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Chicago Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist temple in the Rochester (Kapleau) lineage offering the full range of Zen training and practice. Chicago Zen Center The doors of the Chicago Zen Center are open to all who wish to know and live the Dharma of the Buddha in an atmosphere of sincerity and trust. We welcome all who wish to join us in this great undertaking. COMING UP Summer Closure Mon, June 22 – Mon, July 6 Sangha Workdays Sat, Jun 27, 9:00am–4:00pm Sun, Jun 28, 9:00am–4:00pm Intro to Practice Tues, July 7, 7:00pm 6-Day Sesshin Mon, July 20, 7:30pm–Sun, July 26, noonish Registrations due Weds, July 15 Center Closed Sun, July 19 Center Closed Mon, July 27 Intro to Practice Tues, Aug 4, 7:00pm Intro to Practice Tues, Sept 1, 7:00pm Nathaniel N. Namowicz Priest Ordination Sun, Sept 27, 10:00am Center Closed Mon, Sept 28 Intro to Practice Tues, Oct 6, 7:00pm 4-Day Sesshin Weds, Oct 14, 7:30pm–Sun, Oct 18, noonish Registrations due Fri, Oct 9 Center Closed Tues, Oct 13 for set-up Center Closed Mon, Oct 19 STARTING PRACTICE SESSHIN SUPPORT & MEMBERSHIP Receive CZC Email Notifications First name Last name Email I want to subscribe to your mailing list. Submit Thanks for submitting! Chicago Zen Center 2029 Ridge Ave Evanston, IL 60201 contact@chicagozen.org

A TYPICAL WEEK SUNDAY 8:00 am - 10:00 am One 50 minute* round of zazen (with dokusan), followed by chanting and teisho. Bagels, tea, coffee, etc. (optional) afterwards MONDAY 5:45 am - 6:35 am One 50 minute* round of zazen (with dokusan) TUESDAY 7:30 pm - 8:55 pm Three 25 minute rounds of zazen (with dokusan) with 5 minutes kinhin in between WEDNESDAY 5:45 am - 6:35 am One 50 minute* round of zazen (with dokusan) THURSDAY 7:30 pm - 9:20 pm Two 50 minute* rounds of zazen (with dokusan) with 10 minutes kinhin in between FRIDAY 5:45 am - 6:35 am One 50 minute* round of zazen (with dokusan) * There is a posture change at the halfway mark (25 mins)

ABBOT EMERITUS YUSAN GRAHAM In 1989, having just moved to the Chicago area with his young family, Yusan took his search for direction in his budding meditation practice to the Yellow Pages (kind of like the internet, but tree-based), and found the Chicago Zen Center. Yusan took on lay ordination (a formal commitment to greater service) in 2004, followed by full ordination by his teacher, Sensei Sevan Ross, in 2010. Later that year he succeeded Sevan Ross as abbot of the CZC. He stepped down from the role of abbot in 2023. Yusan and his wife Debbie are now empty nesters, following with great interest the adventures of their two kids. At present they live in Texas caring for elderly family members. Prior to his retirement, he worked in the field of Assistive Technology at a local university.

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 July 20, 7:30pm–July 26, 2026, noonish Oct 14, 7:30pm–Oct 18, 2026, noonish Dec 9, 7:30pm–Dec 13, 2026, noonish Feb 24, 7:30pm–Feb 28, 2027, noonish May 26, 7:30pm–May 30, 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, teisho, 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

HEAD OF ZENDO NATHANIEL NAMOWICZ As an 18-year old Nate first stumbled into the CZC in 1999 after finding the Center's address stamped in the back of a copy of Three Pillars of Zen. He quickly took his youthful enthusiasm to residential training at the Rochester Zen Center and, later, to Bukkoku-ji monastery in Japan, where Kapleau himself had trained. Af ter several years in Los Angeles pursuing a career in the architectural arts, he returned to his hometown of Chicago to start a family. He currently works as a part-time landlord, part-time grocer, and full-time father of two. Nate took over as Head of Zendo in July 2023, and he has been the mastermind and muscle behind many of the Center's recent renovations. He ordained as a novice in May 2025, and he will ordain as a priest in September 2026.

