Search Results

MEMBERS All are welcome to practice here, but membership in the Chicago Zen Center opens up opportunities for practice that go beyond mere attendance that help to sustain the CZC as a thriving, dynamic center. While the ordained of the Center make a particular commitment to the Dharma and those who practice here, it can truly be said that the life of the Center rests on the eager dedication, service, and support of its everyday members. The subheadings contain information on extra offerings available to those who have become pledging members of the Center. To become a member, refer to the "Support & Membership" page .

ZENDO JOBS Drum Play the taiko drum at the start of sesshin and before teisho. Han Strike the han that signals the beginning of the rounds of zazen and announces teisho or chanting. Greeter Welcome new visitors and give them a brief orientation to practice, if needed. Lead Chanter Conduct the chanting services and assist at other ceremonies such as Jukai. Mokugyo Keep time during chanting on the mokugyo. Offices Offer incense at the Center's altars, chanting and ringing a small handbell between them, before morning sittings. Timer Ring the big bell, strike the clappers, and keep time with the inkin bell during formal rounds. When there is no monitor, the timer also announces and starts off dokusan. As an essentially lay, non-residential sangha, we have to rely on each other's readiness to step up and commit to the work of making formal practice a reality. Not only is this a way to keep the temple functioning, it also provides yet another occasion for one to learn to step out of the way and let things just as they are unfold. One place to begin is demonstrating a willingness to train at the various instruments and jobs that sustain our common practice. Some of the instruments and jobs almost anyone can be trained to play or do. Others require particular skill sets. Talk with the Abbot or the Head of Zendo if you'd like to take a stab at training up at any of these:

SESSHIN We are fortunate to have an ample building that makes it possible to accommodate up to 24 people for frequent live-in, multi-day retreats known as sesshin. There is no question but that sesshin is the highest expression of Zen training and a vehicle second to none for developing a focused, concentrated practice and honing the mind of awakening. Most anyone who has established their practice at the Center may take part in sesshin, and we warmly welcome practitioners from other Dharma centers, regardless of practice tradition. We offer sesshin five times a year, ranging in length from four to six days. The next scheduled sesshins are Oct 14, 7:30pm–Oct 18, 2026, noonish Dec 9, 7:30pm–Dec 13, 2026, noonish (Rohatsu) Feb 24, 7:30pm–Feb 28, 2027, noonish May 26, 7:30pm–May 30, 2027, noonish July 19, 7:30pm–July 25, 2027, noonish All participants live at the center, take part in daily cleaning and cooking activities, and spend upwards of ten hours a day in formal zazen (there is no Zoom option). The day is broken up by meals, a work period, a calisthenics period, and three rest periods. Two chanting services are held, and teisho is offered daily. Dokusan is offered three times in the course of a normal sesshin day. While full-time attendance is optimal, work and family commitments may make such attendance difficult, so it is possible to attend sesshin part- or short-time. Part-time attendance means that one will need to excuse oneself from some part of the sesshin day. Short-time attendance means that one will attend complete sesshin days, but not all of the days of sesshin, e.g. Friday-Sunday rather than a full Wednesday-Sunday. If one is coming part- or short-time, please make every effort to plan your arrivals/departures so they fall between two blocks in the sesshin schedule. But because sesshin is not just a bunch of rounds of zazen but is instead a full practice involving all the components of the sesshin day, no one will be accepted for sesshin if they only wish to attend isolated blocks. Simply put, if your intentions for sesshin attendance do not involve being on hand for any meals, work periods, or chanting services, then it is not sesshin that you are looking for. Consult with or email t h e Head of Zendo (nathanielnamowicz@gmail.com ) if you have any questions. For more specific details about sesshin proper, consult our Sesshin Guidelines . For the run of the sesshin day, consult the Sesshin Schedule . To register for sesshin: REGISTRATION

