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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.

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 ).

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. 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 kicks 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:

ORDAINING The Dharma continues from one generation to the next because it is carried on the shoulders of those who have offered to devote themselves to keeping it alive. 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 taking their place and upholding 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 the description of ordination and the ordaining process here .

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.

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 Path the Buddha taught as the sure path to liberation. While Zen puts great store in the practice of concerted meditation, it cannot dispense with the other elements of the Path—moral sensitivity and an aspiration to wisdom—without utterly losing its 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. 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). 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 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.

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.

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