Contemporary Zen center.
We are a Zen center in Austin, Texas, offering daily meditation, weekly talks, and classes on Buddhist teachings. Our practice is for ordinary people with jobs, families and full lives. We see practice as something we do together, not alone. At its heart is inquiry: sitting with the real questions of our lives, meeting them honestly, and exploring them together.
Our doors are open to everyone. No experience necessary.
Our name comes from a Pali word, "appamada," which means ”mindful active care.” According to the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha, it was a common theme in his teaching and his last word, encouraging his followers to fare forward with appamada—with energetic care. He often compared appamada to an elephant's footprint, which is so large that it can contain the footprint of all the other animals. In the same way, the Buddha said, appamada contains all of his other teachings.
You are welcome here.
You don't need any experience with meditation or Buddhism to come to join us. People find their way to Appamada for all kinds of reasons. Some are looking for stillness . Some are looking for meaning. You don't need to know to your reason. You just need to show up
Weekly Meditation & Talks
Service 7:30–7:50 AM
Getting Started
Come to orientation
8:00 AM, every Sunday at the zendo. A brief, friendly introduction to how practice unfolds here. Practicing at a distance? Request a Zoom link for an online orientation.
Stay for zazen and dharma talk
Zazen at 9:00 AM, followed by a dharma talk at 10:20. Sit with us and see what arrives.
Find your place
Morning sits, evening offerings, classes, intensives: there are many ways to practice. Have a question first? Send us a message.
Our story
Not Two: The Appamada Story
Not Two is the autobiography of a Zen sangha and its teachers. Many Zen books tell the story of a teacher’s awakening or a student’s journey. This one tells the colorful story of one contemporary sangha in Austin, Texas: how it came into being, found its form, weathered difficulties, and learned Zen practice together over thirty years.
It traces the formation and Zen training of founding teachers Peg Syverson and Flint Sparks, and how, through their shared vision and creative energy, Appamada took shape as a distinctive model of relational Zen: the conviction that we wake up and grow up together.
Learn More About Not Two