OUR PRACTICE OUR PRACTICE The key elements of practice at the Chicago Zen Center are that stock of training tools come down from the time of the Buddha and refined over centuries. Philip Kapleau called them the "three pillars" of Zen: zazen, dokusan, and teisho. All are important, for each strengthens the others. Taken together they prove themselves effective in uprooting the cause of our sorrow: the pervasive and relentless attachment to self. Through them, our spirit of aspiration is guided skillfully to the realization of the liberating promise of the Dharma. The practice life of the Center is therefore rather straightforward. We do not offer classes, host guest speakers, arrange excursions, engage in activism, or otherwise embellish the core practice. What we do offer is a unique setting to get down to the business of dedicated spiritual work for those who are eager to do it, along with appropriate support and guidance along the way. Here, we roll up our sleeves and squarely face the matter at hand, though always with a warm smile and an easy laugh—a kind of straight-up, Midwestern Zen, if you will. ZAZEN Zen gets its name as the "meditation only" school of Buddhism, and zazen, or seated meditation, is our primary—though by no means our only—practice. Zazen differs from other forms of meditation in that it calls for energy, determination, and courage as it opens us up both to the depth of our delusions and to the prospect of genuine insight. As Philip Kapleau put it, "The uniqueness of zazen lies in this: that the mind is freed from bondage to all thought-forms, visions, objects, and imaginings, however sacred or elevating, and brought to a state of absolute emptiness, from which it alone may one day perceive its own true nature." In this, all of the other components of the Eightfold Path—particularly moral uprightness and an aspiration to insight—come squarely to bear on the quality of one's zazen. While practicing zazen we maintain stillness through all the aches and pains, the emotional ups and downs, and the oscillations between enthusiasm and boredom that arise along the way. Only by so doing can we begin to see that we are not defined by what we experience or how we happen to feel. While one can certainly practice zazen at home, doing zazen with others in the zendo helps keep us on task without the usual distractions of everyday life and offers us an opportunity to bolster one another though the highs and lows of practice. DOKUSAN Because Zen practice is so much more than just "meditation" (as it is generally understood in the spiritual marketplace), dokusan is offered at every scheduled sitting. Dokusan is a private, one-on-one meeting with a teacher to take up matters related to practice, and everyone—new or established, member or not—may make use of these opportunities. For the beginner, dokusan helps one establish practice by receiving pointers on one's zazen and addressing any issues, concerns, or mind states that arise in conjunction with it. Through this open back-and-forth between teacher and student one might begin to glimpse the mind of awakening arising in oneself and orient one's zazen accordingly. Koan work might then be taken up as a way to hone and deepen insight by cutting through the lingering bonds of attachment, aversion, and ignorance. Daisan is similar to dokusan. Offered by a senior student, it takes up all matters of practice except koan work and the confirmation of insight. TEISHO Teisho is a living presentation of the Buddhadharma delivered by a teacher. Its primary purpose is not to impart information, provide instruction, or even edify, but simply to give voice to the Dharma today. Through the words of teisho, we find broad orientations for our practice and get a hint of where that practice can lead. While material may be drawn from recent articles or scholarship, the koan collections, the sutras, or everyday life, in the end, what is offered is the teacher's grasp of the truth for the possible benefit of those hearing it. Teisho is offered most every Sunday and every day during sesshin. Occasionally, a Dharma Talk, generally given by a senior student of the Center, is offered instead . KOAN WORK Zen doesn’t purport to dispense the truth; the truth is the birthright of each of us, embodied in our living experience. The teacher can do little more than use whatever means are at hand to direct the student’s attention to this self-revealing reality. As generation after generation of teachers found creative ways to nudge students toward a realization of the inner truth, records of these improvised teachings were passed forward in the form of “koans." These brief texts are widely used in Zen training as a prod to move the student beyond conceptualization, beyond the confines of ego-attachment, and toward a direct experience of the same living truth that those ancient masters were thrusting before their students. For those who are ready and willing to undertake an uncompromising inquiry into our true nature, koan work is an unparalleled vehicle. Our temple is heir to a long tradition of rigorous koan training, carefully preserved in all of its vitality. Once a student has developed a degree of stable, focused attention, koan work may be taken up as a way to harness that attention in a dynamic way.

CHANTING While the bulk of our common practice is carried out in silence, chanting is an integral part of the total practice package. Far from a departure from the stillness of the zendo, it is that stillness now maintained with the use of the voice. In this respect, it is simply another form of zazen. The words are not as important as our ability to throw ourselves completely into the chant, surrendering to the rhythm of the instruments and the blend of our voices. We are helped in this regard by the fact that there are only a few chants that we do, and the chant lineup remains rather invariant week to week, year in and year out: Sunday Chanting Service The Three Treasures Prajna Paramita Hridaya (Heart of Perfect Wisdom) Kannon Sutra Shosai Myokichijo Dharani Return of Merit Sesshin Morning Chanting Service The Three Treasures Affirming Faith in Mind (Xin Xin Ming) Shosai Myokichijo Dharani Homage to Dharma Ancestors Sesshin Afternoon Chanting Service The Three Treasures Prajna Paramita Hridaya (Heart of Perfect Wisdom) Kannon Sutra Daihishin Dharani Return of Merit The Four Vows There are chant books available in the Buddha Hall, so there is no need to memorize the chants ahead of time. If you'd like to look at them on your own, download this pdf of the chant book.

