The Austin Zen Center (AZC) was officially named and founded in 2000 when its community first appointed a board of members and formed itself as a nonprofit religious organization. Founded by Flint Sparks and his friend Bill Magness in 1995, the AZC was hardly a community when it first started. At first, the AZC held weekly practices of zazen meditation in the psychotherapy office of one of its founders, psychologist Flint Sparks. However, over time more and more people began to join their weekly meditations and this newly formed community began looking for new places to establish their growing practice. Over time, as their community grew larger, they moved twice into places that were formally dedicated as a zendo (a place for Zen practice) for their practice by a Zen Buddhist Abbess from the San Francisco Zen Center. Finally, in 2001, they settled into their current Zen temple. Located in Washington Square, Austin, TX, this home was formally dedicated as a Zen temple when the first Head Teacher, Serin Barbara Kohn received a Dharma Transmission (made successor of a lineage) from Zenkei Blanche Hartman, the Abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center. The temple was officially named “Zenkei-ji”, after Blanch Hartman’s Dharma name.
Austin Zen Center and its Lineage
The Austin Zen Center was founded for the purposes of continuing the beneficial teachings of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Suzuki Roshi was the founder of America’s first Soto Zen Temple, the San Francisco Zen Center and his teachings can be found in his book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. His teachings follow the Soto Zen tradition which, according to the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, “have evolved from the Buddha who lived 2500 years ago in India”. This school of Buddhism was founded in China during the 9th century by the two monks Tozan and Sozan. Four centuries later, the practice was brought to Japan by the Zen master Eihei Dogen where it was passed down for 39 generations before the practice was established in the United States and passed to American students by Suzuki Roshi.
The Austin Zen Center is also part of the “Branching Streams” network. This network is meant to create supportive connections between Dharma centers and Sanghas that are affiliated with the San Francisco Zen Center and the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. The AZC is part of a larger community of Soto Zen Centers that are part of Shunryu Roshi’s lineage.
Austin Zen Center and its Practices
According to the AZC website, “Suzuki Roshi’s teachings are characterized by its patient and compassionate approach to practice”. These characteristics of Soto Zen are what most distinguishes this Zen school from other Zen practices and lie at the heart of all of their practices.
The most fundamental practice to Soto Zen is Shikantaza (just sitting). This form of meditation is meant to help people realize that the fundamental nature of a human is inherently enlightened. Being said, the AZC mentions that this practice should be done without a goal in mind because it would create mental rigidity and be counterintuitive for achieving enlightenment. This Soto Zen practice ultimately encourages the development of one’s own mind and body to achieve full harmony with every aspect of their life.
Because of Soto Zen’s belief in everyone being inherently enlightened and their vow to help awaken all beings, AZC makes a strong effort to be inclusive to all kinds of people. In their home page they have an inclusion statement that says, “The practice of zazen is available to people of every race, religion, nationality, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability. At AZC we seek to embody inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility… as a manifestation of our vow to awaken together with all beings”. AZC also makes it clear that they do not attach any significance to converting into Buddhism. They want everyone to know their teachings are not ideological but instead practice oriented. In their view, a person can choose to identify themselves as a Buddhist or not. Their only duty is to help humanity achieve awakening.
Suzuki Roshi’s teachings also value the “beginner’s mind” and emphasize its importance. In the AZC webpage there is a quote from Roshi that highlights the importance of this value, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, few.” “Beginner’s mind is everything”. Suzuki Roshi is known very well for his appreciation of the “beginner’s mind” and his teachings argue the importance of nurturing it. Because of its importance in Soto Zen, AZC highlights how the cultivation of the “beginner’s mind” (a mind of openness and inquiry) is essential to their practice and they mention ways of helping its community achieve it. Some of the ways they help their students achieve a beginner’s mind is by creating a compassionate environment where any person can easily find and ask for assistance, and by offering beginner instruction courses.
Programs and Events
Programs for Beginners
As mentioned previously, the beginner’s instruction is a weekly event that is held on Saturdays, from 8:00 – 9:00am, that can be attended by any guest of any experience level. This class is meant to help new guests familiarize themselves with the AZC and their practice. This class also helps guide beginners in the core practice of Zen Buddhism (zazen) and give them an orientation to the Austin Zen Center and what it has to offer to its students. This meditation instruction is not required for new participants; however, it is highly recommended for those that are new to Zen or who have little experience in the practice. After the beginner instruction class is over, participants are invited to stay for the Saturday morning program where they can continue their Zen practice. Lastly, AZC offers a Next Step class for anyone who has attended the beginner’s instruction and would like to learn more.
The Next Step Meditation instruction is a class specifically for people that have participated in a beginner’s instruction class. It is meant for participants that are interested in taking the next step in their Zen practice.
Programs for all levels
On the AZC calendar that is posted on their website anyone can look through their planned programs and see that they offer programs and events nearly every day. Not all programs are scheduled every day, however, some, like zazen, are offered on a regular basis. For example, AZC offers periods of zazen from Tuesday to Saturday. Specifically, on Saturday mornings programs are held from 9:15 to 11:45am and consist of zazen, service, and a Dharma talk on Zen Buddhism. Participants are also welcome to join all or any part of the Saturday morning program. Lastly, some other programs that AZC holds are held monthly. For example, AZC offers monthly Sangha Workdays for their community to spend time with one another and to participate in their work-practice. Workdays may include caring for the temple, garden, or main building. AZC holds many events throughout the weeks and months that are meant to further people’s Zen practice and bring their community closer together. These events, and more, can be found on their calendar that is posted in their website.
Membership
According to the AZC website, membership is not required to participate in any of their public programs. However, if one wishes to support AZC and enjoy being part of their community, they may want to become a member. To become a member anyone can simply make a monthly membership pledge of 25 to 1000 dollars. Members get to benefit from being able to participate in their annual vote, having reduced membership rates on their programs and retreats, gaining access to books/videos from their library, and having regular practice discussions with a teacher. These membership pledges help fund the AZC and allow it to be of service to its community.
Austin Zen Center and its Community
It is not specifically stated in their website, however, I was able to look at the AZC community’s Facebook and it looks like they are a medium sized Buddhist community with at least a few hundred followers who actively look at the AZC postings and tens of members who are routinely and seriously involved in their Soto Zen programs. Lastly, after learning about this community, I do not think anybody would have any trouble integrating themselves into this welcoming community and I would recommend that anyone who is interested in practicing meditation, who lives near this temple, go and visit the Austin Zen Center.
Sources
The Soto Zen Buddhist Association
Branching Streams; San Francisco Zen Center
Author
James Swanson