Membership

Cultivate a World of Wisdom:
Become a Steward of our Sangha Community

In these turbulent times, the world yearns for the qualities Zen nurtures: stillness in chaos, compassion in conflict, and clarity in confusion. For over ten years the Zen Life & Meditation Center has been a beacon of these transformative teachings. Now, we invite you to deepen your practice and expand our impact by becoming a member.

As a ZLMC member, you’re not just supporting a center, you’re nurturing a living tradition. Rooted in the White Plum Lineage, our teachings bridge timeless wisdom with modern life, offering a path to genuine well-being. Your monthly contribution is the lifeblood that allows us to:

  • Offer Sanctuary – Maintain our serene Oak Park center as a refuge for all who seek peace, from first-time meditators to seasoned practioners.

  • Share Timeless Wisdom – Attract and support our dedicated Zen teachers, ensuring that authentic, transformative teachings continue to flow.

  • Innovate and Adapt: Develop new classes, retreats, and workshops that address the evolving needs of our community, from stress relief to deep awakening.

  • Foster a Global Sangha: Expand our online offerings, bringing Zen insights to those who can’t reach us physically, creating a worldwide community of practice.

  • Open the Dharma Gate for All: Provide scholarships to those facing financial hardships, living our belief that the Dharma is too precious to be limited by finances.

Every membership level makes a difference:

  • Bodhisattva Member: $83/month – Help provide scholarships for others.

  • Peacekeeper Member: $42/month – Keep our teachings alive and bright

  • Pathfinder Member: $20/month – Nurture our communal bonds

Your contribution, at any level, is an act of generosity that ripples out. Each person who finds clarity here, each moment of compassion cultivated, each insight that transforms a life–this is the fruition of your support. In a world that often feels divided, your membership helps us build bridges of understanding. In a time of environmental crisis, it helps us teach mindful stewardship. In the face of personal challenges, it offers a path to resilience and peace.

Join us. Together, let’s tend this garden of awakening, where every mindful breath nurtures a more aware, compassionate world.

Featured
“Falling Cup” by Brad Hunter
“Falling Cup” by Brad Hunter

The handle of the cup breaks,

Swallows dance impossibly on the air.

A bell is heard in a mysterious distance

Beyond engine and hammer song,

Beneath tire hum and street hysteria.

A cracked brick catches your eye

And the world stops turning.

Just for an instant, thoughts refuse to rise,

Past and future fall off the edges of time.

“We Practice Zen” by Roshi June Tanoue
“We Practice Zen” by Roshi June Tanoue

“We practice Zen to purify our love. “

~Suzuki Roshi

Magenta, and striped red and yellow petunias are growing profusely in my window box quivering and dancing in the wind. It’s cool today, overcast with rain drizzling and refreshing them.  All the trees are in their beautiful green summery attire.  Dark green moss grows on the north-face of the elm tree outside.   

We are in the thick of summer!  The sun shines, days are long and warm!  We have big summer storms with dark clouds that fill the skies, lightning flashes, and the thunder beings talk.  It’s like they are having a big meeting in the sky discussing things of importance.  I listen to them roaring and growling with a kind of awe.  Refreshing rain falls, cools the earth, and nourishes the plants. 

Halau i Ka Pono celebrated Summer and danced the hula of our precious Hawaii. at the Zen Life & Meditation Center’s Summer Solstice Party and Fundraiser.    We honored Pele, our Volcano Goddess, who emerges from the center of the earth as hot lava to create our beloved ‘aina/land.  And we remembered the islands of Maui, Molokai, Ni’ihau, Oahu and Kauai through songs and hula.  

“Teachings of the Great Mountain” Zen Talks by Taizan Maezumi Roshi
“Teachings of the Great Mountain” Zen Talks by Taizan Maezumi Roshi

Originally published in 2001, this has been out-of-print for many years, so we are grateful that Zen River has recently republished these intimate, clear teachings of Taizan Maezumi Roshi.

In Preface to this new edition, Tenkei Coppens, who edited these talks, writes: “We are very happy to present a new edition of Teaching of the Great Mountain, Zen Talks by Taizan Maezumi, a book published in 2001 by Tuttle Publishing which has been out of print for a long time.

As time passes, the value and relevance of Maezumi Roshi’s teaching only seems to increase. In this rapidly changing world it is such a relief to find a clear articulation of authentic Buddhist practice that connects us with masters and students from across the ages.

Michael Shikan Brunner Dharma Transmission Rescinded
Michael Shikan Brunner Dharma Transmission Rescinded

On April 15, 2024, I rescinded Michael Brunner’s Dharma Transmission (Shiho). He no longer has my permission or blessing to function as an empowered Zen teacher (Denbo) or an empowered Zen priest (Denkai).

Shortly after receiving Dharma transmission from me on Sept. 3, 2022, Michael left our Zen Center and went to focus on developing the One River Zen Center in Ottawa which he and his partner Vanessa Roddam co-founded together.

On March 20, 2024 it came to my attention that he had behaved inappropriately with a student in a way that was ethically egregious and a serious boundary violation. Since he was not open to working in a transparent way with those around him, I rescinded his Dharma Transmission and cut all formal ties with him.