Anchorage Zen Community

By Kaona Ayres

Nirvana is here, before your eyes
This very place is the Lotus Land
This very body the Buddha
– Hakuin Zenji

Well into the poles of the earth Buddhism finds a way, spreading compassion and mindfulness like a creeper plant with no bounds. Alaska experiences a hostile climate where temperatures can drop well below freezing, yet even here the faith has taken root. What more appropriate location for such a warm and loving faith? Located in Alaska’s most populous city of some 300,000 residents, one organization has just reached its 3rd decade of Buddhist practice and is still going strong. The Anchorage Zen Community (AZC) provides a forum for the practice of the Japanese Soto Zen branch of Buddhism, welcoming both experienced meditators and beginners alike with a very simple mission: “to foster the integration of formal Zen practice and everyday life for personal and social transformation.”

The small Alaskan sangha has been very malleable over the decades, beginning its formal path with the help of a Soto priest from the Minnesota Zen Center. Over the years it has had many teachers and at some points, occasionally for years at a time, no teacher at all. Yet the congregation held strong, continuing meetings and practices, public works and devotion, throughout the entirety of AZC’s existence. Membership fluctuated and meeting places shifted frequently from converted garages to living rooms to family basements and even at one point to a psychiatrist’s waiting room. Despite the hardships and frequent need for both flexibility and portability, the sangha grew and persevered. Today it is stably housed in its own meditation and activity center and averages about 15-30 members. Thanks to the support and teachings of other centers and teachers from them, the Anchorage Zen Community has developed into a warm and diverse organization with the current priest  Genmyo Zeedyk   (left) continuing the traditional welcoming atmosphere.

About Her: Years after obtaining her PhD in clinical psychology and working in the States, Zeedyk accepted a psychologist position in Japan where she was ordained in 2009 and later received Dharma transmission in 2013 from Niyama Roshi. Just last year she took part in the interfaith Earth Care Jamboree in Anchorage, speaking on climate change and how it is our responsibility to care- especially those of faith, ANY faith. To tally it all up- environmental activist, clinical psychologist and Soto Buddhist priest. Impressive!

Anchorage holds almost 40% of the entire state’s population and is home to many branches of Buddhism such as Tibetan, Japanese Pure Land and Thai. The AZC however is the only one to focus intensely on the practice of seated meditation. Originating in Japan in the 13th century, Soto Zen was founded from the Chinese Caodong school by Dogen Zenji. He emphasized the dropping away of body and mind and just sitting, letting thoughts and feelings come and go without interacting or engaging with them. AZC embodies this practice of zazen several times a week, sitting facing the walls in their meditation, occasionally accompanied by candles and incense. While the walls may seem unusually bare and undecorative for a Buddhist center, this is necessary for the meditation room. Notice the prevalence and position of zafus (sitting mats) around the room. Because zazen requires long periods of sitting, mats are almost a necessity as well as tradition. The positioning around the perimeter of the room reinforces the practices’ prominent feature of facing the wall and literally just sitting. Zafus appear again below in the children’s activities but in a more communal positioning (the children aren’t made to practice intense zazen).

The community upholds a rigorous weekly schedule, operating 5 days a week. The staple practice is meditation.  Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are occupied by an early morning session of zazen followed by a brief service of readings or discussion. For those who aren’t such early birds, there is an evening session offered once a week on Thursdays. The most important day of practice is Sunday where Kinhin, the practice of walking meditation, is introduced between two longer blocks of zazen. Later comes service and Dharma talk. Furthermore, for all of Alaska’s aspiring Zen masters, the center holds a single day retreat once a month. There are 2 three hour sessions (you can participate in one or both) with a lunch break in between.

In case this all sounds a bit overwhelming, AZC also offers a beginners instruction for newcomers every Sunday morning which is conveniently followed by the more serious 9 am session. Here, instructors work with those interested in the activity by walking (more like sitting) them through the concept and actions of zazen, while also allowing questions. Naturally this is open to all who wish to attend. Keep in mind, however, the AZC has no external source of income and instead relies on the generosity of the community and members to support their in-residence priest and keep the organization running and available to those seeking guidance in the Buddhist faith. Although participation in activities is technically free of charge, there are recommended donations for many of them. It is important that financial ability does not get in the way of participation and so members can contribute in other ways if they desire; volunteering, for example.

The Anchorage Zen Community is not just for adults. Just as Buddhists in the east are introduced to the faith at a young age, AZC expects nothing less of the little ones here. For the elementary aged kiddies of Anchorage, no opportunity beats Dharma Sunday School, held once a month.

“Cultivating compassion, awareness, and wisdom in children and families”

From a young age children are allowed to engage in and explore activities of kindness and care. Teachings include bowing, offerings, yoga, meditation, songs, crafts and age appropriate rituals/ceremonies. For example, in the bathing the Buddha ceremony pictured below, the children decorated an alter for a small Buddha statue and took turns bathing him in tea. Later they talked about the importance and distinctiveness of being born human in this life with the ability to do good works.

Bathing the Buddha Ceremony

Through these interactions the children build bonds, respect, and compassion for not only their peers at the Zen center but all sentient beings around them.

Throughout its humble beginnings and into the present day, the Anchorage sangha strives to extend its teachings into common life and the world around us. From environmental works to visiting those in need such as the dying or incarcerated, AZC extends it’s reach to more than just those in the order. This community serves to show no matter where you are, even at the brink of the Arctic, there’s always room for compassion and comradery.

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Bibliography

• Anchorage Zen Community Homepage: http://www.alaska-zen.org/

• Team, M. D. (n.d.). Dharma Centers and Organizations in Alaska. Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://www.manjushri.com/Centers/alaska.htm

• Media, A. H. (2015, September 12). Religion and climate change – can you talk about both? Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/09/12/religion-and-climate-change-can-you-talk-about-both/