On Sunday, November 11, 2023, after meditation, we listened to segments of a public Dharma talk from Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche titled "Meditation and Going Beyond Mindfulness - A Secular Perspective".…
On Sunday, October 8, 2023, after meditation, we listened to a Dharma talk from Tan Ajahn Kalyano titled "Upekkhā (equanimity)". This talk discusses equanimity, the fourth of the four brahmavihārā…
On Sunday, September 10th, 2023, after meditation we shared a talk by meditation teacher, Tara Brach, where she explored the topic of "Awakening through Difficult Emotions: The Poison is the…
On August 13, 2023, after meditation, we shared a talk by Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner, on the teaching of Yogācāra, titled "Yogācāra: A Concise Instruction for Practitioners." Yogācāra, often referred…
On July 9, 2023, after meditation, we met online for a Teachers’ Corner session about “The Practice of Six Transcendence.” We listened to a collection of excerpts from a Dharma…
On Sunday, June 11, 2023, after meditation we listened to a Dharma talk from Rev. Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer entitled "Equanimity in our Whirling World". In this talk, Hōgetsu introduces the…
On Sunday, May 14th, 2023, after meditation we watched excerpts from a Talk by Chan teacher, Dr. Rebecca Li, about cultivating compassion and loving-kindness for ourselves. The teacher mentioned that…
On Sunday, March 12th, 2023, after meditation we watched a Dharma talk from Jack Kornfield entitled "The Most Basic Truths: Gateways to Freedom". In this talk, Mr. Kornfield discusses a…
On Sunday, February 12, 2023, after meditation, we listened to a Dharma talk by Soto Zen teacher, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, on "Boundlessness." Zenju first clarified that boundlessness could not be…
On Sunday, January 8, 2023, after meditation we listened to a Dharma talk podcast by Vipassana teacher, Jack Kornfield, on "Seeing Anew." Starting by quoting Shunryū Suziki Roshi: "the goal…
On Sunday, December 11, 2022, after meditation we watched a Dharma talk from Bhante Sujatha entitled "A Buddhist Approach to Handling Difficult Thoughts and Emotions." In his talk, Bhante Sujatha…
On Sunday, November 13, 2022, after meditation, we listened to the talk "Gratitude as a Dharma Gate" by Dharma teacher Domyo Burk. In her talk, Domyo explained how gratitude could…
Ven. Ajahn Brahm
On October 9th, 2022, after meditation, we watched a Dharma lecture by Ajahn Brahm titled: "Facing Difficult Situations in Life." Ajahn Brahm taught that when we face crises and other…
On Sunday, September 11, 2022, after meditation we listened to a Dharma talk from Issan Koyama offering insights into two kōans, the Wild Fox kōan and Rinzai's Blind Ass. In…
On August 14, 2022, after meditation, we learned from Dharma teacher Pema Chödrön about the concept of "shenpa", how it related to our suffering, our feeling of being "stuck", and…
On July 10, 2022, after meditation, the group watched three short Dharma teachings by Her Eminence Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, all of which were given in response to practitioners' questions,…
On June 12, 2022, after meditation we listened to a Dharma talk - "Zazen is Not About Progress" - from Shōhaku Okumura about the difference between a goal and a…
On May 8, 2022, after meditation, we shared a collection of short talks by Chozen Bays Roshi with practical advice on the most basic practice how-tos: "From Sitting Postures to…
On April 10, 2022, after meditation, we shared a talk on the Tibetan Lojong teaching of: "Turning Adversity Into the Path of Awakening" by Fred Eppsteiner. In his talk, Fred also…
On March 13, 2022, after meditation, we honored Women History Month by sharing a talk from Ven. Tathālokā on the topic of "The Role of Bhikkhunis." After meditation, we briefly shared the…
On February 13, 2022, after meditation, we met online for a Teachers’ Corner session to learn from the recently departed Zen Master Thich Nhất Hạnh about the practice of “Mindfulness”.…
On January 9, 2022, after meditation, we studied the topic of "The Four Great Vows." Before watching the Dharma Talk by Zen Master Bon Soeng on The Four Great Vows,…
On December 11, 2021, after meditation, we listened to excerpts from Dr. Larry Ward’s talk titled “Unshakable Deliverance of the Mind”, on how to practice with the Five Hindrances. Dr. Ward explained that the goal of our practice is to achieve “a mind that is unshakable” and a mind that is “delivered… from itself.” To achieve unshakable deliverance, we must develop an awareness of our mind, and the power to reshape it toward compassion and kindness, and this process calls for us to practice with the Five Hindrances.
