Soto Zen Buddhist Meditation in Chicago
Ancient Dragon Zen Gate is a community of practitioners committed to Soto Zen Buddhist meditation practice in Chicago, and now online to many distant practitioners. Our guiding teacher is Taigen Dan Leighton, author, scholar, and Dharma teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. We invite you to read his teachings or listen to audio recordings of Dharma talks by Taigen and many others. Sunday mornings we welcome brand new visitors to attend our Lincoln Square Zendo in person, or in our Online Zendo via Zoom to learn meditation before our regular program. Click our “New to Zen?” button above for more information. Click here to read our updated COVID policy for attending in-person events.
Click the Online Zendo button above to enter our online zendo via ZOOM. Please bow to the camera when entering or becoming visible on Zoom, but then do not face the screen directly during zazen.
Please refer to our calendar for a complete schedule of services and events in our online zendo. As well, please refer to our Online Zendo page for instructions on accessing the room.
Featured Podcasts: Buddhism in Kamakura Japan
Click here to learn more about some recent dharma talks given by our guiding teacher, Taigen Dan Leighton, about key buddhist figures in Kamakura-era Japan.
Latest Dharma Podcast Episodes
Zen Ongoing Balancing
ADZG 1187 ADZG Monday Night Dharma Talk by Taigen Dan Leighton
Featured Events
NAGARJUNA READING GROUP – Thursday, May 16, 2024 @ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
This reading group is open to all. Monthly meetings in the online zendo begin with thirty minutes of zazen, followed by reading aloud together and discussing Nāgarjuna’s The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. Participants are not expected to purchase this text and are welcome to drop in for any reading group gathering. There is no registration or fee to attend, but donations are welcome.
THREE-DAY SITTING LED BY TAIGEN DAN LEIGHTON: END OF SPRING PCP – Friday, May 17 @ 7:30 AM – Sunday, May 19 @ 5:30 PM
Three-day sitting, held in-person at our Lincoln Square Zendo, and online in our Online Zendo, marking the end of our Spring Practice Commitment Period. All are welcome to register for one, two, or all three days of the sitting; partial or hybrid attendance is welcome. The normal zazen and dharma talk on Sunday morning will be open to the public. Please register by Monday, May 13 using the form on the event page.
FAREWELL TO BRIAN AND SUSANNA TAYLOR – Monday, May 20, 2024 @ 7:45 PM – 9:00 PM
Featured News
SAVE THE DATE – TRANSITION CEREMONY FOR TAIGEN AND HOGETSU
Ancient Dragon Zen Gate warmly invites our community for a Guiding Dharma Teacher Transition Celebration honoring Taigen Dan Leighton and Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer on Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 10:15 AM. Please see this PDF for more information and on how to register by Friday, May 24.
ANCIENT DRAGON ZEN GATE SANGHA WEEK AT GREEN GULCH FARM
Ancient Dragon has been given the opportunity to bring a small group to Green Gulch Farm from August 21-26 for a sangha week. Please see this informational flyer for more information. If you are interested in attending and participating, please contact Hogetsu at info@ancientdragon.org as soon as possible as space will fill up and the trip requires some advanced planning.
CELEBRATING THE VOICES OF WOMEN IN BUDDHISM
The Soto Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA) is hosting monthly talks about women in Buddhism. For more information, click here to see the full schedule on the SZBA website.
ARCHIVAL TALKS
Florence Caplow (11/4/2019) – Ferocious Grandmothers
Hakusho Ostlund (7/18/2016) – I Sit Therefore I Sit
Click the Online Zendo button above to enter our online zendo via ZOOM. Please bow to the camera when entering or becoming visible on Zoom, but then do not face the screen directly during zazen.
Please refer to our calendar for a complete schedule of services and events in our online zendo. As well, please refer to our Online Zendo page for instructions on accessing the room.
Latest Dharma Podcast Episodes
All Beings are my Ancestors
ADZG 1185 ADZG Monday Night Dharma Talk by Zenshin Florence Caplow
Featured Podcasts: Buddhism in Kamakura Japan
Click here to learn more about some recent dharma talks given by our guiding teacher, Taigen Dan Leighton, about key buddhist figures in Kamakura-era Japan.
Featured Events
NAGARJUNA READING GROUP – Thursday, May 16, 2024 @ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
This reading group is open to all. Monthly meetings in the online zendo begin with thirty minutes of zazen, followed by reading aloud together and discussing Nāgarjuna’s The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. Participants are not expected to purchase this text and are welcome to drop in for any reading group gathering. There is no registration or fee to attend, but donations are welcome.
THREE-DAY SITTING LED BY TAIGEN DAN LEIGHTON: END OF SPRING PCP – Friday, May 17 @ 7:30 AM – Sunday, May 19 @ 5:30 PM
Three-day sitting, held in-person at our Lincoln Square Zendo, and online in our Online Zendo, marking the end of our Spring Practice Commitment Period. All are welcome to register for one, two, or all three days of the sitting; partial or hybrid attendance is welcome. The normal zazen and dharma talk on Sunday morning will be open to the public. Please register by Monday, May 13 using the form on the event page.
FAREWELL TO BRIAN AND SUSANNA TAYLOR – Monday, May 20, 2024 @ 7:45 PM – 9:00 PM
Featured News
SAVE THE DATE – TRANSITION CEREMONY FOR TAIGEN AND HOGETSU
Ancient Dragon Zen Gate warmly invites our community for a Guiding Dharma Teacher Transition Celebration honoring Taigen Dan Leighton and Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer on Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 10:15 AM. Please see this PDF for more information and on how to register by Friday, May 24.
ANCIENT DRAGON ZEN GATE SANGHA WEEK AT GREEN GULCH FARM
Ancient Dragon has been given the opportunity to bring a small group to Green Gulch Farm from August 21-26 for a sangha week. Please see this informational flyer for more information. If you are interested in attending and participating, please contact Hogetsu at info@ancientdragon.org as soon as possible as space will fill up and the trip requires some advanced planning.
CELEBRATING THE VOICES OF WOMEN IN BUDDHISM
The Soto Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA) is hosting monthly talks about women in Buddhism. For more information, click here to see the full schedule on the SZBA website.
ARCHIVAL TALKS
Florence Caplow (11/4/2019) – Ferocious Grandmothers
Hakusho Ostlund (7/18/2016) – I Sit Therefore I Sit
