Soen Nakagawa Roshi (1907–1984) was an extraordinary Zen master and a key figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from Japan to the Western world. A man of many faces, he was a simple Japanese monk, a world traveler, a spiritually realized being of the highest order, a poetic genius, a creator of dynamic calligraphy—and a notorious eccentric teacher who, for example, was known to conduct "tea ceremonies" using instant coffee and Styrofoam cups.

KAZUAKI TANAHASHI, a Japanese-trained calligrapher, is the pioneer of the genre of “one-stroke painting” as well as the creator of multicolor enso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been shown in exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities all over the world. Tanahashi is the author of over forty books, including Painting Peace, Heart of the Brush, and The Heart Sutra.

Roko Sherry Chayat, Dharma Teacher at the Zen Center of Syracuse, New York, is a student of Eido Roshi and also studies with Soen Roshi. She is the author of Life Lessons: The Art of Jerome Witkin.