Workshops

Mindfulness for Parents (hybrid)
August 8, 2023 @ 7:00 PM (CST)

We are excited to be offering this Mindfulness for Parents program once a month. This is for parents and caregivers of children of all ages.

Calm

  • Changing the way we relate to parenting stress

  • Learning how to attune to and regulate emotions

  • Shifting from automatic reactions to thoughtful responses

Compassion

  • Developing a kind, non-judgmental acceptance of ourselves and our children

  • Taking care of ourselves so we can care for our families

  • Building our capacity to hold space for the joys and difficulties of life

Connection

  • Nurturing attentive and open-hearted relationships

  • Integrating mindfulness practices into daily family life

  • Finding support through sharing in a mindful community

This event is FREE and hybrid but please register below. If you are attending on line, the zoom link is here. Donations are appreciated should you wish to support our mission.

Mindfulness for Parents (hybrid)
August 8, 2023 @ 7:00 PM (CST)

We are excited to be offering this Mindfulness for Parents program once a month. This is for parents and caregivers of children of all ages.

Calm

  • Changing the way we relate to parenting stress

  • Learning how to attune to and regulate emotions

  • Shifting from automatic reactions to thoughtful responses

Compassion

  • Developing a kind, non-judgmental acceptance of ourselves and our children

  • Taking care of ourselves so we can care for our families

  • Building our capacity to hold space for the joys and difficulties of life

Connection

  • Nurturing attentive and open-hearted relationships

  • Integrating mindfulness practices into daily family life

  • Finding support through sharing in a mindful community

This event is FREE and hybrid but please register below. If you are attending on line, the zoom link is here. Donations are appreciated should you wish to support our mission.

Program Facilitators:

Kelly Good has been a member of ZLMC since 2015 and took Jukai in 2021. Kelly is active in the sangha community as a mindfulness meditation instructor and is also serving on the Center’s Board of Directors. Kelly has a Master’s degree in both Developmental Psychology and Business Administration. She lives in Oak Park with her husband and two children.

Karleen Manchanda (she/her), is a mother, wife A ZLMC member and mindfulness meditation teacher since 2021, she has studied and practiced mindfulness, meditation and yoga for the past ten years. Karleen holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois.

Kathy Dull has been a member of ZLMC since 2020.  She began meditating fifteen years ago, shortly after her first child was born.  In addition to taking classes at ZLMC, she has also studied Mind Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).She lives in Oak Park with her husband and two children.

Contemplative Writing Workshop (online only)
with Robert Kanjo Schwoch
August 31–October 5, 2023

Six week series begins Thur., August 31, 2023 @ 7:00 PM (CST)

A six-week course combining writing instruction with the techniques of mindfulness meditation to generate open, honest, resonant work in all literary genres, including fiction, personal essay, memoir and poetry.

Instructor: Robert Kanjo Schwoch, journalist/author, instructor at the Zen Life and Meditation Center of Chicago, and lecturer emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught creative writing and literary journalism across 16 years in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Pricing for Contemplative Writing Workshop

We rely primarily on the donations and class fees that our sangha offers. We encourage those with more capacity for giving to consider registering at the patron or supporter level. One pass is good for all six sessions.

$269 Patron
$249 Supporter
$229 Participant

Japanese Tea Ceremony with Tea Master Kumi Rannin
Known as “Rakubon”, this is a traditional Japanese tea ceremony

Saturday, September 9, 2023 from 3:00–4:00 pm (CST)

This will be in-person only

Join us for “Rakubon” - a traditional Japanese tea ceremony sitting at a table lead by tea master Kumi Rannin.   

Rakubon is the art of serving tea to guests with a heart of Japanese hospitality.  The art and performance of preparing powdered green tea is called “otemae,” which is defined down to such minute details as the motion of the fingers. 

“Wa, Kei, Sei, Jyaku” form the basic philosophy of Rakubon.  These purify the atmosphere of the ceremony to soothe the guest’s heart. 

和 Wa・・・open each other’s heart.  
敬 Kei・・・respect each other. 
清 Sei・・・purify your surrounding and your spirit. 
寂 Jaku・・maintain a spirit of quietness. 

“Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku” (harmony, respect, purity and tranquility) are four important aspects of Sado or Chado (tea ceremony) as described by tea master Sen-no-Rikyū in the 16th century.  It incorporates the heart of Zen Buddhism and prizes the aesthetic concept of “wabi sabi,” which centers on transience, imperfection and the beauty of nature.   

Kumi Rannin began studying tea at the Edosenke School in Ibaraki, Japan when she was 15.  She received the name Ryusui-an Kyusetu from her teacher Grandmaster Umebara Shachu when she graduated and was licensed to teach in 2005.  Kumi is also a hula student of Kumu Hula June Ryushin Kaililani Tanoue since January 2020.   

 

Pricing for Tea Ceremony

We rely primarily on the donations and class fees that our sangha offers. We encourage those with more capacity for giving to consider registering at the patron or supporter level.

$25 Patron
$20 Supporter
$15 Participant

Zazenkai with Roshi June Tanoue
October 7, 2023

This is a one-day Zen workshop. It will be in—person only.

Zazenkai Schedule

Pricing for Zazenkai

We rely primarily on the donations and class fees that our sangha offers. We encourage those with more capacity for giving to consider registering at the patron or supporter level. One pass is good for all four classes.

$199 Patron
$179 Supporter
$139 Participant

Gong Enhanced Sound Journey
A special benefit for ZLMC celebrating Indigenous People’s Day

Lisamarie Windwalker will lead this special event at the Zen Center on Monday night October 9th. She is in the lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh and is also active with the Zen Peacemakers. She and Kathleen Hoetsu Battke co-created the Ecosattva Council Circle & Hive.

Ticket Prices for Gong Enhanced Sound Journey

We rely primarily on the donations and class fees that our sangha offers. We encourage those with more capacity for giving to consider registering at the patron or supporter level. This special event is a fund-raiser for the Zen Life & Meditation Center, Chicago.

$69 Patron
$49 Supporter
$29 Participant

Eight Verses of Training the Mind Workshop (hybrid)

Four week series begins Thur., October 12, 2023 @ 7:00 PM (CST)

This course will focus on one of the most concise teachings of Lojong, or Mind Training. Lojong means to observe and train one’s own mind to develop true compassion and wisdom. Even though this short text is comprised of only eight-four line verses it reveals the essence of the Mahayana path to enlightenment. The instructions offer essential practices for developing the precious heart of bodhichitta by cultivating compassion, wisdom, and love.

The text, originally written by Bodhisattva Geshe Langri Tangpa, an eleventh-century Tibetan Buddhist Master embodies the very heart of dharma by teaching the essence of the Mahayana path to liberation. The fundamental theme of mind training practice is a profound re-orientation of our basic attitudes, habits, and thoughts about ourself and others.

Instructor: Rev. Diane Myogetsu Bejcek is a novitiate Zen Priest and Shuso (Senior Student) at the Zen Life & Meditation Center, Chicago. She completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is now a Licensed Clinical Psychologist working as a Consulting Psychologist with DCFS and social services agencies providing psychological assessments, clinical supervision and consultation for children. She began formal Buddhist study and practice with a Tibetan Buddhist lineage and practiced that for about 12 years, even ordaining there as a Buddhist nun. She later took up Zen training at ZLMC and eventually ordained here as a Zen preist.

Pricing for the Eight Verses of Training the Mind

We rely primarily on the donations and class fees that our sangha offers. We encourage those with more capacity for giving to consider registering at the patron or supporter level. One pass is good for all four classes.

$199 Patron
$179 Supporter
$139 Participant