About Nonin Chowaney

Rev. Nonin Chowaney (OPW) is a retired American Soto Zen priest and brush calligrapher. A Dharma heir of the late Dainin Katagiri-roshi, Chowaney received Dharma transmission in 1989 and was the founder of an organization of Soto priests known as The Order of the Prairie Wind (OPW), which is now defunct. Having studied Zen in Japan as well as at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Chowaney was certified by the Soto School of Japan.
Taizan Maezumi

The most prominent Sōtō Zen Buddhists around the world

Sōtō or the Sōtō school is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism. It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān Liánjiè. It emphasizes Shikantaza, meditation with no objects, anchors, or content. The meditator strives to be aware of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. With about 14,000 temples, Sōtō .
Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, Asalha Puja 2014

The most prominent American Zen Buddhists

was introduced in the United States at the end of the 19th century by Japanese teachers who went to America to serve groups of Japanese immigrants and become acquainted with the American culture. Though its origins are distant, today there are plenty of prominent American Zen .