SESSHIN GUIDELINES WHAT TO BRING WHAT TO BRING WHAT NOT TO BRING WHAT NOT TO BRING Toothbrush & toothpaste Shampoo Pillow and sleeping bag or bedding Bath towel Dark non-patterned loose-fitting clothing for exercise periods Dark non-patterned clothing for work period Dark or white non-patterned T-shirt (if needed) to wear under the robe Dark or white non-patterned, matching socks (if needed) Soft-soled shoes (no boots or hard heels) for outdoor early morning kinhin Prescription medications Shaving articles Hair dryer Cosmetics, non-medicinal creams, etc. Reading or writing material, personal journal, etc. Personal food items (unless needed to take with medication, but clear this first) Electronics SILENCE SILENCE Sesshin is conducted in silence. If you need to communicate something to the monitor, to your job supervisor or to a roommate, use the notepaper and pens provided. If the matter is complicated, the monitor or your work supervisor may take you to a place out of earshot where you can handle the matter by whispering. Make sure your cell phone is OFF and stowed before sesshin begins. If you do not trust yourself to leave it alone, you may deposit it with the monitor for the duration of sesshin. Prior to sesshin you will be given a phone number to share with anyone who might need to contact you in an emergency. That phone is checked for text and voicemail messages about five times a day, and you will be notified if you have a message that requires your swift attention. WORK WORK Everyone is assigned a job for the duration of the sesshin. All kitchen jobs report to the Head Cook; all other jobs report to the Head Housekeeper. Go over your job description with your supervisor before sesshin begins. During sesshin, do not leave your job until you have checked with your supervisor. FORMAL MEALS FORMAL MEALS Breakfast and dinner are formal meals. You will be shown how these are conducted before sesshin begins. Until you have memorized the meal chants, be sure to take a chant card to your place as you enter the dining area. You may also want to familiarize yourself with the meal chants before coming to sesshin; see the "Meal Chants" section of the pdf of the Rochester Zen Center Chant Book . Keep to your practice while eating. Do not look about the room, etc. TIME TIME A system of bells, drum, umpan and mok-tok are used to signal events during sesshin. The mok-tok is a wake-up or warning signal. Three strikes on the big bell indicates that a formal round of zazen is about to begin and that you should be in or headed to the zendo. The drum begins and ends a work period or signals the start of teisho. The umpan signals mealtime. You do not need to concern yourself with the clock time, and no one but those in oversight positions may wear a watch. COMPORTMENT AGREEMENT/ WAIVER To register for sesshin: REGISTRATION COMPORTMENT During sesshin the gaze should be lowered. Do not be making eye contact or looking around. This does not mean becoming oblivious to your surroundings , however, and you should have enough awareness to blend in with whatever activity (chanting, kinhin, prostrations, etc.) is going on. While walking about keep the hands close to the body, preferably in a kinhin position (clasped at the sternum). Do not just let the arms hang at your side or swing them. Be mindful of your footfall, particularly during yaza (informal night sitting after formal rounds) and as you leave and enter the zendo during formal rounds (after your dokusan, for example). Be attentive to your motions. You should not rush about, but neither should you move in super slo-mo; an everyday, relaxed pace is best. Do not loiter; if you are not resting in your room during rest periods, do zazen or kinhin.

