105 people from eight fields, each with a documented practice of their own: an interview, a book, an official biography. Names link to the source. TM is Transcendental Meditation; Vipassana is insight meditation, most often the 10-day Goenka courses; zazen is seated Zen practice. If you are looking for company on the cushion, it is here.

One person a day, with a cover and a line about how they sit, comes out in Echoes. This page is the whole list at once.

Writers and poets

  • Gary Snyder, poet, Pulitzer Prize. Rinzai Zen; lived in Kyoto 1956–69 as a student at Daitoku-ji, daily zazen and koan study.
  • Allen Ginsberg, poet. Tibetan Buddhism under Chögyam Trungpa; co-founded the poetics school at Naropa in 1974.
  • Peter Matthiessen, writer, The Snow Leopard. Zen from the 1970s; ordained a priest in 1981, received transmission from Bernie Glassman in 1997.
  • Natalie Goldberg, writer, Writing Down the Bones. Zen for more than 40 years under Katagiri Roshi; writing practice and zazen as one.
  • Ruth Ozeki, novelist. Soto Zen priest since 2010; calls meditation and writing parallel contemplative practices.
  • George Saunders, writer, Booker Prize. Long-time practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism (Nyingma).
  • Yuval Noah Harari, historian, Sapiens. Two hours of Vipassana every day and a 30–60-day retreat every year.
  • Pico Iyer, essayist. About 100 silent retreats at the New Camaldoli Hermitage, Big Sur, over 20+ years.
  • Elizabeth Gilbert, writer, Eat Pray Love. Ashram meditation in India, including Vipassana.
  • Tim Parks, writer. Came to Vipassana through chronic pain; Teach Us to Sit Still.
  • Dan Harris, journalist, 10% Happier. Mindfulness since 2009, after a panic attack on air; from five minutes to an hour a day.
  • J. D. Salinger, writer. Zen in the 1940s, then Vedanta; initiated into kriya yoga in 1955.
  • Aldous Huxley, writer. Vedanta from 1939; initiated by Swami Prabhavananda, trained in meditation.
  • Christopher Isherwood, writer. Vedanta; lived as a temporary monk 1939–45, translated the Bhagavad Gita with his guru.
  • Leonard Cohen, poet, singer. Rinzai Zen under Joshu Sasaki Roshi from the 1970s; ordained a monk in 1996 as Jikan.

Scientists, philosophers, psychologists

  • Richard Davidson, neuroscientist, Center for Healthy Minds. First retreat with Goenka in 1974; daily Tibetan practice for over 40 years.
  • Jon Kabat-Zinn, molecular biologist, creator of MBSR. Zazen since 1966; the idea of MBSR came on a Vipassana retreat in 1979.
  • Sam Harris, neuroscientist, philosopher. About two years in silent Vipassana retreats, then Dzogchen with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
  • Francisco Varela, neurobiologist, co-founder of Mind & Life. Tibetan Buddhism; student of Chögyam Trungpa and Tulku Urgyen.
  • Matthieu Ricard, molecular biologist turned monk. More than fifty years of practice under Tibetan masters.
  • Daniel Goleman, psychologist, Emotional Intelligence. Vipassana with Goenka in India in the 1970s.
  • Jack Kornfield, clinical psychologist. Theravada monk under Ajahn Chah; co-founded Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock.
  • Tara Brach, clinical psychologist. Ten years in an ashram, then Vipassana; founded Insight Meditation Community of Washington.
  • B. Alan Wallace, physicist, Buddhist scholar. Ordained by the Dalai Lama in 1975; 14 years a monk; shamatha and Dzogchen.
  • Dan Siegel, psychiatrist, UCLA. Regular practice since a week-long silent retreat; the Wheel of Awareness.
  • Judson Brewer, psychiatrist, neuroscientist. Began meditating in medical school for stress: “my symptoms went away”.
  • Sara Lazar, neuroscientist, Harvard. Meditation and yoga after a running injury; practises three times a week.
  • Thomas Metzinger, philosopher of mind. Twice a day for more than 40 years; Vipassana.
  • Mark Epstein, psychiatrist, Thoughts Without a Thinker. Vipassana since 1974; retreats with Goldstein, Salzberg, Kornfield.
  • James H. Austin, neurologist, Zen and the Brain. Zen under Kobori Roshi in Kyoto.
  • Ram Dass, psychologist, Harvard. Student of Neem Karoli Baba from 1967; Be Here Now.

Musicians, composers, producers

  • Paul McCartney, The Beatles. Transcendental Meditation since 1967: “an island of calm”.
  • George Harrison, The Beatles. TM and Indian spirituality from 1967 to the end of his life.
  • Ringo Starr, The Beatles. TM every morning; Peace & Love Fund with the David Lynch Foundation.
  • Mike Love, The Beach Boys. TM since 1967, certified TM teacher.
  • Rick Rubin, record producer. TM since age 14, on a doctor’s advice.
  • Katy Perry, singer. TM, taught by Bob Roth; practises first thing in the morning.
  • Lady Gaga, singer. TM; uses it for chronic pain.
  • Sting, singer, bassist. Ashtanga yoga and pranayama meditation.
  • Moby, musician. TM, influenced by David Lynch.
  • Herbie Hancock, jazz pianist. Nichiren Buddhist since 1972; chants morning, evening and before going on stage.
  • Wayne Shorter, jazz saxophonist. Nichiren Buddhism for about 50 years, to his last days.
  • Tina Turner, singer. Nichiren Buddhism from 1973; chanted up to four hours a day in the hardest years.
  • Philip Glass, composer. Tibetan Buddhism; teachers Gelek Rimpoche and Demo Rinpoche.
  • Sheryl Crow, singer. Mindfulness with Sharon Salzberg: 30 minutes every morning; earlier TM.
  • Kendrick Lamar, rapper. At least 30 minutes a day to sit, close his eyes and take it in.
  • Nick Cave, singer, composer. TM for about six years: “it shifted the mad tyrant in my head”.
  • Kirk Hammett, Metallica. Meditating for about 25 years, sometimes two hours a day.
  • David Bowie, singer. Tibetan Buddhism in his youth under Lama Chime Rinpoche; nearly became a monk.

