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. 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 .

ROBES Anyone taking part in a scheduled sitting will notice any number of people in brown robes. These are lay robes (as distinct from the blue or black one a priest wears). They are worn for several reasons. Fist, they are comfortable. Second, they help the mind settle into the practice (think of gearing up for sports or dressing for work). Finally, they introduce a degree of commonality and plainness to the atmosphere of the zendo. While no one is required to wear one (except during sesshin), many will find that they wear a robe for any or all of the above reasons. A lay robe does not mark any degree of distinction (they are not a sign of rank ), and anyone may wear one. We have men's and women's loaner robes available in the men's and women's changing rooms. If you find that you are interested in wearing one while here, ask someone to help you get into one the first time (there is some business with the string ties that is not intuitively obvious). As you come to make regular practice at the Center an integral part of your life, you might want to have your own, custom-made one. They are available through the source the Vermont Zen Center uses for theirs ( vermontzen.org/ticorobes ) at a reasonable price. They are well-crafted and will last a lifetime of practice. RAKUSUS The rakusu is an abbreviated form of the kesa (kasaya ), the outer robe worn by the Buddha and his disciples. One wears it as a reminder to oneself of one's own commitment to practice; it is not worn as a display to anyone else. In keeping with the tradition, one sews one's own rakusu. Kits, including material and instructions, are available at the Center. Once sewn, the person gives the rakusu to the Head of Zendo, who stitches the mark of our lineage on the neckpiece before passing it on to the teacher, who inscribes it with one's Dharma name. Then, in a very short ceremony, often in conjunction with Temple Night, the teacher presents it to the student. Kits are available for anyone who has become a formal student or has been a Center member for at least a year and who has taken or is about to take the precepts. Speak with the teacher or Head of Zendo if you have questions.

CALENDAR If you have any questions about a given scheduled event, contact the Center at contact@chicagozen.org

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 the ego in 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) Full Ancestral Line 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.

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 bodily expression to that mind. 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.

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

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 moved into 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 spirituality. 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 researching a book (working title Midwifing the Deathless ) exploring the peculiar role of the teacher in the process of coming to awakening. SHODHIN GEIMAN

GROUP VISITS The Chicago Zen Center is more than happy to welcome interested school and other groups. A teacher or professor or leader may wish to bring the whole group at once; in other cases, individuals may be required to visit the center on their own time as part of an individual paper or project. The Center is able to accommodate both kinds of visit. A group visit to the Center will generally take place in the morning or early afternoon and involve a short talk on Zen and this temple, a tour of the building including a description of the various procedures that take place, and an introduction to the sounds of the Center (bells, drum, mokugyo, kesu, etc.). After that, the group proceeds to the zendo, where everyone receives basic meditation instruction and posture demonstrations. A short (usually 20 minute) period of zazen followed by questions wraps up the visit. If you are a teacher, professor, or group leader, and you would like to bring the group all at once for an introduction to the Center and Zen practice, email the center at least six weeks in advance of the tentative date to schedule your visit. There is no charge for such visits, although a donation to the Center is wholly appropriate. GROUP VISITS INDIVIDUAL VISITS FOR CLASS A group visit allows a large number of people the easiest exposure to practice at the Center, but it takes place outside of normal practice times. To experience practice in the company of sangha members, students or group participants might be asked to attend a sitting individually or by twos or threes. Anyone taking part in such a visit will be expected to participate in the formal rounds of meditation without fidgeting or distraction. If you are a teacher, professor, or group leader, and you would like your students or participants to come individually or in very small groupings, email the Center at least one month ahead of time to determine the advisability of such visits for your particular students or participants. Again, while there is no charge for such visits, a small donation to the Center is wholly appropriate. INVITE A SPEAKER If your school, community group, or religious institution would like to have a representative of the Center address your group on Buddhism, Zen, interreligious dialogue, or any of our particular practices, contact the Center to see about availabilty.

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 eagerness 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 an offer of dedication and responsibility, not a marker of rank. It 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, a first place to start is our lineage's understanding of ordination and the ordaining process outlined here .

YOUR FIRST VISIT We welcome everyone who would like to get to know more about Zen practice in general and our Center in particular. Anyone may take part in any of our scheduled sittings, though because of the nature of the practice (one cannot just be a spectator) we ask that you plan for your first visit. The first option is to attend one of our Intro Nights, held on the 1st Tuesday of most months (see below). If you cannot make that, or if you want to get started before the next scheduled Intro Night, we ask that you arrive a full half hour (30-40 mins) before the start of any listed sitting to get oriented before formal rounds begin. Though it is not necessary, an email alerting us that you will be coming is helpful on this end (contact@chicagozen.org ). INTRODUCTION TO ZEN Held on the 1st Tuesday of most months, our "Intro Nights" offer a chance for persons with little or no experience of meditation to get a feel for practice here at the Center. These are led by one of the Center's ordained members, and they provide an overview of the practice, help getting established in a workable sitting posture, and time for questions before participating a round of zazen (two 25-minute periods of sitting with 5 minutes walking meditation in between) with Center regulars. Intro Nights begin promptly at 7:00pm . There is no charge, and no registration is required. After your first visit you are free to take part in all scheduled sittings, ceremonies, and the like. On Sundays and weekday evenings there is always someone in the front room 30 minutes before the start time; don't hesitate to ask any questions about the practice structure or procedures that are not yet clear. Anything related to your personal practice should, however, only be brought up in dokusan.

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, and 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

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 ).