Descriptive Essay: The Atlanta Soto Zen Center

“Places teach us about how the world works and how our lives fit into the spaces we occupy.” Amidst towering red northern oaks, Georgia maples, and the Sage Hill Kroger, a tiny home sets itself apart from all the other American cottages with a big sign: “Atlanta Soto Zen Center.” What an ancient eastern tradition is doing in the sleepy town of Druid Hills is beyond me—but once I stepped inside, location seemed remarkably insignificant. The Atlanta Soto Zen Center prides itself on its tiny temple that offers Zen Buddhism instruction to all residents of the metro-Atlanta area, and seizes the opportunity of the vast wilderness that is available to them to expand upon their rich traidtion.
Entering into the small space, a sign asks visitors to