Actors, directors, comedians, hosts

  • David Lynch, filmmaker. TM twice a day since 1973, never missed a session; Catching the Big Fish.
  • Clint Eastwood, actor, director. TM twice a day for more than 40 years.
  • Hugh Jackman, actor. TM twice a day.
  • Jennifer Aniston, actress. TM, 20 minutes morning and evening.
  • Oprah Winfrey, host, producer. TM, 20 minutes twice a day; two group sessions a day at Harpo.
  • Jerry Seinfeld, comedian. TM for more than 40 years.
  • Richard Gere, actor. Tibetan Buddhism since age 24; 45 minutes to two hours a day.
  • Martin Scorsese, filmmaker. TM since 2008.
  • Emma Watson, actress. Meditation out of an interest in Buddhism; a week-long course.
  • Jeff Bridges, actor. Zen with Bernie Glassman; The Dude and the Zen Master.
  • Goldie Hawn, actress. Meditating since the 1970s; founded the MindUP school programme.
  • Howard Stern, radio host. TM twice a day since age 18.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor, politician. A year of TM in the late 1970s; the effect stayed for life.
  • Russell Brand, comedian. TM twice a day for about ten years.
  • Naomi Watts, actress. TM since Mulholland Drive.
  • Orlando Bloom, actor. Nichiren Buddhism since age 16.

Entrepreneurs and business leaders

  • Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. Zen under Kobun Chino Otogawa for nearly 30 years.
  • Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater. TM since 1969, twice a day; “the single most important reason” for his success.
  • Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce. Daily morning meditation; mindfulness zones in Salesforce offices.
  • Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square. 10-day silent Vipassana retreats.
  • Bill Ford, chairman of Ford. Daily mindfulness practice; “it kept me afloat in the darkest days”.
  • Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post. Meditating since 13; daily after her collapse in 2007.
  • Jeff Weiner, former CEO of LinkedIn. Daily mindfulness and compassion meditation.
  • Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. Mindfulness with Headspace, two or three times a week.
  • Tim Ferriss, author, investor. TM and Headspace, about 20 minutes in the morning.
  • Mark Bertolini, former CEO of Aetna. Yoga and meditation instead of painkillers after a near-fatal accident.
  • Naval Ravikant, co-founder of AngelList. At least 60 minutes every morning of “doing nothing”.
  • Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic. Meditating since 1975.
  • Larry Brilliant, first director of Google.org. Two years in Neem Karoli Baba’s Himalayan ashram before eradicating smallpox with the WHO.

Athletes and coaches

  • Phil Jackson, NBA coach, 11 championships. Zen; brought seated meditation into Bulls training camp.
  • Kobe Bryant, basketball. Mindfulness with George Mumford: “I learned to just be”.
  • Michael Jordan, basketball. Mindfulness with Mumford in the Bulls’ championship seasons.
  • LeBron James, basketball. Meditates on the bench during games.
  • Novak Djokovic, tennis. Daily mindfulness; Serve to Win.
  • Bianca Andreescu, tennis, US Open 2019. Meditation since her teens plus daily visualisation.
  • Naomi Osaka, tennis. Daily morning breath meditation.
  • Pete Carroll, NFL coach. Voluntary meditation programme for the Seahawks.
  • Cristiano Ronaldo, football. “I meditate almost every day”, 15–20 minutes of breathing.
  • Tiger Woods, golf. Raised Buddhist; meditates and visits the temple with his mother.
  • Laird Hamilton, big-wave surfer. Breathwork at the core of his XPT system.
  • Wim Hof, “The Iceman”. Cold, breathing and meditation; 44 minutes in full contact with ice.

Statesmen, historical figures, artists

  • Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, Stoic. The Meditations as daily spiritual exercises (Pierre Hadot).
  • Miyamoto Musashi, samurai, The Book of Five Rings. Zazen at Myōshin-ji in 1611; wrote his treatise as a hermit in the Reigandō cave.
  • Mahatma Gandhi, leader of Indian independence. Ramanama, the continuous repetition of the name of Rama; a weekly day of silence.
  • The 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet. Up at 3 a.m.; hours of prayer and meditation every morning and evening.
  • U Thant, UN Secretary-General. Buddhist meditation every morning at 6:30.
  • Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General. Christian contemplation; created the Meditation Room at UN headquarters.
  • Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa. From prison, advised “regular meditation, say about 15 minutes a day”.
  • Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace laureate. Daily Vipassana; house arrest as her longest retreat.
  • Jerry Brown, Governor of California. Two hours of zazen a day in Kamakura, 1986–87.
  • Tim Ryan, US congressman, A Mindful Nation. Mindfulness after a retreat with Kabat-Zinn; leads sessions for Congress.
  • Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, writer. Christian contemplative prayer in dialogue with Zen.
  • Marina Abramović, performance artist. 21-day Vipassana and a 90-day solitary retreat in Dharamsala.
  • Antony Gormley, sculptor. Vipassana with Goenka; breath observation at the core of his practice.
  • Bill Viola, video artist. Zazen in Tokyo from 1980.
  • Agnes Martin, painter. “Practised meditation all her life”: Taoism, Zen and Christianity.

Compiled September 2026. Sources checked one by one; people whose practice could not be confirmed were left out. Corrections welcome through the contact page.