Zen Studies Program

The Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago is happy to announce a NEW program that will provide an in-depth look at many aspects of our Zen tradition. This will consists of four, three hour classes on Sunday afternoons. The four class are scheduled for June 3, 10, 17 and 24 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Please click here to see the recommended reading list.

1. History of Zen Buddhism

This class will explore how Zen came into the world, from it's earliest beginnings in India to it's Golden Age in China. It is a rich history with many fascinating stories and crossings of religions and cultures. We'll study how this teaching changed as it moved from India to China and then to Japan. We'll appreciate the great journey Zen took coming from the East to the West. It's a fascinating and wonderful story that is still being told.

2. Tenets and Philosophy of Zen Buddhism

This class will explore the early teachings of the Buddha such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Five Skandhas and Dependent Co-origination. We'll study different schools and philosophies of Buddhism such as the Madyamika and Yogachara schools. We'll appreciate some important sutras such as the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra. We'll conclude by appreicating the depth of Dogen Zenj's Shobogenzo.

3. Precepts, Koans, and Liturgy

This class will explore the importance of the precepts in the Zen training of our White Plum LIneage tradition. It will talk about koans, what they are, their history, and how they have been used in Zen training. The class will also cover some of our main liturgy such as the Heart Sutra, the Identity of Relative & Absolute, the Kanzeon Sutra and the Gate of Sweet Nectar. The class will conclude by giving an overview of the Ango training that has been passed down through our tradition and how we are currently practicing this as what we are calling the Zen Leadership Training at ZLMC.

4. Joshin Roshi's Zen Teachings

Joshin Roshi has had a broad and deep spiritual training in both Zen and Vajrayana traditions. Joshin Roshi will talk about the three major schools of Buddhism: Therava, Mahayana and Vajrayana, and how they relate to each other. He'll talk about Taizan Maezumi Roshi and how his teachings gave birth to our current White Plum Lineage tradition. He'll talk about Robert Aitken Roshi and Bernie Glassman Roshi's teachings. He'll speak of his teacher, Nocole McMahon Roshi's teachings including her Practice of Immediacy. He'll talk about the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the Shambhala tradition with a special emphacise on the Five Wisdom Energies and how we are currently useing this model as a vision for governing all aspects of our Zen Center's operations and organization. Roshi will speak about how important it is to ground Zen in Mindfulness Meditation and the importance of Interpersonal Neuralbiology. Finally, he'll talk about how the teaching Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Commnication and Eurgen Gendlin's Focusing and the Philosophy of the Implicit have broadeden and deepen his own understanding of an Applied Zen for our times.

Prerequisite: Must be either an Advanced Member or have finished the Gateway Series of classes in our Core Curriculum.

Cost: $200 (payment plans are available)