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 Temple Night / Jukai Fri, Nov 20, 7:00pm Ceremony of Gratitude & Potluck Sun, Nov 22, 10:00am Intro to Practice Tues, Dec 1, 7:00pm 4-Day Rohatsu Sesshin Weds Dec 9, 7:30pm—Sun Dec 13, noonish Applications due Weds, Nov 25 Center Closed Tues, Dec 8 for set-up Center Closed Mon, Dec 14 Holiday Closure Sun, Dec 20–Sat Jan 2 New Year Temple Purification & Potluck Sun, Jan 3, 10:00am Intro to Practice Tues, Jan 5, 7:00pm Intro to Practice Tues, Feb 2, 7:00pm 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

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: Jonathan Meyer Mary Reynolds Adam Urbina In case one of the members is unable to serve or is the subject of the complaint, the Board will designate an alternate.

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 devotional practices, 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 make 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.

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, including Zoom 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) 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Zoom dokusan for out-of-towners 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)

GLOSSARY Here we use English terms unless there's good reason not to (e.g., since zafu simply means sitting cushion, we just say cushion ). Still, there are limits to some translations, and below are some of the non-English, practice-related words one will hear at the Chicago Zen Center: Daisan (DYE-sahn ): One-on-one meeting with a senior student concerning one's practice and practice-related concerns Dokusan (DOAK-sahn ): One-on-one meeting with the teacher concerning one's practice, koan work, and the confirmation of insight Gassho: Hands held palm-to-palm, and, depending on the context, accompanied by a bow Han: The wooden block that is struck before formal rounds, teisho or chanting Inkin Bell: The bell that is used to mark time and movement Kentan: Morning review and greeting of the zendo by the teacher Kesa: The patchwork outermost robe of a priest, the robe of the Buddha Kesu: Metal bowl gongs used during chanting and other services Kinhin (KEEN-heen ): Walking meditation Kyosaku: The flattened, wooden "encouragement" stick (often, we just say stick ) Mokugyo: Wooden "fish" drum used to keep time during chanting Mok-Tok: Hand-held version of the mokugyo Rakusu (RAHK-soo ): The abbreviated robe of the Buddha worn about the neck Teisho (TAY-sho ): The formal talk of a Zen teacher Umpan: Gong sounded for meals Zagu: The bowing cloth of a priest Zazen: Seated meditation Zendo: Meditation Hall

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 sharpen 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. (Discuss this option with the teacher before signing up for it; not everyone is at a stage of practice where reading and discussion will be helpful.) • 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

ZENDO JOBS Drum Play the taiko drum at the start of sesshin and before teisho. Han Strike the wood block 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 rings down the dokusan line. 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 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.

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 Dec 9, 7:30pm–Dec 13, 2026, noonish (Rohatsu) [deadline Nov 25] Feb 24, 7:30pm–Feb 28, 2027, noonish [deadline Feb 10] May 26, 7:30pm–May 30, 2027, noonish [deadline May 12] July 19, 7:30pm–July 25, 2027, noonish [deadline Jul 5] Oct 13, 7:30pm–Oct 17, 2027, noonish [deadline Sep 29] 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 (say, for work) but one is otherwise participating for the whole length of the sesshin. Short-time attendance means that one will attend at least two full days of sesshin, e.g. Wednesday-Friday or Friday-Sunday. If you are coming part- or short-time, please make every effort to plan your arrivals/departures so they fall between two blocks in the sesshin schedule. 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. For more specific details about sesshin proper, consult our Sesshin Guidelines . For the run of the sesshin day, consult the Sesshin Schedule . Consult with or email Nenshin, our Head of Zendo (nenshinnamowicz@gmail.com ), if you have any questions. To apply for sesshin: APPLICATION

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 .

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 with the teacher the student might begin to glimpse the mind of awakening 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.