Our Lineage & Tradition

Our Lineage

Living Lotus based its practice and services out of the Soto school of Zen Buddhist tradition, as popularized in America by Shunryu Suzuki at San Francisco Zen Center. 

"Zen evolved from the teachings of the historical Buddha who lived 2500 years ago in India. These teachings spread to China some six hundred years later. 

Zen (called Ch’an in China) developed in Mahayana Buddhist monasteries in the 7th Century. Inspired in part by the Chinese practice of the Tao, Ch’an was characterized by a spontaneity and naturalness... 

In the 12th Century two monks, Myoan Eisai and Eihei Dogen, separately brought Zen Buddhism west to Japan... 

Introduced in North America after the Second World War, it has flourished, and Soto Zen centers and sitting groups are active in most major cities... Soto Zen can trace its roots in America back to Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and the San Francisco Zen Center in the 1960s. 

It stressed doing meditation without a goal, as everyone is already inherently enlightened. Seated, silent meditation is an expression of this.

Soto Zen Buddhism is distinguished by its focus on the down-to-earth practice of 'everyday zen.' It encourages awareness of the workings of one’s own mind as a means of living mindfully in all areas of daily life – at home, at work and in the community."

-Soto Zen Buddhist Association