Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

The New Earth School for Embodied Enlightenment

“To be Born as the Earth is not the same as being born. It is to realize that these Mountains and Rivers and the whole Earth itself is your true human body.”
- Zen Master Daido Roshi (1931-2009)

Born as the Earth Zen Academy (BEZA)

Our Mission

With a vision to meet the imperative for a shift in human consciousness, Born as the Earth Zen Academy (BEZA) exists to transmit a tried-and-tested, practical spirituality to create a new human story. We are the first school on the African continent, based in Cape Town, South Africa, merging authentic Zen Buddhism and Earth-based wisdom. BEZA is a rites-of-passage initiation school for grounded higher learning. BEZA’s curriculums and offerings are donation-based. All training is experiential, hands-on, and co-operative. Students work independently, collaboratively, and at their own pace, facilitating long-lasting authentic transformation in themselves and their relationship with the communities of all beings.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Generational Healing

The Way of the Ancestors

Make the invisible, visible. Our connection to our Ancestors and Gaia’s Elemental Bodies stretch beyond the boundaries of time. We carry their memories, medicine, elemental and genetic imprints within us. Through this deep bond, we access ancient wisdom, and guidance for the repairing of wounds. Acknowledging and embracing this connection allows us to heal not only ourselves but also the generations that came before, and those that will follow.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Meditation

The Way of Balance

Meditation (zazen) instruction rooted in Zen Buddhism, providing you with guidance to unlock the transformative power of this practice. Our expert instructor will open the Way of Meditation and help you cultivate mindfulness, find inner-peace, and embark on a journey of self-discovery. BEZA is the perfect school to initiate and develop your meditation practice.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Mentoring

The Way of the Heart

Holistic, practical life remedies support the totality of your being. Practicing the Way of the Heart, the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical energies constellating in your being are grounded, releasing what blocks your inherent gifts. Your demons and angels become allies and as heart confidence and awareness grows a sacred ‘Homecoming’ to your True Self unfolds.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Shamanism

The Way of Medicine

Shamanism, in the lineage of African Nature-Based Indigenous Wisdom, is the first and longest expression of human spirituality. Learn the Way of Medicine where Nature’s transformational and spontaneous power reconnects you to your unconditioned, authentic self. Guided by an initiated elder and shaman, Nature’s gifts will become medicine tools for you to transform every-day practical actions into spiritual deeds.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Council

The Way of Story

At BEZA we train you in an essential ingredient in building and maintaining healthy community – The Way of Council. There is an immense need now, more than ever to slow down, to listen and speak with heart wisdom. To find solutions to our challenges as a collective we gather in Community Council to share our perspectives and stories, and to recognize and honour our shared humanity and interconnectedness.

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Your Mentor

Ekan Nangaku Leisching

Ekan Nangaku Leisching, a student of Suzuki Seido Roshi of Tōshōji Training Monastery in Japan, is working with the first generation of students to establish a training center on the African Continent.

Nangaku, the founder of BEZA, is a Zen monk who has taken vows to liberate all beings. He is an initiated elder & shaman, meditation teacher, mentor, diviner and writer, and has studied with Zen masters, indigenous shamans, psychotherapists and mythologists for over 35 years.

Spiritual awakenings took Nangaku on a quest across the globe to find the golden thread uniting all spiritual traditions. While living in the USA he ran several environmentally sustainable businesses and founded BEZA. After returning to South Africa he began offering authentic spiritual training in the Stanford area of the Western Cape where he has facilitated the planting over 10,000 trees.

He has guided students in reclaiming their natural sovereignty. A lifetime of experience allows him to meet students at any stage of their journey and offer appropriate tools to birth their full potential.

Earthen Zen

The Elemental Journal

Convalescence and Meditation

Convalescence and Meditation

Convalescence is the gradual process of recovery in gaining back one’s health and strength to return to some or original form of functionality. The term has mainly been used in the past for chronic illness, however, the process of convalescence can be from an acute injury, surgery and even mental illnesses. The term is often used for the later stages of recovery.

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Experiencing Depression? How Meditation can help.

Experiencing Depression? How Meditation can help.

There are many different forms of depression ranging from chronic mild depression to more severe major depressive disorders like manic depression or bipolar disorder.

Although the exact causes of depression are not known, there are three components that are known to contribute to its development. Factors include chemical or hormone imbalance, genetics and trauma.

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The Path of Compassion

In a world where chaos and violence seem to be on the rise, the practice of compassion has never been more crucial. By cultivating a compassionate mind, we can not only bring peace and harmony to our inner selves, but also spread kindness and empathy to those around us. One of the most effective ways to develop compassion is through the practice of Zen, a spiritual tradition that emphasizes mindfulness, meditation, and non-judgmental awareness. In this article, we will explore how Zen can help us embrace compassion and kindness in our daily lives.

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