Nelson Foster Roshi, photo by Masako Cordray

Nelson Foster (Roshi, but he prefers to be addressed by his given name) is based at Ring of Bone Zendo, and belongs to the Diamond Sangha lineage of Robert Aitken Roshi, a lineage especially geared to the needs of laypeople that embraces the heritage of both the Soto and Rinzai streams of Japanese Zen. Nelson and the groups he serves maintain this tradition along with numerous sister groups in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, and Chile.