Michael Brunner | Ottawa, Illinois

Michael Brunner of Ottawa Illinois is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist priest and the founding teacher of One River Zen. Based in Ottawa, Illinois, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner serves as abbot and guiding teacher of a growing Zen community dedicated to practice in everyday life.

Michael Brunner of Ottawa, Illinois is a transmitted teacher in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri Roshi, having completed his advanced training under Rev. Dr. Sojun Diane Martin Roshi. His formation reflects years of dedicated zazen, koan practice, and immersion in the classical teachings of Sōtō Zen.

His path in Zen began in 2006 and deepened through formal training starting in 2009. Over time, this practice matured into a life of teaching, community leadership, and the integration of awakening into ordinary experience. Michael Brunner Ottawa Illinois emphasizes a direct, grounded approach to Zen that meets the realities of modern life.

In addition to founding One River Zen, he established the Eternal Spring Order, a contemporary Zen community centered on embodied practice, compassionate action beyond division, and interfaith cooperation. His work in Ottawa, Illinois includes daily meditation, Dharma talks, retreats, and community-based outreach initiatives.

Alongside his wife and co-founder, Rev. Jinsen Vanessa Roddam (Hōshi Vanessa), Michael Brunner of Ottawa, IL continues to guide the development of a practice community rooted in accessibility, discipline, and compassion. His teaching returns to a simple point: awakening is not elsewhere, but found within the life we are already living.