Ezra Bayda

Ezra Bayda is an American author and Zen teacher. He was the teacher at the Zen Center of San Diego, a sangha in Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, and with the Santa Rosa Zen Group in Santa Rosa, California, from 1998 to 2019. He is a member of the Ordinary Mind Zen School.
Career
Born in 1944 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Bayda studied philosophy at Rutgers University.
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 Joko Beck in 1992. He received dharma transmission at the Zen Center San Diego in 1998. In 2006, Joko Beck revoked his transmission.
His writings have been mentioned by John Welwood and he was cited as an influence in Pema Chödrön's 2001 book The Places That Scare You: A Guide To Fearlessness.
Zen Center San Diego
Bayda and his wife and business partner, Elizabeth Hamilton, taught at the Zen Center of San Diego until August 2019; he also established a sitting group in Santa Rosa, California, the Santa Rosa Zen Group. In July 2019, the Board of Trustees of the Zen Center of San Diego received claims of sexual abuse by Bayda and suspended him from teaching. They hired Faith Trust Institute to investigate the claims, and after Faith Trust Institute presented its findings, the Board unanimously voted to remove Bayda from his position, stating “there was credible evidence that Ezra committed multiple instances of sexual misconduct with more than one student in violation of ZCSD’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct and the White Plum Asanga’s Code of Ethical Conduct.” In May 2020, two of his former students filed a civil lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court, alleging "gross acts of sexual assault and battery." Bayda and the two students settled out of court in 2022.<ref name="settle" />
Books
*Being Zen: Bringing Meditation to Life. Shambhala Publications, 2002.
*At Home in the Muddy Water. Shambhala Publications, 2003.
*Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts). Wisdom Publications, 2005.
*Zen Heart: Simple Advice for Living with Mindfulness and Compassion. Shambhala Publications, 2008.
*Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment. Shambhala Publications, 2010.
*The Authentic Life: Zen Wisdom for Living Free from Complacency and Fear. Shambhala Publications, 2014.
*Aging for Beginners. Wisdom Publications, 2018.

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