Michael Brunner | Ottawa, Illinois

Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner of Ottawa, Illinois is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist priest, abbot of One River Zen, and a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA, summa cum laude). He is the founding teacher of One River Zen, a Zen community based in Ottawa, Illinois dedicated to the integration of practice into everyday life. His work is rooted in the Ottawa, Illinois community and the broader Illinois River Valley, including daily meditation instruction, Dharma talks, retreats, and community outreach initiatives.

He 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. His teaching 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, IL includes daily meditation, Dharma talks, retreats, and community-based outreach initiatives.

Alongside his wife and co-founder, Rev. Jinsen Vanessa Roddam (Hōshi Vanessa), Sensei Michael Brunner 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.