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. The CZC is not a training temple with a full program of daily activity geared toward its residential staff; for that, one might look to residential training at the Rochester Zen Center. Instead, we offer an opportunity to framing one's existing everyday life in the context of a practice environment for a time, taking advantage of frequent access to the zendo and dokusan room, and sharing in the quiet background work that sustains the practice life of the Center. More more information on residency, including cost, responsibilities, and expectations is available here .

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 self-definitions 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 .

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, which include all materials (except needle and thread) and instructions, are available at the Center to those who have been a Center member for at least a year or who have become one of Shodhin's formal students. 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 then inscribes it with one's Dharma name. Finished rakusus are presented to their wearers in a short ceremony, generally held in conjunction with Temple Night/Jukai, emphasizing the connection between wearing the rakusu and living in line with the refuges and precepts.

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

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.

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 ).

HEAD OF ZENDO NENSHIN NAMOWICZ As an 18-year old Nenshin 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. 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. Nenshin took over as Head of Zendo in 2023, and he has been the mastermind and muscle behind many of the Center's recent renovations. He ordained as a priest in September 2026.

TAKING THE PRECEPTS (JUKAI) Zen is a particular expression of the Dharma of the Buddha. As such, it shares with all schools of Buddhism a commitment to the Noble Path the Buddha taught as the sure means to liberation. To be sure, Zen puts great store in the practice of concerted meditation, but one cannot dispense with the other elements of the Path—and in particular moral sensitivity and an aspiration to wisdom—without utterly losing one's bearings. In union with all of the sons and daughters of the Buddha, we therefore take the precepts. They function as a guide because they straightforwardly describe the comportment of the awakened and awakening ones. We check our body, speech, and mind against them in order to see where we still need to apply greater effort and resolve—and cultivate greater insight and wisdom—in our practice and in our lives. In our tradition we take the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts: The Threefold Refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha The Three Resolutions to do good, to avoid evil, and to liberate sentient beings The Ten Cardinal Precepts: I resolve not to kill, but to cherish all life I resolve not to take what is not given, but to respect the things of others I resolve not to misuse sexuality, but to be caring and responsible I resolve not to lie, but to speak the truth I resolve not to cause others to abuse alcohol or drugs, nor to do so myself, but to keep the mind clear I resolve not to speak of the faults of others, but to be understanding and sympathetic I resolve not to praise myself and disparage others, but to overcome my own shortcomings I resolve not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to give them freely where needed I resolve not to indulge in anger, but to practice forbearance I resolve not to revile the Three Treasures, but to cherish and uphold them They are taken/renewed twice a year (spring and fall) in a ceremony called Jukai. In keeping with the long tradition of the Dharma, anyone who presents themselves that evening may take them. There is no preliminary catechesis involved, nor is there any charge. Anyone with questions about them is certainly free to bring them up in the context of dokusan, and occasionally they are the subject of teisho. The importance of the precepts for Zen practice is highlighted by the fact that they are taken again in conjunction with ordination as a priest and with sanctioning as a teacher. Indeed, they are often incorporated into wedding ceremonies held at the Center. The incomprehensible profundity of the precepts is highlighted by the fact that towards the end of one's koan training they are taken up as koans in their own right.

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 find oneself thinking about 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 a publicly professed 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 .

CALENDAR If you have any questions about a given scheduled event, contact the Center at contact@chicagozen.org You are seconds away from getting this done. 🤩 
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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 distinctive role of the teacher in the process of one's coming to awakening. SHODHIN GEIMAN

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.