Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago

July 2018 Newsletter
founded 1949 by Soyu Matsuoka, Roshi
608 Dempster
Evanston, IL
www.ZBTC.org - Info@zbtc.org
847-272-2070

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The Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago was founded by Soyu Matsuoka, Rosh i in 1949. We relocated from Chicago's Lincoln Park to Evanston in 1988 and we have been offering Soto Zen Meditation instruction in the Chicago area for 69 years.

The Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago is a Soto Zen Center dedicated to helping practitioners realize their true nature through Zazen, seated meditation.

Zen holds that all living beings are pure Buddha nature that seems to be obscured by the workings of the discursive mind, fueled by the pressures of modern life. Through daily practice of seated meditation, we allow the discursive mind to settle, and let this true nature be expressed in our daily life.

Buddhism is non-theistic. The historical Buddha is not worshipped as a deity, but rather serves as an example of the realization that is expressed through our Zazen practice. Practitioners of other faiths may cultivate themselves through Zazen, supplementing their existing spiritual practice.

The Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago has been offering Zazen instruction since 1949 and we are one of the oldest continuously operating Soto Zen centers in the US. We are dependent solely on your generosity to help us continue. If your circumstances permit, please help us [we are a 501c3 non profit organization and donations to us are tax deductible].

Donate Here

Also, Amazon has a program wherein .05% of your purchases thru their program benefit us. Click AmazonSmile log on to your account and specify the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago as the organization you are supporting.

A collection of audio talks by our late abbot Kongo Langlois, Roshi is now available at Northwestern University Libraries

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Buddha

Meditation
J. Krishnamurti

I am going step by step into what meditation is. Please don’t wait till the end, hoping to have a complete description of how to meditate. What we are doing now is part of meditation.

Now, what one has to do is to be aware of the thinker and not try to resolve the contradiction and bring about a integration between the thought and the thinker. The thinker is the psychological entity who has accumulated experience as knowledge; he is the time bound center that is the result of ever changing environmental influences, and from this center he looks, he listens, he experiences. As long as one does not understand the structure and the anatomy of this center, there must always be conflict and a mind in conflict cannot possibly understand the depth and the beauty of meditation.

In meditation there can be no thinker, which means that thought must come to an end – the thought that is urged forward by the desire to achieve a result. Meditation has nothing to do with achieving a result. It is not a matter of breathing in a particular way or looking at your nose, or awakening the power to perform certain tricks, or any of the rest of that immature nonsense…

Meditation is not something apart from life. When you are driving a car or sitting in a bus, when you are chatting aimlessly, when you are walking by yourself in a wood or watching a butterfly being carried along by the wind – to be choicelessly aware of all that is part of meditation.

July

2018
Events

Regular Services

Three Regularly Scheduled Services are held in Evanston each week.

All are welcome to attend our regular Zen Meditation Services. Instructions are given at each.

Sunday
10:00AM to 12:00PM
2:00PM to 4:00PM
Wednesday
7:00PM to 9:00PM

July 7th
August 4th

One Day Zen Meditation Retreat in Evanston

We invite you to join us for a one day intensive Zen Meditation retreat. We begin at 12:30PM and finish at 10:30PM with breaks for mindful work and supper. While we encourage you to join us for the entire day, we welcome you for whatever portion your schedule allows. A donation of $50 for the entire day is suggested. Pre-registration is not required.

For more information.

Sunday 2PM to 4PM

July 15th

Aug 19th

Introduction to Zen Meditation Workshop

While we welcome newcomers to all of our regular services, and instructions are given at each, once every month [typically the 3rd Sunday] we offer a introductory workshop for those who prefer a more structured exposition of our practice. All Are welcome.

A donation of $20.00 is suggested..

For more information and registration.

Thursday July 19th

thru
Sunday July 20th

4 Day Meditation

Retreat

Schaumburg, IL

A Meditation Retreat [Sesshin] is an excellent opportunity to deepen your meditation practice. We invite and encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to practice Zen meditation in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.

Meals are provided. Please bring a bedroll or sleeping bag. A donation of $100.00 is suggested..