Korinji Monastery Project

Our Future Vision

Daiyuzenji represents the culmination of nearly 30 years of Zen activity centered in Chicago.  The vital, dynamic Rinzai Zen lineage of Omori Sogen Roshi, as transmitted to the west by our teachers, has nurtured a supportive community of Zen practitioners here in the heartland.

There are pros and cons to being an urban Zen community.  We benefit from being in one of the world’s major population and cultural centers, and from the diverse community surrounding us.  We feel strongly that our vocation calls us to be near the people who might benefit from Zen– and certainly a location on Chicago’s north side allows this.  Here in Chicago, we have the opportunity to make Zen practice accessible to many.

 

For these reasons, our vision for Daiyuzenji’s future development embraces a balanced relationship between two places of practice:  Daiyuzenji and Korinji, a new monastic residence to be located on 17 acres of forested land a short distance from Madison, Wisconsin.

For Daiyuzenji, we anticipate further growth and expansion in Chicago.  Our goal is to eventually develop Daiyuzenji into an urban temple with facilities sufficient for shorter retreats conducted on-site.  Taking advantage of our uniquely advantageous location, we envision an increasingly broad schedule of activities and programming open to the public.

However, our current facility - though beautiful - does not allow for residential practice.  And in order to accommodate the members attending our retreats, we currently rent facilities – typically churches or camps – that have the kitchen, shower and sleeping space we lack.  Finally, there are some types of training that require a more rural atmosphere:  the physical labor and gardening found in traditional temples, for example,  are hard to replicate in an urban setting.

A separate not-for-profit organization, the Korinji Foundation, was founded in 2005 to work toward the establishment of our rural residential center.  The Foundation's fundraising has made possible the purchase of its 17 acres.  As soon as possible, Korinji will immediately begin functioning at this site as a rural residence for Zen practice.  This will allow our community to conduct longer retreats in a traditional monastic environment.  Live-in trainees, whether laypersons or priests, will be able to rotate between Korinji and Daiyuzenji, thus gaining a balanced training experience.  Joint programming playing to the strengths of both environments will powerfully round out the Zen training we offer.

Both Daiyuzenji and Korinji are of the same lineage background.  They are unified by the same teachers and community.  With this approach – maintaining one foot in the modern urban environment and one in the rural heartland– we intend to offer the maximum

training opportunity and benefit to our members.

To participate in our future, we invite you to visit Daiyuzenji and become involved.  For more information on the Korinji project and how you can participate in the founding of a new Zen monastery in the heart of North America, please see the Korinji Foundation website.

Forest and stone:  Korinji in the summer

The design of Korinji's zendo:  construction begun July, 2009

The land at Korinji - winter view