurus, and trends.

Are ready to embed liberating discipline in their life.

Are drawn to practice deeply in the midst of work, family, and daily life.

Want to practice with others who mean it.

If that’s you—you’ve found your place…

Apply now →

Why It Works

Each month we explore three strands of practice:

Enlightening Practices—ways of opening the mind, revealing clarity and insight.

Practices for a Zen Life—ways of bringing that clarity into ordinary living.

Sitting and Walking —moments of formal Zen practice.

Together they form a rhythm of teaching, micro-practices, peer support and formal spaces for deeper practice—all of which are possible to engage with even in the busyest life.

Through repetition, simplicity, and sincere guidance,

practice becomes natural—and life itself becomes Zen.

This is not mere theory. It’s training.

Apply now →

“When I remembered to shift perspective during a stressful moment, I could feel my whole being expand. The problem became smaller, like looking at it from the sky.”

Zen Student

“Although I was in a closed room, I felt I was transcending it — as if there were no borders or limits.”

Zen Student

“Walking with eyes open to the mirror of the world felt overwhelming at first. But then it became natural — a reminder that ordinary mind is the gate to everything.”

Zen Student

“At work, I caught myself defending my own view. I stopped, breathed, and looked through another person’s eyes. Instantly, something softened — conflict dissolved into understanding.”

Zen Student

“While walking I realised how fast the mind is — it races ahead with thoughts while the body lags behind. When I slowed down, they met again. Mind and body began to walk hand in hand.”

Zen Student

“He would come and complain — that was my story. When I softened, he softened too. I saw how my mind shaped the whole meeting.”

Zen Student

“I realised Zen is like holding a sword — if I grip too tight, I lose it. If I relax too much, I drop it. It must move as part of me.”

Zen Student

“I noticed that by bringing awareness to my body and breath, the heaviness softened. The problem didn’t go away — it just shrank to its right size.”

Zen Student

“I criticise a lot — myself and others. But past practices prepared me for today’s hard time. The treasure is being more honest and sincere with myself.”

Zen Student

“Little gaps of lovely emptiness appeared between thoughts — so relaxing, like my whole body sighed.”

Zen Student

“With short practices, I learned to calm the wavy state of my mind. I walked, played guitar, wrote songs — all things had no worry. Only hope and calm.”

Zen Student

“I woke up thinking the whole world is a mirror — everything I see and hear reflects within me. Likes and dislikes are the dirt in the mirror. When I let them go, the whole reflection clears.”

Zen Student

“Everything simply in a state of being — flowers growing, the fan cooling, the cat resting. Without stories, life flows as it is.”

Zen Student

“I realised I was always rushing. Coming back to my body brought instant relief. Centering may be as simple as remembering to be here.”

Zen Student

“I realised I was judging constantly — what’s pretty, what’s not. When I let go, I saw patterns and reflections I’d missed before. Everything shone.”

Zen Student

“Practising spontaneously, becoming more sensitive to different modes of time. You need more time — until you need no more time.”

Zen Student

“Almost became a ghost — no striving, no doing, just pure observation.”

Zen Student

“Sitting quietly, I realised how stillness wanted to appear and meet me. Even while walking, working, reading, cooking — I found stillness accompanying me.”

Zen Student

“In stillness, sensations grew simple — bright and spacious. When the mind stopped labelling, everything became clear, peaceful, alive.”

Zen Student

“You presented gratitude in a new light each day — it was heart-warming and heart-opening. A week that truly opened the heart.”

Zen Student

“I wanted to see beauty in myself but couldn’t. It made me cry. Yet when I looked again, I saw that even my longing to see beauty was itself beautiful.”

Zen Student

“Even in difficult times, there is beauty to catch — a moon, a sprouting seed, a breath of air. It gave me energy.”

Zen Student

“I realised that my mind automatically wants to label everything as right or wrong. When I loosened that habit, the world opened up — more spacious, more forgiving.”

