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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- For more than three decades, members of the Anchorage Zen Community have gathered in unusual venues — from a busy strip mall to a converted garage — with the same intention: simply to sit and meditate in silence.
Nomadic no more, they have found stillness and stability in a small zendo, or meditation hall, tucked on the edge of two neighborhoods in Alaska's most populous city and epicenter of urban culture.
Being Buddhist in Anchorage is both universal in practice and unique to life in Alaska. The Anchorage Zen Community is influenced by the northernmost state's seasonal rhythms that include long, dark winters as well as short summers when the sun only dips below the horizon for brief stretches, said Genmyo Jana Zeedyk, who has been the resident priest for more than a decade.
Alaska winters, she said, are actually conducive to Zen Buddhism's sitting meditation, or zazen, a practice they believe can help them attain a greater sense of self.
"People have very active, sports lives in the snow, but when activities slow down, it gives more opportunity for zazen," she said. "There's the quiet that comes with the snow — the conditions make it easier to be inside and sit."
Noise, family, responsibilities, nothing has come in the way of their zazen, which began when the community was founded in 1986 after meeting for years informally with followers of other branches of Buddhism.
On a recent day, Zeedyk walked into the zendo, bowed to a wooden statue of the Buddha, then to members of the community, before she took a seat on a round pillow. Wearing long black and brown robes, she shut her eyes when a member of the group tolled a bell marking the start of the meditation.
Inside, only the inhale and exhale of breaths in unity and the occasional cough could be heard as silence enveloped the room. Outside, an airplane roared over the sprawling metropolis. Anchorage is home to about 300,000 people and the starting point for waves of tourists and outdoor enthusiasts seeking far-flung experiences in a state romanticized for its winters and adventures in the nearby mountains.
The long, sunlit days of summer also afford the Anchorage Zen Community a chance to practice walking meditation in nearby parks, Zeedyk said.
"Zazen works best when done on a regular basis, day in and day out," said Judith Haggar, the center's treasurer.