About the Southwind Sangha

We are a community who follow the path of the Buddha. We began as a meditation group in the early 1990s and later became a Zen Buddhist sitting group. In 1997, the group affiliated with the Atlanta Soto Zen Center.

The Southwind Sangha is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Kansas. The Sangha is a 501(c)(3) charitable, religious organization.

As a meditation group, we follow the instructions for zazen (sitting meditation) as given by Zen Masters Eihei Dogen-Zenji (1200-1253) and Keizan Jokin-Zenji (1268-1325). The Soto Zen tradition emphasizes the practice of zazen and individual effort. By learning to put our entire being into our practice, we practice to realize our original nature and to carry that experience into daily life.

The Soto Zen School (Japanese: Sotoshu) has transmitted the Buddha Dharma from Shakyamuni Buddha and the Ancestors to the present day. The essence of the School began some eight-hundred years ago with the work of Dogen-Zenji, founder of the School. The fourth Japanese ancestor, Keizan-Zenji, further enhanced the School, making it more accessible to the laity. The doctrine of the Soto Zen School states that we are all children of the Buddha and come into this world endowed with the Buddha-Mind. However, failing to realize this, we live selfish, willful lives, causing ourselves much suffering. For that reason, we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and commit ourselves to lives guided by the Buddhist precepts. We aspire to follow the Bodhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism, in which we rejoice in being of service to others.

No matter how long we have been sitting, we aim for "beginner's mind" and treat each period of meditation as if it were our first time. We focus on the mechanics of sitting, including the posture, the breath, and disposition of the mind during meditation. Our practice is rounded out with Dharma readings and teachings given by teachers and disciples of the Southwind Sangha and Atlanta Soto Zen Center.

The Southwind Sangha traces its lineage from Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston-Roshi, abbot of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, to his teacher, Dharma Master Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-Roshi, and ultimately to the historical Buddha. Click here to read more about our Elliston-Roshi and the rest of our lineage.