Zen Student

“Now I don’t just see objects — I see the big space around them. It’s new, alive, and full.”

Zen Student

“I felt that assumptions were like waves in the sea. They made me anxious and took me out of my centre. When I noticed them, the sea calmed — I became still again, grounded, peaceful.”

Zen Student

How the School Will Support You

This is an online school, and we set it up this way so it’s open to people anywhere in the world. It is a living practice that travels through time zones and continents, so you can join from wherever you are. You can use parts of, or everything below as a member of the school… and for the more intimate teaching there are optional face to face meetups in the UK or Turkey.

Weekly Practice

Three sessions of Sitting and Walking Zen—led by our guides.

Resting in awareness, moving naturally, and listening deeply.

Teaching Sessions + Daily Practice

Every two weeks there is a Zen Talk, and a practice to explore.
An ‘Enlightening Practice’, or a ‘Practice for a Zen life’.

You’ll pair with another student and check in daily for 7 days,

bringing reflection and commitment to each day of practice.

Sessions are recorded and students can join from any timezone.

Monthly Retreats

Four hours of sitting, walking, and quiet instruction.

Retreats that soften the body, and bring out the Luminous Mind.
Taking place 3 times in a month. Suitable for all timezones.
At 4h long, they fit within the rhythm of a busy life.

Personal Guidance

Work with a teacher whose decades of experience keep the path alive,

and with guides who help you steady your practice, clear confusion, and keep walking the way of Zen.

Apply now →

The Zobzen Collective

When you join the school, you join a living community — a circle of practitioners from across the world.

People in cities, forests, and quiet rooms.

Each sitting, walking, listening—together.

Every member of the Collective shares the same rhythm of practice.

You’ll be invited into that rhythm—walking with others who, though far away, move with the same quiet intention to embody Zen practice in their life.

Apply now →

“Each time I lose my center and return, it feels easier. The returning becomes so quick and subtle that it’s almost the same as staying there forever.”

Zen Student

“Walking in nature calmed me. The air, the rhythm, the body moving — thoughts faded, the center opened. Even mishaps in daily life became easier to handle.”

Zen Student

“During a walk, there were two versions of me: one heavy with thought, one light and wordless. The light one saw everything as strange and beautiful.”

Zen Student

“My schedule didn’t change, but I wasn’t caught in the rush anymore. I felt calmer, more centred, more real.”

Zen Student

“This method of seeking nothing felt natural — easing the noise of life into quiet.”

Zen Student

“When looking in the mirror, all colours became more vibrant — as if I was seeing the whole canvas for the first time. With that came a deep silence, as if everything had been muted.”

Zen Student

“Amid a swirl of activity, I took one mindful breath. Even on the train, surrounded by noise, there was stillness moving through me.”

Zen Student

“Through this practice, I learned that there isn’t a single right view. Every perspective reveals one side of truth — together they form the whole.”

Zen Student

“The first day was peaceful; the rest of the week, chaotic. My house and my mind mirrored each other — restless, noisy, alive. Still, there were moments of quiet clarity.”

Zen Student

“It took me days to stop criticising what I saw. When I finally softened, beauty was everywhere — in people, light, and silence.”

Zen Student

“When I release a thought and soften, the spell breaks instantly — relief, space, a new thought waiting to be born.”

Zen Student

“A headache — without a story — is just a sensation.”

Zen Student

“Assumptions are elusive — more slippery than I expected. I assumed I was only guessing about the future, but I was also assuming the present moment. A flower doesn’t anticipate spring — it is as it is.”

Zen Student

“At first, I kept asking myself why I was counting. Then something softened. My heart slowed, my breathing cleared, and I was simply here — one breath at a time.”

Zen Student

“Zen is my life — every step, every breath. Even when I forget, it’s still here, waiting.”

Zen Student

“This practice was about slowing down — walking as if for the first time, seeing everything alive. The world became magnificent.”

