Upaya Zen Center

Founded by Roshi Joan Halifax, Upaya Zen Center is one of the world’s most progressive and engaged Buddhist centers. Residents and guests at Upaya have the opportunity to study and practice with an extraordinary group of teachers, including Roshi Joan, Roshi Enkyo O’Hara, Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi, Frank Ostaseski, Sharon Salzberg and numerous others. Programs at Upaya also host scholars and teachers from across traditions, from Tibetan Buddhism to neuroscience and end-of-life care. 

Our mission is to provide a context for community practice, education in Buddhism and direct social service in the areas of death and dying, prison work, the environment, women’s rights, and peace work. We achieve this mission through our dedicated resident community, by offering over forty rich programs to more than two thousand guests annually, and via an annual medical service pilgrimage to rural Nepal. Through all aspects of practice and service, we explore what it means to meet this world and one another with an open, resilient heart.