{"id":81873,"date":"2026-01-02T17:11:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T17:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diib.com\/featuredmembers\/one-river-zen-2\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:23:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:23:48","slug":"one-river-zen-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diib.com\/featuredmembers\/one-river-zen-2\/","title":{"rendered":"One River Zen"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-clients"],"acf":{"content_main":"

One River Zen is a Soto Zen Buddhist temple, meditation center, and spiritual community located in Ottawa, Illinois, serving practitioners throughout the Illinois Valley and the greater Chicago region. Founded as an inclusive space for people of all backgrounds, One River Zen integrates traditional Soto Zen teachings with modern accessibility and real-world application. The center offers daily meditation, weekly Zen services, Dharma talks, koan study, mindfulness instruction, beginner programs, residential retreats, workshops, and youth and family offerings\u2014supporting practitioners at every stage of experience. Its approach emphasizes \u201cSoto Zen in everyday life,\u201d helping individuals cultivate presence, emotional resilience, and compassionate action amid work, family, and community responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Led by founding teacher and abbot Sensei S\u014den Michael Brunner, One River Zen is rooted in the Soto Zen lineage of Dainin Katagiri Roshi, drawing on classical texts such as the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Mumonkan, Blue Cliff Record, and the writings of Zen Master D\u014dgen, while engaging contemporary themes of mental health, identity, and meaning. The community is widely recognized for its warmth, sincerity, and radical inclusivity. Beyond formal practice, One River Zen operates multiple outreach initiatives, including the Karuna Pantry (food insecurity support), David\u2019s Clubhouse (neurodiversity-affirming programming), artist-in-residence programs, and public meditation and education services. Through an extensive online presence\u2014featuring livestreamed teachings, written resources, and the Awakening Streams Podcast<\/em>\u2014One River Zen supports practitioners locally and worldwide, offering serious practice grounded in compassion, integrity, and human connection.<\/p>\n","url":"https:\/\/oneriverzen.org","url_text":"oneriverzen.org","main_services":"- Daily Meditation - Zen Buddhist Teacher Training - Zen Buddhist Priest Training - Zen Meditation Retreats - Advanced Zen Training - Spiritual Counseling - Online Meditation - Buddhist Podcasts - Koan Study - Zen Buddhist Classes","intro_slagan":"","intro_text":"","image_1":false,"client_review":"","why_we":"","history":"","image_2":false,"image_3":false},"yoast_head":"\nOne River Zen - 5 Star Featured Members<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diib.com\/featuredmembers\/one-river-zen-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One River Zen - 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