Chicago Zen Center Observation Paper

Esha Munshi April 26, 2016

For the field observation, I went to the Chicago Zen Center located at 2029 Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201. A group of people originally founded the center in 1974 as an attempt to practice Zen the way it was taught by Philip Kapleau in the Harada-Yasutani tradition. Philip Kapleau is the author of The Three Pillars of Zen, a very popular guide to those that are interested in dwelling in the Zen practices. When it was founded, the Zen Center was in partnership with the Rochester Zen Center. Kapleau eventually transferred his position as abbot to Bodhun Kjolhede and the both of them came to the Chicago Zen Center for different retreats. It was not until 1996 that the Chicago Zen Center was large enough to have its own

An old three-story neighborhood home has been transformed into the site of all of these different Zen practices. The bottom floor, which is also the basement, is where first timers at Zen meditation are taken and taught the correct posture of Zen Meditation. The ground floor is meant for discussions both before and after the meditation session. The second floor of the house, called the zendo, is dedicated solely to meditative practices. Upon entering the zendo there is a replica of a Bodhi tree with a figure of the Buddha seated in front of

It remains the most crucial aspect of the practice that has been passed down for the past 2,500 years. Due to the fact that the body, breath and mind are considered in unison in Zen practice, the specificity of the position of the body is extremely important. Another reason for the specificity of an individual’s posture during meditation is so that the individual can get a proper understanding of “emptiness”. The concept of “emptiness” is a central component of Zen Buddhism and understanding it is what allows the individual to get a real sense of reality. The overall purpose of Zen Buddhism is to become aware of the true self and the lack of essence that is associated with it. In class we discussed that emptiness does not mean complete nothingness, rather it refers to the idea that all things have no inherent nature of themselves. According to Buddhism, the main reason of dukkha is that our desires compel us to grasp onto things that we believe are fixed. Alleviating this suffering serves as the main goal of meditation. As a solution to this problem, an individual must understand that nothing has any essence and let go of any desires (Pintchman). By allowing the position of the body, the state of mind, and rhythm of breath to be perfectly harmonized, we allow ourselves to be able to understand the reality of the world and the emptiness that is a