Lincoln Park Zen

About us

The Kwan Um School of Zen (KUSZ) comprises zen centers all over the world ; it is itself rooted in the Korean zen traditions and was founded by followers of Zen Master Seung Sahn in Providence, Rhode Island, in the 1970s. Ten Directions Zen Community is the sangha of the KUZS in the greater Chicago area. We count neighborhood groups in Wheaton, Woodstock, Hobart, Indiana, and Peoria as well as the Bultasa Zen Group and Lincoln Park Zen in the city of Chicago. Our guiding teacher is Zen Master Seong Hyang (Barbara Rhodes), one of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s first students and his successor as “School Zen Master” for all KUZS centers in the world.

Ten Directions Zen Community offers various programs each year including, importantly, four or five weekend retreats each year and Midwest Sangha Weekends every few years, attended by teachers and students from our centers in Indiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, and other central states.

For further information on the Kwan Um School of Zen, the teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn and our several Zen Masters as well as information about our forms of practice and the locations of centers in the US, please visit the Kwan Um Zen School website. For more information on Chicago-area retreats, days of mediation, kidos please visit the Ten Directions Zen website.

Paul Lemrise currently serves as Director of Ten Directions Zen Community.

Lincoln Park Zen holds practice sessions following the methods of Zen Master Seung Sahn both in the Lincoln Park Campus of DePaul University (Student Center, room 102) and in the Lewis Center (Law School) in the Loop (first floor). In Lincoln Park, sittings are on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 (beginners welcome) and Saturdays, 8:00-11:00 am. In the Loop, Thursdays from 1:00-2:00 pm. Special programs are held from time to time—dharma talks, films, workshops, classes, and longer periods of sitting.

We would like to express our gratitude to DePaul University and the University Ministry Department for their openhearted welcome.