THE WIDER SANGHA The Chicago Zen Center is part of an extended family of centers that trace their teaching tradition back to Philip Kapleau and the Rochester Zen Center. While these centers and groups are for the most part self-governing, independent sanghas, they all share a common spirit of practice and aspiration that characterized Kapleau's teaching. The CZC has been pleased to host some of their teachers and sangha members from time to time, and members of any of these centers may attend CZC sesshins at the member rate. Auckland Zen Centre, (Ven. Amala Wrightson, Roshi) Berlin Zen Group , Germany (Robert Goldmann, Sensei) Casa Zen , Mexico City Casa Zen de Costa Rica, Heredia, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica (Ven. Bodhi Murillo, Sensei) Cloud Water Zen Centre , Glasgow (Karl Kaliski, Sensei) Helsinki Zen Center (Ven. Sangen Salo, Sensei) Madison Zen Center (Rick Smith, Sensei) Montreal Zen Center Mountain Gate New Mexico (Ven. Mitra Bishop, Roshi) Rochester Zen Center (John Pulleyn, Sensei, Ven. Dhara Kowal, Sensei) Roma Zen Center (Ven Amala Wrightson, Roshi) Toronto Zen Centre (Ven. Taigen Henderson, Roshi) Vermont Zen Center (Ven. Sunyana Graef, Roshi) Windhorse Zen Community North Carolina (Ven. Sunya Kjolhede, Roshi; Ven. Lawson Sachter, Roshi) Zen Center of Denver (Karin Ryuku Kempe, Sensei; Peggy Metta Sheehan, Sensei) Zenbuddhistiska samfundet Sweden (Ven. Sante Poromaa, Roshi; Ven. Kanja Odland, Roshi)

OUR LINEAGE Practice at the Chicago Zen Center has from the very beginning been built upon a strong teaching tradition. Philip Kapleau, the Center's founding teacher, is widely recognized as one of the major contributors to the establishment of the Harada-Yasutani tradition of Zen on American soil and beyond. His Three Pillars of Zen continues to serve as a sure guide for anyone interested in getting to know something of Zen from the inside out. At its founding in 1974, the Chicago Zen Center was an affiliate of the Rochester Zen Center, where Kapleau was abbot. When Kapleau passed on the abbotship of the RZC to his Dharma heir, Bodhin Kjolhede, responsibility for the CZC was passed on as well. Both Kapleau and Kjolhede would travel to the Midwest (Chicago or Madison, WI) at least twice a year for short sesshins, and CZC members often made the trip to Rochester to attend longer sesshins there. Their dedication to the Chicago sangha helped the Center to grow, and by 1996 the CZC was large and established enough to warrant its own resident teacher. Sevan Ross, who had trained extensively in Rochester, moved to Chicago that year and was made its first autonomous teacher in 1997. At the same time, the CZC became financially and administratively independent of Rochester, but the CZC continues to maintain strong Dharma ties with RZC and the other sanghas throughout the world that have their roots in the Kapleau teaching tradition. After almost a decade and a half of tireless service, Ross decided the time was right for a new generation to guide the Center. Yusan Graham was sanctioned as a teacher in 2009, ordained a priest in 2010, and installed as the new abbot that same year. Under his leadership the sangha stabilized and grew both in numbers and in the spirit of dedicated practice. In 2021 Yusan sanctioned Shodhin Geiman, a priest of the Center since 2010, as a teacher in his own right. In 2023 Yusan retired as abbot and designated Shodhin as his successor. Philip Kapleau Bodhin Kjolhede Sevan Ross Yusan Graham Shodhin Geiman

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 one begins to feel a tug in the direction of ordaining, consult the description of the ordination process outlined here .