SENSEI & ABBOT Shodhin started practicing at the Center in 1996 while he was still living in Valparaiso, IN. A series of events meant moving closer and closer to the Center until, upon ordaining in 2010, he took up residence at the Center, where he now lives with his partner, Michael. He was sanctioned as a teacher of the Dharma by Yusan Graham in 2021 and became abbot of the CZC in 2023. Shodhin has written on aspects of the Dharma and on points of interface between Buddhist and Christian contemplative practice. His book, Alone in a World of Wounds: A Dharmic Response to the Ills of Sentient Beings , was published in 2022. Another, Obstacles to Stillness: Thoughts, Hindrances, and Self-Surrender in Evagrius and the Buddha , came out in 2023. He is currently working on a third book, Midwifing the Deathless, exploring the peculiar role of the teacher in the process of one's coming to awakening. SHODHIN GEIMAN

ANGO From the earliest days of the Dharma, periods of intensified practice were built into the annual schedule. In ancient times, these coincided with the rainy season, when roads were impassible and the monastics were stuck together for several months anyway. Later, in Zen circles, these were reformatted as two 90-day periods a year known as ango , or peaceful abiding, when time on the mat was increased and other practices that helped cultivate and hone insight were taken on. No one can deny that there is a connection between the time and effort we put into our practice and the depth and extent of our insight. Of course, there is a danger in treating that connection as it it were equivalent to adding more quarters to the gum ball machine and expecting to get more gum balls as a result. (It just doesn't work like that , as anyone who has practiced for any length of time will tell you.) Still, undertaken with right understanding and right aspiration there is value in upping our game from time to time in order to fuel our effort, expose our egos to some much needed further abrasion, and bolster our determination going forward. And while we certainly are able to deepen our practice on our own, undertaking such intensification knowing there are others doing the same can only help fortify that bond we share as plain practitioners of the path set forth by the Buddha. Here at the CZC we schedule one six-week ango period a year in late winter/early spring. It is intended as an opportunity to take dead aim at the grounds of ego-delusion by engaging more concertedly in the Center's practice offerings. What might one undertake during this time? Here are some suggestions: • If you are in town and never (or rarely) come on a Sunday (missing out on chanting and teisho), you might commit to some particular number of Sundays to take part in the full range of practice. • If you are in town and do not come during the week (when there is just some solid sitting, especially on Thursdays when the practice block is longer), you might consider committing to some particular number of weeknights or mornings. • If you have been attending sittings with any frequency but have not availed yourself of dokusan much (or at all), you could commit to making dokusan a more integral part of your practice. • If you live out of town and are not in the koan collections, you might commit to some particular number of zoom dokusans. • If you live out of town and are in the koan collections, you might consider committing to one or two zoom dokusans a week. • If you feel that tending to the temple might strengthen your dedication to your personal and our collective practice, you could commit to some hours of volunteer work around the place. • If you'd like to hone your understanding of the Dharma you could commit to reading a key text from the tradition and arranging to discuss it with the teacher at times scheduled outside of dokusan. (This option is limited to those who have an established—i.e., more than a year or two—practice already; reading and discussion are not substitutes for, but rather a means for deepening and honing, what one has come to know for oneself.) • Finally, if you have never attended sesshin (or haven't attended in quite a while, or have not yet attended a sesshin from start to finish) you could sign on for the sesshin that falls during the ango period. Whatever your commitment, make it known to the teacher before ango begins using this form . No one but you and the teacher will know what you are up to (thereby guarding against the temptation, however subtle, for comparing your practice with others). Don't bite off more than you can reasonably chew, but don't be shy about gently pushing some limits, either. Above all, be unflinchingly h onest about both your intentions and your practice. If you find your commitment flagging, get yourself back on track or else inform the teacher that you are tapping out. Ango periods will be announced with an email and indicated on the home page and the CZC calendar as they approach. TEMPLE NIGHT & JUKAI

WORK While the residents are charged with general upkeep, larger projects that require many hands at once do crop up from time to time. On such occasions, members are encouraged to give of their time and energy to the extent to which they are able. SANGHA WORK DAYS Projects that require many hands and some hours of dedicated effort may be scheduled periodically on a weekend day or two. Check the calendar for any upcoming work days. VOLUNTEERING There are always more jobs to do than there is time to do them. If you have a couple of hours of your time you'd like to spend on upkeep, maintenance, or gardening, contact the Abbot or Head of Zendo to see what needs doing.

