Mission

Houston Zen CommunityStatement of FaithHouston Zen Community (HZC) exists to support and enhance the teachings of compassion and wisdom that were articulated by the Buddha 2,500 years ago. Buddha awoke to the true nature of life and to the true nature of interconnectedness. For Buddhists, no individual can achieve separate freedom from delusion, or salvation, unless everyone achieves freedom, or salvation. Therefore, Buddhists understand that our efforts must be aimed toward freeing all beings from suffering. There can be no separate, isolated, freedom, because we are connected; we are all blessed with Buddha Nature.The primary hindrance to compassion is delusion, that is, the inability to see or understand our total interconnectedness. Therefore, meditation and compassionate action aim to relieve beings from fear and delusion, allowing them to experience the sacredness of their own lives. On this basis, Buddhists become more skillful at seeing the sacredness of everyone's life; we bec