Zendo without Walls
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About

How it Began...

We started Zendo Without Walls to create an open, accessible space where anyone, anywhere, could connect with the heart of Zen practice.

In a world where many feel isolated, overwhelmed, or far from traditional centers, we wanted to offer a sangha without barriers: a place to sit in silence, share in community, and support one another in living with mindfulness and compassion.

Rooted in Zen tradition but responsive to modern life, Zendo Without Walls is a home for those seeking depth, presence, and connection—no matter where they are.

Incense smoke rising from a clay bowl in warm sunlight. A person meditating cross-legged on a mat in a garden, hands resting on their knees.

Why Practice Here?

  • Looking for a traditional approach?
    • Our Thursday program offers three structured rounds of meditation and the opportunity for dokusan: a private interview with a transmitted Zen sensei.
    • On Sundays, we gather for a time-honored practice that includes seated and walking meditation, a chanting service, and a Dharma talk from a Sensei or Senior Student, concluding with community dialogue and connection.
    • We offer traditional Zazenkais: day-long retreats that integrate extended zazen, chanting, and devotional practices.
  • Interested in a contemporary approach?
    • On Wednesdays, facilitation rotates among sangha members who wish to deepen their leadership skills, creating a fresh and varied experience each week. You might encounter guided meditations, visualizations, or zazen, along with lively Dharma discussions on a wide range of themes.
  • Curious about starting your day with Zen practice?
    • Our Friday morning program offers a way to begin your day with seated meditation, along with an opportunity for questions and responses with a Zen sensei, priest, or priestess, and occasionally a short dharma discussion. On the Third Friday of each month, dokusan will be offered by Sean-sensei.
  • Want to explore Zen in action, not just in stillness?
    • Zen isn’t confined to a cushion or meditation hall; the whole world becomes the zendo.
    • Daily activities like walking, cooking, working, and caring are opportunities for practice.
    • Community service becomes expressions of the Bodhisattva vow: to alleviate suffering wherever it appears and to dissolve the barrier between self and other.
  • Hoping to connect from wherever you are?
    • We are home to practitioners spanning the U.S. and many parts of the globe.
    • Because many Zen centers are difficult to access (especially for those in rural areas or for anyone facing health, mobility, or transportation challenge) our community offers a welcoming space to practice from home.
  • Curious about various styles of practice?
    • We offer instruction in traditional Koan work, Shikantaza, and other breath/sound/visual-anchored practices.
  • Ready to discover a safe, open, and welcoming community?
    • The path to letting go of the self begins in the body. When we feel safe and fully seen within ourselves, practice arises more smoothly.
    • Our staff members have expertise in inclusive, equity-centered, trauma-informed, and social justice-informed practices.
Sean Murphy, smiling, seated on a chair with a notebook and pen, wearing a grey shirt with his hair tied back.

Sensei Sean Murphy

Sean (Tetsudo) W. Murphy (he/him) is a fully sanctioned Zen teacher (Sensei) in the American White Plum Zen Lineage. He has had over 30 years of formal Zen training, beginning under the direction of Taizan Maezumi Roshi of the Zen Center of Los Angeles and later with John Daido Loori Roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. He now studies with Gerry Shishin Wick Roshi of the Great Mountain Zen Center in Colorado, from whom he received Dharma Transmission in 2019.

Sean teaches widely on subjects of meditation, mindfulness, Zen practice, and writing. Sean is the author of the American Zen chronicle One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, as well as three novels, and was a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts fellow in Creative Writing. He is is an MFA graduate in writing from The Naropa Institute, the Buddhist inspired university founded by Poet Allen Ginsberg and Tibetan Lama Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Sean recently won the 53rd New Millennium Award for Flash Fiction his short story “Crackup,” receiving a $1,000 prize and publication both online and in print. To learn more, read Sean’s articles for Tricycle magazine, listen to some of Sean’s dharma talks on our YouTube channel, or visit www.murphyzen.com.

Lani Banner, with short-cropped hair and a blue T-shirt, outdoors in front of a wooded hillside.

Ven. Lani Banner

Lani (she/her) is an ordained Zen Buddhist priestess with an affinity for meditation, mindfulness, and dharma sharing in veteran and homeless communities. She is a former classroom teacher with a speciality in English, Transformational Leadership inspired by Malcolm X, and Gender/Queer Studies. Lani is the Managing Director of Sage Institute of Taos, a non-profit that teaches secular meditation. Currently, she lives on a small farm, along with her husband, Matt, and their two rescue dogs, Zoey and Willow. You can normally find her with a cup of coffee, a good book, and talking Pokemon with her nephews, Banner, Summit, and Wicker.

Nikolai Baumeister, with short dark hair and a beard, wearing a light blue shirt in front of a white door.

Ven. Nikolai Baumeister

Nikolai (he/him) is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk with a deep commitment to supporting individuals and organizations in clarifying direction, facilitating growth, and navigating change. He began his meditation practice over 30 years ago at a zendo in Berlin and later studied Buddhist philosophy in Japan. His professional life has included work as a consultant and project manager across Asia, the United States, and Europe. Today, he lives with his family in Berlin, where he works as a psychologist, counselor, and teacher, with training in Systems Thinking and Voice Dialogue. His work is informed by a spirit of humility, collaboration, and genuine care for the shared journey of practice. We’re grateful to have Nikolai joining our community in this way and hope you’ll be able to practice with him on Friday mornings.

Get to Know Us

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Council of Advisors

Leslie Ching, smiling, in dark robes, standing beside a tree trunk in a garden.

Dr. Leslie Ching

Leslie Ching (she/her), DO, is a Clinical Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Ching completed the Upaya Zen Chaplaincy program in 2023 and incorporates this training into her work as a physician. She has been a Zen student since 2009 and has spent several extended periods of Zen residential training at Mountain Gate in Ojo Sarco, NM.

Giovonni Santiago in a suit and red tie, wearing a transgender pride flag around his shoulders.

Giovonni Santiago

Gio (he/him) is an Air Force Veteran, former Head Start teacher, and currently the Anti-Defamation League Ohio River Valley associate regional director. Santiago teamed up with his doctor to open the first transgender-focused clinic within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Further, he is the founder of META, Inc., organization that creates regular programming for transgender and gender non-conforming youth ages 7-19. In 2018, he was named one of Cleveland Magazine's most interesting people, as well as name in NBC's Out #Pride30 list.

Karen Lasker, smiling, with wavy white hair, glasses, and a beaded necklace.

Karen Lasker

Karen (she/her) has been a Buddhist meditation practitioner for approximately 26 years and a Zen student for approximately 16 years. She is a graduate of the Sage Institute’s Meditation Leader Training Program and teaches weekly to an online group of beginning meditation practitioners. Karen is semi-retired and lives in Asheville, NC where she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, cooking, reading, and hiking. Prior to retirement, Karen was the director of a non-profit organization utilizing therapy animals in medical settings.

Kristen Hobby, smiling, with shoulder-length blonde hair and a bright pink shirt, outdoors.

Dr. Kristen Hobby

Kristen (she/her) is a spiritual director, meditation teacher and author living in Melbourne, Australia. She is married with an adult daughter. After an 8 year stint living in Singapore, she is back living in Melbourne and enjoying the cooler climes. Kristen served on the board of Spiritual Directors International from 2012-2018. In 2018 she completed her PhD thesis on the spirituality of young children and has gone on to write books, articles and present papers. In 2022 she completed the Sage 200 hour Meditation teacher training course and incorporates meditation and mindfulness into her work and life. In 2020, Kristen founded Mamata Reading Zone, a not for profit based in Nepal which runs three children's libraries and operates counseling and listening training.