Zen Student

“Breathing helped me through emotional storms and sickness. I didn’t know breath could heal like this. The breath I took and the breath I gave became my anchor.”

Zen Student

“While walking I got distracted again and again — but each time, returning to the center felt like coming home. Falling and getting up again and again is almost like standing all the time.”

Zen Student

“I prefer to practice in the evenings — reviewing the whole day and focusing on that small but persistent feeling that bothers me the most. When I hold it gently, it becomes manageable.”

Zen Student

“Time was one of the boundaries I’d built around myself — so deep and invisible I’d forgotten it was there.”

Zen Student

“When I sat without keeping time, it felt like being thrown into a vast desert — no direction, no orientation, only stillness. Liberating and free.”

Zen Student

“I had a dream where I met myself, sitting in zazen. I bowed, and we both disappeared. It felt like waking up inside waking up.”

Zen Student

“During the week, I saw how people around me were mirrors — showing me my own assumptions. When I looked deeper, I saw resistance was always built from my assumptions. Seeing this was a relief.”

Zen Student

“Listening, I became the sound — cicada, bird, horn, leaf in wind. For a moment there was no boundary, only movement.”

Zen Student

“Letting go felt like falling into the sea — frightening at first, then peaceful. The room became quiet, calm, and alive.”

Zen Student

Introducing Your Zen Teacher

Our teacher has studied Zen for 30 years. He began training at age 16 under a Shingon monk, and went on to study with Zen practitioners and other wisdom traditions around the world.

Through years of intense practice — false eyes closed and true eyes opened — Zen became clear as day.

He then cultivated this Zen insight alone.

After 15 years of solo practice, he stepped forward and began to teach.

He is a husband and father of four, living in a Temperate Rainforest... but also working within the ordinary rhythm of society.

He teaches that family, work, and human connection are inseparable from deep practice.

This is not a teaching from retreat, but from relationship — from the beauty and chaos of everyday life.

Each moment, the challenge and the bliss — is a perfect opportunty to enter Zen.

Apply now →

Your guides on the journey

Enis—Zen Practitioner and School Manager.

Listening deeply to life, moment by moment—steady, attentive, present and embodied. Holds Sitting Zen Sessions, 7 Day Practice Weeks and Manages the Zobzen School.

Tim—Zen Practitioner and Maths Professor.
Four decades of practice, bringing curiosity, humour, and a love of mystery to the way of Zen. Holds Sitting Zen Sessions, 7 Day Practice Weeks and Community Circles.

Zu—Zen Practitioner and Yoga Teacher
Following the path of the heart. Her practice is devoted to going deeper, softer, and wider. She holds Sitting Zen Sessions. 

Alex—Zen Practitioner and Psychology Student.

An explorer of the mind—questioning, deeply listening, clarifying, and expressing Zen practice. Holds 4h Retreats, 7 Day Practice Weeks, and Peer-to-peer Circles.

Ryan—Zen Practitioner, Artist and Poet.
Exploring Zen through poetry, image and story—transforming insight into art. Teaching students how to express Zen through Haiku and Poetry.

Together they hold the practice—walking beside you, supporting your sitting, your seeing, your return to the path.

Apply now →

Membership Application

Membership in the school is limited. We keep the group small so every student is seen and supported.

So teaching can be responsive, and practice can stay alive.

This isn’t a crowd to join or a course to rush through,

it’s a living school where depth and attention matter.

Membership is

$55 per month

15 spaces are available in Spring 2026

Students or retirees can join for $25pm. If your income is limited—Scholarships are available for those who cannot afford the fees. Mention your circumstance in the application.

Continue to the Application →

The noise of humanity

Grows ever louder

Attempts to be free

Turn into more doing...

Living the Zobzen way

What You’ll Learn

Who This Is For

Why It Works

How the School Will Support You

The Zobzen Collective

The Zobzen Collective

Introducing Your Zen Teacher

Your guides on the journey

Membership Application

Membership is

$55 per month

Join Our Free Trial