Ezra Bayda

Ezra Bayda is an American figure in Zen. He is at the "forefront of the movement...to present the essential truths of Buddhism free of traditional trappings or terminology." He is an author and Zen teacher.
A teacher at Zen Center San Diego, a sangha in Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, and with the Santa Rosa Zen Group in Santa Rosa, California, Bayda has conducted meditation workshops and retreats in Europe, Australia, and North America. He is a member of the White Plum Asanga and the Ordinary Mind Zen School. He is also the author of several books, best known for his teachings on working with difficulties and fear in everyday life.

Born in 1944 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Bayda studied philosophy at Rutgers University. After graduation, he worked in the fields of education and computer programming, and later became a carpenter and general building contractor, an occupation he held for thirty years.

His early training was in the Gurdjieff tradition, in a community led by Robert S. de Ropp. In 1970 he began studying Zen meditation, and began formal Zen practice in 1978. After studying with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi and Jakusho Kwong Roshi, he began working with Charlotte Joko Beck in 1992. He received dharma transmission at the Zen Center San Diego in 1998.

Bayda and his wife, Elizabeth Hamilton, are the head teachers at the Zen Center San Diego. In 1995, he also established a sitting group in Santa Rosa, California, the Santa Rosa Zen Group, where he teaches several times a year.

His writings have influenced several well-known teachers, including John Welwood and Pema Chodron

, and his essays have appeared in three volumes of "Best Buddhist Writing"—2004, 2007, and 2013.

• Being Zen: Bringing Meditation to Life. Shambhala Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57062-856-4
• At Home in the Muddy Water. Shambhala Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-57062-947-1
• Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts). Wisdom Publications, 2005. ISBN 978-0861712748
• Zen Heart: Simple Advice for Living with Mindfulness and Compassion. Shambhala Publications, 2008. ISBN 9781590305430
• Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment. Shambhala Publications, 2010. ISBN 9781590308257
• The Authentic Life: Zen Wisdom for Living Free from Complacency and Fear. Shambhala Publications, 2014. ISBN 1611800927