Philip Kapleau, the Center's founding teacher, is widely recognized as one of the major contributors to the establishment of an American Zen in the Harada-Yasutani tradition. His Three Pillars of Zen continues to serve as a sure guide and primer to anyone interested in. Philip Kapleau was one of the founding fathers of American Zen. He made it his life’s work to transplant Zen Buddhism into American soil, bridging the gap between theory and practice and making Zen Buddhism accessible to all.
Windhorse Zen Community first came into being in the late 1990’s, after Lawson and Sunya left the Rochester Zen Center to begin teaching on their own. A sitting group formed and, in 2003, they and some members of their group packed up and headed south, eventually relocating to a beautiful spot just outside of Asheville, NC.
The Windhorse property includes 16 acres of wooded and open land. The original house serves as our main center, and we also have a fine retreat lodge, used to house sesshin participants, guests and Airbnb visitors. But the real jewel of the property is the sweeping back-deck view of the ancient mountains of the Pisgah National Forest.
Philip Kapleau Wiki
The mountains in this region—among the oldest in the world—have a deep, quiet power conducive to strong practice. With wooded trails and gardens, we cultivate an engaged form of practice grounded in both Soto and Rinzai Zen traditions, while exploring creative possibilities attuned to an emerging Zen in the West.
Over the years, Windhorse seems to have become well rooted in these misty mountains. We’ve held many dozens of sesshins and introductions to practice, a wide range of ceremonies and celebrations, and have also been involved in supporting community change in ecological awareness, and gender and racial equality.
Philip Kapleau Roshi
Many have joined us for longer or shorter periods of training, working to sustain their practice on the mat and in the activities and relationships of everyday life. We remain committed to join with others to plumb the depths of our own buddha-nature, to bring the spirit of the Great Way of Buddha into our daily lives, and to do whatever we can to keep this transformative dharma teaching and practice alive and accessible for generations to come.