Who We Are
JissoJi Zen Ann Arbor is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist community (sangha) established in 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We are a registered nonprofit organization (EIN:82-4982340) operating in the tradition of Shunryū Suzuki Roshi, founder of the San Francisco Zen Center and author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. We are affiliated with Branching Streams, the Sōtō Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA), and the broader San Francisco Zen Center lineage.
We meet in person at The Center for Sacred Living (210 Little Lake Drive, Suite 7, Ann Arbor, MI 48103) and online via Zoom, nearly every Sunday. All are welcome. No prior experience is necessary.
Our Mission
JissoJi Zen Ann Arbor’s mission is to offer authentic Sōtō Zen Buddhist teaching, practice, and community to people in Ann Arbor and beyond — making the transformative practice of zazen accessible to all, regardless of background or prior experience.
Our Vision
We envision a community where the practice of Zen Buddhism is available to anyone who seeks it: a place of stillness, ethical clarity, and genuine human connection, rooted in a living lineage and open to contemporary life.
Our Values
Practice as Realization. Following Dōgen’s teaching of shikantaza — “just sitting” — we understand zazen not as a means to some future enlightenment but as its direct expression here and now.
Radical Welcome. All bodies, backgrounds, traditions, and levels of experience are welcome. We sit together without hierarchy of worthiness.
Ethical Integrity. We live and teach the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts — not as rules imposed from outside, but as the natural expression of an awakened life.
Community. Sangha — community — is one of the Three Treasures of Buddhism. We take seriously our responsibility to one another and to the broader world.
Lineage and Adaptability. We honor the traditional forms of Sōtō Zen while adapting them thoughtfully to contemporary American life.
Our Teacher
The Rev. Marta Dabis (dharma name Sogen) is JissoJi’s lead priest and guiding teacher. She has practiced Zen Buddhism since 2007, received priest ordination (Shukke Tokudo) in 2016, and received Dharma Transmission from Koji Acquaviva Dreher in September 2025, within the lineage of Shunryū Suzuki Roshi. She is also a Board Certified Chaplain (APC/BCCI) and serves as a chaplaincy educator. Learn more at martadabis.com.
Our Affiliations
- Branching Streams — the network of Zen centers in the San Francisco Zen Center lineage
- Sōtō Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA) — the professional association of Sōtō Zen priests and authorized teachers in North America
- San Francisco Zen Center lineage — tracing back to Shunryū Suzuki Roshi
Our Location
We hold in-person practice at The Center for Sacred Living, 210 Little Lake Drive, Suite 7, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Zoom access is available by request: email jissojizen@gmail.com with subject “Request access to Zoom” at least 12 hours before the sitting.