Anzan
Choppy waters and the steadfast ferryman
Anzan
Anzan means ‘peaceful mountain’.
The mountains overwhelm us with their enormous size. It is their greatness that touches us, allowing us to rest in trust for a moment. This allows us to briefly feel the peace that is present deep within all of us.
Let's keep the mountains in our sights as we make the crossing.
Anzan is also the name I received from Roshi Joan Halifax upon initiation as a Bodhisattva in the Prajna Mountain Buddhist Order.
Background and education
Perhaps the most difficult task in life is to stay with uncertainty during intense events, to allow the not-knowing to simply exist. To leave the question a question. Though it is natural to reach for answers so that we know what to do and how to proceed.
It is comforting if you have a steadfast ferryman with you. One who will keep the boat still for you in choppy waters. This way, in the midst of uncertain times, you still have something to hold on to. Someone willing to stay with you while you make the crossing yourself. Where to? I can't tell you that; that is the mystery of life–and also of death.
I completed my training as a (Buddhist) chaplain at Upaya Zen Center. Roshi Joan Halifax ordained me as a chaplain - lay priest in the Prajna Mountain Buddhist order in 2024. I am a recognized spiritual caregiver in the Netherlands, certified by RING-GV, specialised in palliative care through the Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative care. Furthermore, I obtained the postgraduate degree in grief and bereavement counseling from Artevelde Hogeschool, and graduated as an ethical referent from the Postgraduate Centre Leuven.
Over the past twenty years I have supervised countless ceremonial activities for individuals and groups at home and abroad. My work is supported by trajectories in various traditions, such as Buddhism and shamanism.
I also have years of experience as a volunteer spiritual caregiver in Belgium and the US, in prisons, residential care centers, hospitals, hospices and homeless centers. I work as a celebrant/pastor, in grief and deceased care, in dying care, and in all kinds of (pediatric) palliative settings.
®2023
