Ezra Bayda was initially trained in the Gurdjieff tradition, and began practicing Zen meditation in 1970. He started teaching in 1995, and presently lives, writes and teaches at Zen Center San Diego. He also founded the Santa Rosa Zen Group and continues to lead it, visiting once a month.

He is the author of Being Zen: Bringing Meditation To Life (2002), At Home in the Muddy Water (2003), Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) (2005), and Zen Heart (2008).