CEREMONIES Zen, like all other expressions of the Dharma, has always had we might call a devotional aspect to it—employing space, sound, smell, and imagery to stir the mind of awakening and to give it bodily expression. We are fortunate to have a facility in which we are able offer a full range of Buddhist ceremonies, and the yearly cycle of ceremonies and celebrations is an integral part of Center life. TEMPLE NIGHT & JUKAI Twice a year, the main indoor areas of the Center are transformed into temple settings where richly appointed altars are set up. These will generally have the figure of a bodhisattva prominently enshrined, and flowers and incense fill the rooms with fragrance. The Kannon altar also serves as our Memorial Altar, where pictures of our sangha's deceased and other loved ones are set in remembrance. At the start of the evening the lights are dimmed and the candles lit. Persons may do zazen, offer incense, or do prostrations. A chanting service is held halfway through the evening, and those who have sewn rakusus receive them in a short private ceremony. TEMPLE NIGHT & JUKAI The evening concludes with everyone present gathering in the Buddha Hall for Jukai. Together we recite the Repentance Gatha acknowledging our lapses in body, speech and mind; then we take together the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts, thereby entering into, or reaffirming our belonging in, the family of the Buddha. VESAK VESAK In the height of spring the Center joins the whole of the Buddhist world in the celebration of Vesak, the commemoration of the Buddha's birth. We start by taking turns pouring sweet tea over the Baby Buddha. The birth narrative is read, and our attention is then brought to the import of the birth narrative as part of our own story as men and women on the path to awakening. We wrap up the celebration with a pot-luck buffet of sangha members' delicious cooking. CEREMONY OF GRATITUDE CEREMONY OF GRATITUDE On the Sunday before Thanksgiving we celebrate what Philip Kapleau called "the most Buddhist" of American holidays by gathering to recall all that we are grateful for. This is a family event, and the children sometimes become the teachers as they express thanks for things we adults often overlook. After a short chanting service and a talk, particular points of gratitude written on slips of paper by the participants are read aloud. Then those present may, if they wish, voice further expressions of gratitude. After the ceremony, we enjoy a potluck of foods members have prepared. NEW YEAR'S TEMPLE PURIFICATION NEW YEAR'S TEMPLE PURIFICATION At the dawn of the new year we take stock of our lives, acknowledge our past unskillfulness, and rededicate the temple and ourselves to further practice in the year ahead. We begin with a repentance ceremony in the Buddha Hall. We then follow the priests as they makes their way from altar to altar throughout the Center, purifying them to the accompaniment of shakujos, chanting, and all the noise the kids can make. Then, ourselves and the temple renewed, we gather to share a meal and renew our ties with one another. WEDDINGS WEDDINGS It was never part of the task of the first Buddhist monks and nuns to perform marriage ceremonies, and Buddhism has by and large considered marriage a civil, rather than a religious, affair. Nevertheless, one of the signs of Buddhism's adaptation to American culture has been the expectation that one may marry at a temple with a monastic or priest officiating. The Chicago Zen Center is happy to be part of that adaptation. In recent years weddings have been held at the Center for members and non-members alike. Priests have also be called upon to officiate at ceremonies in the wider community. FUNERALS & MEMORIAL SERVICES FUNERALS & MEMORIAL SERVICES The Buddha squarely faced the utter inevitability of sickness, old age, and death, and our sangha has experienced its own losses. We come together at such times to commend our sister or brother to the loving and compassionate care of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as he or she makes the journey on. We offer incense and food, chant sutras and dharani in the sure expectation that our friend will one day find his or her True Home. Priests at the Center have also been called on over the years to conduct Memorial Services in the community for those not expressly connected with the Center. Email the Center if this is something you are considering for yourself or for a loved one.

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 calls to 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:

OVERNIGHTS & RESIDENCY Members coming from a distance—or even those who live not too far away—can arrange to stay at the Center overnight so as to take advantage of added time in the zendo or to attend two back-to-back sittings (for example, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning). Check with the Center beforehand to be sure of space availability. A member may find that the time is right in their life for a more concerted form of practice, and full-time residency at the Center emerges as a possibility. Residency not only assists one's own efforts; it is a vehicle for service to the Center, and one should not consider it without a deep willingness to serve those who practice here. It is expected that a resident will have stable employment (or independent financial stability) during their residency. More more information on residency, including cost, responsibilities, and expectations is available here .