A portrait of the Venerable Bhikku Bodhi
On November 13, 2021, after meditation we listened to a talk from the Venerable Bhikku Bodhi about a piece of the Buddha's advice for our speech. In particular, the Buddha…
On October 9, 2021, after meditation we watched a Dharma talk by Ayya Santussika titled: "Giving It All You've Got." The teacher quoted Ajahn Chah who said that in everything…
On September 11, 2021, after meditation we watched a Dharma talk by Roshi Konjin Gaelyn Godwin about Edges and Boundlessness. The talk was originally delivered to the Tallahassee Chan Center…
Ven. Ajahn Brahm
On August 14, 2021, after meditation we listened to a talk from Venerable Ajahn Brahm about a talk about Dealing with Sickness. Everyone gets sick at some point in their…
On July 10, 2021, after meditation we met online for a Teachers' Corner session on the topic of "Embracing Uncertainty" At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we watched excerpts from a…
On Saturday, June 12, 2021, our Teachers' Corner was focused on the famous line in the Heart Sutra: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form...", with teachings from H.H. The Dalai…
On May 29, 2021, Chan/Zen teacher, David Listen, joined us to guide meditation and give a Dharma Talk via Zoom. He expounded on the Three Dharma Seals (impermanence, selflessness, nirvana). These describe how things truly are; and when we cannot let go of our desire for permanence or a sense of an independent self, we suffer. He explained how nirvana or "true nature" is not a "thing" we can see or attain, but simply describes our capacity to fully realize the truths of impermanence and selflessness, thereby unleashing our full potential for compassion and wisdom.
On Saturday, May 8, 2021, the topic for Teachers’ Corner was “Wise Livelihood.” After meditation, we listened to a dharma talk by the teacher Andrea Fella about "Wise Livelihood" (often…
On Saturday April 10, 2021, the topic for Teachers’ Corner was “Grief.” For seated meditation, we started with a 10-minute guided meditation on “Encountering Grief” by Roshi Joan Halifax followed…
On March 13, 2021, after meditation we met online for a Teachers’ Corner session about “Forgiveness.” At Teachers’ Corner last Saturday, we listened to excerpts from Ven. Pannavati Bhikkhuni’s talk…
On February 13, 2021, after meditation we learned more about "zazen", or Zen meditation, through a text called the "Fukan Zazengi", or the "Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen" in English.…
On January 9, 2021, after meditation we met online for a Teachers' Corner session on the topic of "How to Prioritize?" At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we listened to a…
On December 12, 2020, after meditation we heard a dharma talk about the concept of vow, which figures prominently in Mahayana Buddhism. At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we heard a…
On November 14, 2020, after meditation, we discussed one of the fundamental causes of our suffering -- Attachment / Clinging / Grasping, and how to work with it in our…
On October 10, 2020, after meditation, we shared several teachers' responses on the issue of Teacher Misconduct in student abuse. We hope their advice will guide us in learning the…
On September 12, 2020, after meditation we learned more about Right Speech (Samma vaca), one of the elements of the Buddha's Eightfold Noble Path, through a closer examination of one…
On August 8, 2020, after meditation, we learned about a core Buddhism teaching about human suffering — the Second Arrow. At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we read the sutta (Samyutta…
On July 11, 2020, after meditation, we learned about what "Being Present" means for practitioners of the Buddhadharma. At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we listened to a recent Dharma talk…
On June 13, 2020, after meditation, we learned from two different teachers on the topic of Transforming Suffering. At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we listened to two Dharma talks, one…
On May 9, 2020, after meditation, we learned from two teachers about the feeling of Guilt and the Buddhist perspective on how to deal with it. At Teachers' Corner last…
On Apr. 11th, 2020 was our "Teachers' Corner" week, and we took this opportunity to share a recent Dharma talk given by a Chan teacher Dr. Rebecca Li, in response…
On Mar. 14, 2020 after meditation, we learned from three different teachers about Anger. At Teachers' Corner last Saturday, we watched two short video teachings and read a short article,…
On Feb. 08, 2020 after meditation, we heard from two different teachers about Impermanence. During our "Teachers' Corner" session, we read a couple pages from Thích Nhất Hạnh's book and…
On Jan. 11, 2020 after meditation, we learned about the importance and the challenges of Listening from Dharma teachers Ajahn Brahm and Toni Packer. During our "Teachers' Corner" session, we…
On June 28, 2019 evening, about 80 participants from many different sanghas and lineages in Chicago and beyond attended the “A Cross-Zen Dialogue” event. This event brought the three teachers Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton (Japanese Soto Zen), Meido Moore Roshi (Japanese Rinzai Zen) and Guo Gu (Chinese Chan) together to discuss the similarities and differences between the approaches that each of their traditions takes to Dharma and practice. The overall theme for the evening was that all the practices and lineages represented by the three teachers have much more in common than they differ, and that no single approach is better for everyone.
Friday June 28, 2019 6:45 PM to 7:15 PM: Check-in & Mingle, Light Vegan Snacks 7:15 PM to 9:15 PM: Cross-Zen Dialogue 9:15 PM to ~9:40 PM: More Mingling and…
Rev. Eishin Nancy Easton of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate will join us in-person today, Sat. May 11th, during our regular group session, and give a Dharma talk on the Kṣānti…