Our Tradition
Our tradition is rooted in the Harada-Yasutani lineage, which originates from the Japanese Sōtō school and also incorporates the koan practice of the Rinzai school. This tradition was brought to the West by Philip Kapleau, a pioneer of Zen in the United States.
Philip Kapleau studied law as a young man and later became a successful court reporter. In 1945, he served as chief reporter for the Allied forces at the International Military Tribunal's trial of major war criminals, where leaders of Nazi Germany were sentenced. This was the first of the Nuremberg Trials. Months of documenting the details of wartime atrocities affected him deeply and awakened a spiritual longing that would shape the rest of his life. Kapleau later reported on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, commonly known as the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. While in Japan, he became interested in Zen Buddhism.
In 1953, Philip Kapleau moved to Japan and practiced Zen Buddhism there for 13 years under three teachers — Soen Nakagawa Roshi, Daiun Sogaku Harada Roshi, and Hakuun Yasutani Roshi — before Hakuun Yasutani Roshi authorized him to teach in 1965. In 1966, he published The Three Pillars of Zen, the first book to explain the practice of Zen Buddhism to Westerners. That same year, Kapleau founded the Rochester Zen Center, which today is one of the oldest and largest organizations dedicated to Zen Buddhist practice in the United States. In 1986, Bodhin Kjolhede was officially appointed as Roshi Kapleau's Dharma successor and abbot of the center.
Kapleau devoted his life to making Zen accessible to all and to establishing it as part of American culture. He passed away in May 2004 at the age of 91.
Kapleau's tradition has become established in Northern Europe through the Swedish Zen Buddhist Society (Zenbuddhistiska Samfundet, ZBS), and arrived in Finland through Finns practicing with the Swedish teachers. Our association was founded in 1996 under its original name Helsinki Zen Center ry, now Sanneji Zen ry. Kapleau's tradition is continued in Finland by two independent Zen teachers: our own teacher Sangen Salo Sensei, who received full teaching authorization from his teacher Sante Poromaa Roshi in 2022, and Mitra Virtaperko Sensei (Sydänmieli Zen Center & Tampere Zen Center), who received full teaching authorization in 2026.
More information about the Kapleau tradition on the Rochester Zen Center website