ORDAINING As one's practice deepens, one may come to be grateful for those who have carried it to this moment, and one might begin to sense an urgency to pay it forward by living as a vessel of the Dharma for those who will follow. In such a case, one might consider ordaining as a priest. In our lineage priesthood ordination is relatively rare, for it is relatively rare to find a person with the depth of practice and insight, the soundness of character, and the strength of commitment to undertake it. Still, they are to be found, and our tradition has continued because we have been fortunate to have men and women who have stepped up to do what they can to pass it on. Ordination in our lineage is entirely distinct from sanctioning as a teacher. It is an entry into a life of selfless service to the Three Treasures out of a wellspring of compassion for all still subject to dukkha. If you begin to feel a tug in the direction of ordaining, consult the description of the ordination process outlined here .

SUGGESTED READING The Dharma taught by the Buddha and carried across generations to our day is not something to read about but something to experience and know directly for oneself. That said, there are times when a word or phrase might just prompt one to explore more deeply or help to clarify a point of confusion. While there are any number of "Buddhist" or "Zen" books available, one can do no better than to read the sources themselves. One should always remember, however, that until one has come to some measure of insight (and even after, to be honest), they should be read with humility and caution; their meaning is bound to be obscured by the everyday, ego-driven mind, and one can end up thinking things about the Dharma that are quite wide of the mark. Still, the titles below are offered so that one might get a sense of the breadth and depth of what practice entails and that toward which it leads. Buddhist Basics Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press The Words of the Buddha Ñanamoli and Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Bodhi, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Walshe, The Long Discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Bodhi, The Suttanipata. Wisdom Fronsdal, The Dhammapada. Shambhala Mahayana Texts Pine, Three Zen Sutras: Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Platform Sutra . Counterpoint Pine, The Lankavatara Sutra, Counterpoint Watson, The Lotus Sutra. Columbia University Press Thurman, The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti. Penn State University Press Santideva, The Bodhicaryavatara . Oxford University Press Lamotte, Suramgamasamadhisutra. University of Hawai'i Press Nagarjuna, On Generating the Resolve to Become a Buddha. Kalavinka Zen Guides Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen. Vintage Aitken, Taking the Path of Zen. North Point

POLICIES & BYLAWS Dedicated spiritual practice can only occur in an environment of confidence and trust. As members of a Buddhist community, the administrators and staff of the Chicago Zen Center strive daily to live in accordance with the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts. We are aided in that effort by the Bylaws and Guidelines we have established as a sangha. These mark a clear line of ethical behavior, and they lay out procedures by which lapses in that behavior can be addressed and remedied. The Chicago Zen Center is proud to make its Bylaws and Ethical Guidelines known to any who care to review them.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Board of Trustees of the Chicago Zen Center is tasked with setting administrative policy and overseeing the financial and legal affairs of the Center. The Board is composed of five members, four elected by the sangha and one appointed by the Board. A member of the Board, whether elected or appointed, may serve no more than two consecutive two-year terms before being required to sit out a year before possibly being reelected or reappointed. To serve on the Board, one must be a non-ordained member of the Center in good standing. The members of the Board of Trustees and the dates their terms expire are: Tuck Decker (4/2028-1) Ellen McClure, Chair (04/2027-1) Brian Mazzaferri (04/2028-1) Hugh Thomas (04/2027-2) Travis White-Schwoch (10/2027–1) Pictured left to right: Brian Mazzaferri, Tuck Decker, Ellen McClure, Travis White-Schwoch. Not pictured: Hugh Thomas CORPORATE OFFICERS The Center has four corporate officers as stipulated by the Bylaws. Officers are elected by the Board of Trustees annually, and their duties are outlined in the Bylaws and relevant parts of Illinois law. The Center's current officers are: President: Ven. Shodhin Geiman Vice-President: Hugh Thomas Secretary: Alex Shelley Treasurer: Nat Krause GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE The Center's Bylaws and Ethical Guidelines call for the establishment of a Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee is tasked with fielding ethical complaints that may arise against any of the Center's administrators, officers or other leaders. A Center member may approach any of the Grievance Committee members to initiate the inquiry process. The current Grievance Committee members are: Wayne Guzy Mary Jeanne Larrabee Mary Reynolds In case one of the members is unable to serve or is the subject of the complaint, the Board will designate an alternate.