The Blue Plum Zendo is the central meditation hall at Studio Hum, where our Blue Plum Zen Group meets weekly to practice within the 8 Gates of Zen - the basis of training in the Mountains & Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism. The Eight Gates offer us a tangible way to take up the whole of our lives as a path of spiritual practice, revealing that even as we are engaged in our busy lives in the world, all aspects of our being are vital to our study and practice of the path.
These include zazen (meditation), liturgy, art practice, body practice, work practice, right action, Buddhist study, and we also offer access to study with Zen Teachers in our Order. See below for our programs, and for information about the Mountains & Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism and our Tea Ceremony instructor.
The Blue Plum Zen Group has a particular focus on the arts, as we are nestled within a creative studio environment and are fostering connection between traditional zen arts and local mountain arts. Our traditional zen arts classes include chado (tea ceremony), calligraphy, and ikebana (flower arranging). We also have a focus on the environment, with forest land in Unicoi County that we visit regularly for forest immersion practices, and with our ongoing environmental action opportunities.
Practicing in the tradition of
The Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism
The Blue Plum Zen Group is an informal affiliate of the Mountains & Rivers Order. Zen practice is facilitated by Polly Kiho Horne & Dan Burney, under the guidance of their teachers and sangha. Kiho is a jukai student in the Mountains and Rivers Order with 15 years of lay Zen practice at Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn, NY, Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, NY, and now Johnson City, TN. Originally from Unicoi County, Kiho is a Zen student of ZMM’s Abbot, Shugen Roshi - and a tea student of Atsumi Matsuda Sensei. Her husband, Dan Burney is in the process of becoming a formal student of Shoan Sensei, and is the Studio Hum manager.
Images from our January 2026 Eye Opening Ceremony with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Roshi, Abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and Head of the Mountains & Rivers Order
Learn More About The Mountains & Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism
Learn More About Uraskenke Chanoyu
Tea Ceremony teachings are guided by Atsumi Soatsu Matsuda Sensei in the Unrasenke Tradition of Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chado). Atsumi Matsuda has studied tea ceremony in Japan for over 30 years and holds a Certified Tea Instructor license. She is also a member of the Urasenke U.S. Tea Ceremony Association, and the Knoxville Asian Cultural Center.
Atsumi Sensei visits the center quarterly and Chado practice session are held in between her visits.
