THE ZEN IN THE ARTS ENCOUNTERS WITH PASQUALE ESPOSITO
Pasquale Esposito achieved his international breakthrough in the film industry with the TV series Gomorrah. He went on to appear in acclaimed productions such as Industry(HBO), Hotel Portofino(PBS), and Ripley(Netflix).
The Italian actor works internationally in the film industry and is also a researcher and Zen practitioner. As the founder and artistic director of the Research Company, he produces his own projects and explores how expression shapes, how we experience reality.
His acting and creative research have been deeply influenced by his Zen Buddhist practice. In 2001, he was officially ordained (Zaike Tokudo ceremony) at the Zen Temple of Fudenji in Italy. He studied under renowned teachers including F. De Sapio, S. Strasberg, S. Batson, G. Seacat, and D. De Fazio, who had a major impact on his artistic development.
In addition to his work as an actor, Pasquale leads meditation groups, conducts Zen workshops and events, and has been invited as a speaker to international symposia such as Mindfulness and Performanceand Martial Arts and Mindfulness at the Intersection of Multiple Embodied Artsat the University of Huddersfield (UK).
Driven by a deep artistic passion, he dedicates himself to a personal exploration of expression, communication, and the nature of reality. This journey has led him in many directions: beginning in 1990 with the study of bioenergetics in Rome under Ellen Green, following the teachings of Gurdjieff in Los Angeles, London, and Rome, and training extensively in Chi Kung (pushing hands) and the martial art of Aikido.
Pasquale is also a certified counsellor in Reality Therapy (London, developed by Dr. W. Glasser) and practices amateur boxing to keep his mind sharp.
An article and a short documentary on Pasquale’s creative research zen in the arts
* Martial arts at university of Huddersfield (good article to have an idea of the direction I walk )
* Documentary Something from nothing directed by N. Rizzini
* Documentary based on a workshop From still picture to moving picture
UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2026
TWO ENCOUNTERS
ZEN IN THE ARTS
WITH PASQUALE ESPOSITO
Paper and ink merge into form
one evening 3 hours
FR 6. FEB 2025 18:30 - 21:30 Uhr
55 € NORMALPREIS
50 € ERMÄßIGTER PREIS
No Path Journey
two days 11 hours total
SA 7. FEB 2026 13:30 - 19:00 Uhr
SO 8. FEB 2026 13:30 - 19:00 Uhr
200 € NORMALPREIS
185 € ERMÄßIGTER PREIS
PAST EVENTS
Join Pasquale Shuten Esposito for a few contemplative hours exploring the essence of Zen education and its intimate relationship with the arts. He will guide participants through the basics of sitting and walking Zen meditation and then gently lead them into movement and interaction with a clear invitation to trust in “not knowing.”
The space of “not knowing” is the field where skill and ability are replaced by sensitivity and reciprocity. This is an invitation for anyone curious about the process of perception and how we experience otherness.
In just a short time, you may come to see that this journey is not about acquiring someone else’s truth but about awakening your own revolutionary sense of truth.
We will engage in explorations of “being”: not as abstract philosophy, but through grounded, practical exercises and live demonstrations.
So, metaphorically speaking, we will walk the territory rather than read the map, to open up the necessity to become pioneers walking a no-path.
This workshop is for actors, artists, and anyone interestedin exploring the essence of being alive, which implies expression. The creative process provides the framework for an ontological inquiry. Ontology essentially means, the nature of existence.
Within this framework, Pasquale invites participants to explore perception, sensation, and the sense of ownership. We start with the body and stillness, then continue with ordinary human movements in everyday life situations. Depending on the participants, we may use scenes from plays or movies, as well as other sources, as a way to explore the nature of “responsiveness”(meaning the way we respond) ultimately expression. At the core of this exploration is a key principle: “the action that carries life is unconscious and inevitable”. This implies that creativity arises from “not knowing". When we know what to do in terms of expression, it often turns into affectation.
In just a few hours, it becomes clear: this is not about performance or technique. It is an education of the unconscious, inspired by a revolutionary sense of truth, which can help us explore and embody our own.
Here, creativity does not come from effort, knowledge, or any ability. It arises through the artist’s self-inquiring awareness. Here there is an invitation for a shift: from the familiar paradigm of “knowing what to do and how”, to trusting and “being confident with not knowing”,and responding from that place of openness and vulnerability, which implies being alive.
Pasquale Esposito
Pasquale Esposito feierte seinen internationalen Durchbruch in der Filmbranche mit der TV-Serie Gomorrah. Es folgten Engagements in renommierten Produktionen wie Industry(HBO), Hotel Portofino(PBS) und Ripley(Netflix).
Der italienische Schauspieler arbeitet international in der Filmindustrie und ist zugleich Forscher sowie Zen-Praktizierender. Als Gründer und künstlerischer Leiter der Research Companyrealisiert er eigene Projekte und erforscht, wie Ausdruck und Kommunikation die Phänomene formen, die wir Realität nennen.
Seine schauspielerische und kreative Arbeit ist tief geprägt von seiner Zen-buddhistischen Praxis. 2001 wurde er im Zen-Tempel Fudenji in Italien (Zaike-Tokudo-Zeremonie) offiziell ordiniert. Er studierte bei namhaften Lehrern wie F. De Sapio, S. Strasberg, S. Batson, G. Seacat und D. De Fazio, der seine künstlerische Forschung maßgeblich beeinflusste.
Neben seiner Arbeit als Schauspieler leitet Pasquale Meditationsgruppen und führt Zen-Workshops sowie Veranstaltungen durch. Er war als Sprecher bei internationalen Symposien eingeladen, darunter Mindfulness and Performanceund Martial Arts and Mindfulness at the Intersection of Multiple Embodied Artsan der University of Huddersfield (UK).
Getrieben von einer tiefen künstlerischen Leidenschaft widmet er sich der persönlichen Erforschung von Ausdruck, Kommunikation und der Natur der Wirklichkeit. Diese Suche führte ihn in vielfältige Richtungen: In Rom begann er 1990 ein Studium der Bioenergetik bei Ellen Green, folgte über Jahre hinweg den Lehren Gurdjieffs in Los Angeles, London und Rom und trainierte intensiv Chi Kung (Push Hands) sowie die Kampfkunst Aikido.
Darüber hinaus ist Pasquale zertifizierter Berater für „Reality Therapy“ in London (entwickelt von Dr. W. Glasser) und betreibt Boxen auf Amateurebene – um geistig hellwach zu bleiben.