Soto Zen practice on the Olympic Peninsula
Where the wind moves through old pines
A low voice at the gate
Matsukaze Zen Center offers practice in the Soto tradition of Japan, in the lineage of Zenkai Gyoun Daiosho, Taizan Genko Roshi, and our founding teacher Genmyo Ruth Abbott. We sit together in a cedar hall among old pines above the Salish Sea. Whether you are new to Zen or have sat for years, you are warmly welcome.
Come sit with us — the schedule is herePractice
Mornings before dawn.
Sundays at half past eight.
- Tuesday5:45 AM – 7:00 AMMorning Zazen
- Thursday5:45 AM – 7:00 AMMorning Zazen
- Saturday7:00 AM – 8:30 AMZazen & Kinhin
- Sunday8:30 AM – 10:30 AMZazen, Kinhin & Dharma Talk
First time?
Arrive ten or fifteen minutes early. Take off your shoes at the door. No one expects you to know everything your first time — watch others and follow their lead.
Walking as practice
Slow down; observe.
Walking the grounds is a practice in itself. Every stone, every needle, every raked path asks you to slow down. Genmyo Ruth Abbott — our founding teacher, and a potter — laid these paths by hand over many winters; they were her teaching in stone and moss, and they still are.
The pines were here long before us and will stand long after. We only keep the path swept.
Our teachers
One person to one person.
Our teachers carry the transmission of Zen practice in the lineage of Taizan Genko Roshi and Zenkai Gyoun Daiosho. They are dedicated to supporting your practice.
Ellen Marsh (Keido)
Guiding Teacher
Began sitting in 1991 and trained for a decade in California before coming north; ordained at Ryukoji in 2006; received transmission from Genko Roshi in 2016 and has guided Matsukaze since Genmyo Abbott's passing.
David Iverson (Sokan)
Sensei
Came to Zen after years of trail work in the Cascades; ordained at Ryukoji in 2012; received transmission from Genko Roshi in 2020, and leads the Saturday program and much of the newcomer practice.
- Zenkai Gyoun Daiosho
- Taizan Genko Roshi
- Genmyo Ruth Abbott (founding teacher)
The lineage of Matsukaze, through Ryukoji temple in Nagano, Japan.
What transmission means
Not a credential, but a long friendship.
Practice here is passed person to person, through years of sitting together. Our teachers were ordained at Ryukoji, our sister temple in Japan, and return there for ceremonies that bind this hall to the temple where our lineage trained. This is what lineage means: not a credential, but a long friendship.
News
A living community, moving forward.
- Jan 6, 2026Ground broken on the new cedar zendoBuilding Project
- Dec 28, 2025Rohatsu sesshin — seven days of sittingRetreats
- Dec 11, 2025Sokan Iverson returns from RyukojiNews
Building project
Impermanence, held calmly.
For eighteen years we sat in a converted cedar barn at the edge of the meadow. This winter we broke ground on a proper zendo on the same ground, built low and simple to sit among the pines rather than above them. The old barn came down with a small ceremony. The pines remain.
Stay connected
Stay in touch.
Receive updates about practice sessions, retreats, sesshins, and community news from Matsukaze Zen Center.