Soto Zen Buddhist Association

The was formed in 1996 by American and Japanese Zen teachers in response to a perceived need to draw the various autonomous lineages of the North American Soto stream of Zen together for mutual support as well as the development of common training and ethical standards. While independent of the Japanese , the SZBA works closely with what it generally sees as its parent organization. With about two hundred fully transmitted priests, the SZBA now represents nearly all Japanese-derived Soto Zen lineages in North America. The founding president was Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, followed by Sojun Mel Weitsman, then Myogen Steve Stucky and currently by the SZBA’s first woman president, Jisho Warner.

See also American Zen Teachers Association.