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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:

OUR PEOPLE The Chicago Zen Center was founded in 1974 by a small group of folks who were interested in practicing Zen as taught by Philip Kapleau in the Harada-Yasutani tradition. Since then it has grown into a complete practice center, under the guidance of established teachers, offering the full spectrum of Zen training and practice opportunities: daily sittings (all with dokusan), weekly teishos, a regular schedule of sesshin retreats, and a full complement of Buddhist celebrations and devotional services. The men and women who practice here come from every walk of life across all age ranges from late adolescents through octogenarians (small children, for whom zazen would be a rather bizarre kind of time out, are more than welcome at our special ceremonies throughout the year). What unites us all is our diligent pursuit of the Dharma. Leaving our identity attachments to the side, here we practice simply as human beings in pursuit of the Way. If you have any questions, contact the Center: contact@chicagozen.org .

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. 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 May 20, 7:30pm–May 24, 2026, noonish 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 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 a rest period. 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. 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

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 .

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 an American Zen in the Harada-Yasutani tradition. 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 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 teaching 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

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, May 1, 7:00pm Vesak Celebration & Potluck Sun, May 3, 10:00am Intro to Practice Tues, May 5, 7:00pm 4-Day Sesshin Weds, May 20, 7:30pm—Sun, May 24, noonish Registrations Due Fri, May 15 Center Closed Tues, May 19 for set-up Center Closed Mon, May 25 Intro to Practice Tues, June 2, 7:00pm Summer Closure Mon, June 22 – Monday, July 6 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 for set-up Center Closed Mon, July 27 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

WORK PRACTICE 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.

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. Even if one is unable to frequent the Center with any regularity, membership is a vote of confidence in the CZC as an effective home of the Dharma. As your confidence in the Center grows, you are invited to help sustain this temple with your membership. The subheadings contain information on extra offerings available to the Center's members. To become a member, refer to the "Support & Membership" page .

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: One-on-one meeting with a senior student concerning one's practice and practice-related concerns Dokusan: 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 Kesu: Metal bowl gongs used during chanting and other services Kinhin: 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: The abbreviated robe of the Buddha worn about the neck Teisho: The formal talk of a Zen teacher Umpan: Gong sounded for meals Zazen: Seated meditation Zendo: Meditation Hall

SUPPORT & MEMBERSHIP We are able to offer the Dharma to all only because of the generous support of so many. If you find it important to you that a place such as this is able to do the work it does, you might be moved to contribute financially to its support. Electronic contributions may be sent via the Donate button below (PayPal) or via Zelle using czc.business.mgr@gmail.com as the recipient (preferred). If your employer matches your charitable donations, our business manager can help you with the necessary filing information. At the end of each calendar year, the Center sends out contribution statements for you to use when filing your taxes. CONTRIBUTIONS Our temple is a community resource, and we offer the Dharma freely to anyone sincerely looking for support on their path to awakening. In keeping with the long Buddhist tradition, there is no charge for anything the Center has to offer. The only exception is sesshin, since it involves expenses connected with food and lodging, but even sesshin fees may be underwritten by resources from the Abbot's Fund in cases where one is unable to afford them on one's own. MEMBERSHIP When the Chicago Zen Center begins to feel like an integral part of your spiritual work, you might consider becoming a sustaining member. Dues are modest ($50/month or $600/year for regular individual membership; $75/month or $900/year for regular couples membership; $10/month or $120/year for students or those who are underemployed). They can be paid in cash at the Center, by check through the mail or at the Center, or electronically via the Donate button above (PayPal) or through Zelle to czc.business.mgr@gmail.com (preferred). Membership dues count towards your charitable donations for tax purposes. Be sure to fill out the Membership Form below so we have an accurate census and your contact information should we need it. Membership Form PLANNED GIVING One way to ensure the continued teaching presence of the Center is to include the Center in your estate planning. Even modest endowments can go some distance to help secure the building and programming of the Center into the future. For information on our tax identification number and the like, please consult the Center's business manager (czc.business.mgr@gmail.com ).

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

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 Sensei 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.