Southwind Sangha Soto Zen Buddhist Association

Southwind Sangha Soto Zen Buddhist Association Southwind Sangha Soto Zen Association is a community of Kansans who follow the Buddha's path. Our activities are also carried on Zoom.

All activities are at our Zendo at Pine Valley Christian Church, 5620 E 21st St N, Wichita, KS 67208. Pine Valley is about 5 blocks east of WSU's Innovation Campus (intersection of E 21st and Oliver). Please plan to arrive 5 or 10 minutes early and enter through the rear. Please message us to be added to our email list and receive the Zoom link. Our Schedule:

--Sunday Morning Zen Chanting & Medi

tation Service 8AM to 9AM followed by a half-hour Dharma discussion

--Wednesday Evening Zen Chanting & Meditation Service 7PM to 8PM followed by a brief reading and Dharma discussion. We have a Dharma discussion or talk the third Wednesday of each month.

--First Wednesday of every month, 7PM to 8PM, Intro to Zen Meditation & Zendo Etiquette

--3rd Saturday of every Month, half-day Meditation Retreat & Dharma Discussion. Most recently we've started 'just sit' Saturday with seated meditation alternating with kinhin or walking meditation. We also sponsor a book discussion group. Who we are:

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, we affiliated with the Silent Thunder Order (storder.org). As a meditation group, we follow the instructions for zazen (sitting meditation) as given by Zen Masters Eihei Dōgen Zenji¹ (1200-1253), the first Japanese ancestor in our lineage, and Keizan Jōkin Zenji (1268-1325), the fourth Japanese ancestor. The Sōtō Zen tradition emphasizes the practice of zazen and individual effort. By learning to put our entire being into our practice, we aspire to realize our true or original nature and to carry that experience into daily life. The Sōtō Zen School (Japanese: Sōtōshū) has transmitted the Buddhadharma from Śākyamuni Buddha and the Ancestors to the present day. The essence of the School began in Japan some eight-hundred years ago with the work of Dōgen 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 Sōtō Zen School states that we are all children of the Buddha and come into this world endowed with Buddha Nature. 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 (Zen's moral and ethical teachings). We aspire to the Bodhisattva ideal of Mahāyāna Buddhism, rejoicing in 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. We focus on the mechanics of sitting, including the posture, the breath, and the disposition of the mind during meditation. Our practice is rounded out with Dharma readings and teachings by teachers and disciples of the Southwind Sangha and the Silent Thunder Order. The Southwind Sangha traces its lineage from its current guiding teacher, Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston Rōshi, Abbot and guiding teacher of the Silent Thunder Order, to his teacher, Rev Dr Sōyū Matsuoka Rōshi, through Eihei Dogen Zenji to the historical Buddha.

https://aibnetwork.lightcast.com/player/51140/797352
04/08/2026

https://aibnetwork.lightcast.com/player/51140/797352

S1-E2: Explore the journey of Zen Buddhism's integration into Western culture, focusing on the pivotal role of Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. Discover the practice of Zen meditation, its historical roots, and its adaptation in modern American society. Delve into the philosophies of Zen, the importance of comm...

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I write while staying in one of the great forests of British Columbia, a forest in which the inextricability of life from death is gorgeously evident. Several kinds of fern spring from this soil, some taller than me, birds move among the branches, many kinds of berries abound. It is

Address

Pine Valley Christian Church, 5620 E 21st Street N
Wichita, KS
67208

Opening Hours

Wednesday 7pm - 8:30pm
Thursday 6pm - 8:30pm
Sunday 9am - 11am

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