Welcome to the Austin Zen Center
Austin Zen Center is a Soto Zen Buddhist temple that offers meditation, dharma talks, ceremonies, classes, workshops, and more. All are warmly invited to participate in person at our north-central Austin location.
Online participation is also offered for many of our programs. [ 👩🏽💻 Join Live Practice ]
At AZC, all people of every race, religion, nationality, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability are welcome to practice with the community. May all beings realize their true nature.
Zenkei-ji: a 25 year journey
Nourishment
practiceharmony
My favorite is the full moon ceremony. I appreciate the opportunity to revisit the precepts, and take “repentance” with and among the sangha. I also appreciate the aesthetic and embodied qualities of the bells and bowing.
Morning zazen. The best to greet the day is by simply being, bowing, and remembering the words of the ancestors.
During a Dharma Q & A session, someone noted that "bowing is like pouring one's self out, letting go of the self." This perspective has resonated with me deeply; I now visualize the act of bowing as a teapot pouring out the self. Given how frequently we bow at AZC, I appreciate the many opportunities this practice provides to practice letting go.
It’s a small thing, but I love it when the names of women ancestors are chanted in the morning during soji. I came from a religion where women aren’t allowed to be teachers or leaders. To see not just women leaders, but also an establishment of a women’s ancestor lineage which we honor, makes me glad to be a part of the sangha.
My favorite is the Full Moon Ceremony. The combination of formalized ritual, embodied movement, and spirit of surrender and refuge feels powerful and restorative every time. The first time I heard the kokyo chant the refuges, it took my breath away.
