The art of Zen Buddhist priest seeks enlightenment through meditation

By JUDY MASTERSON, Lake County News Sun, February 23, 2007

Waukegan, IL (USA) -- The room inside First Congregational Church of Waukegan is silent and dark. Six people are "sitting" erect and very still on cushions, their eyes lowered, their legs folded beneath them, their arms and hands held just so.

<< A weekly meeting of a Zen meditation group includes members Rev. Raymond Witham of Kenosha, Mickey Bly of Waukegan and Rick Clark of Gurnee.

They are not Congregationalists, but practitioners of the ancient art of Zen.

In better weather, the Rev. Chuck Hutchcraft, the Buddhist priest who leads the Grand Avenue Zen Group, likes to meditate along the shore of Lake Michigan. The beauty of the lake does not distract him from his intent, which is not to achieve some stereotypical state of nirvana, but to see "moment to moment what's going on within the self."

The group meets for zazen meditation at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at First Congregational Church, 329 Grand Ave., near downtown Waukegan. Instruction begins at 6 p.m. Fellowship follows meditation. For more information, call the Rev. Chuck Hutchcraft at (847) 609-7627.
The intent of zazen, or seated meditation, is freedom.

"It's a liberation, but it doesn't take you out of anything," Hutchcraft said. "It's liberating yourself from yourself. It's becoming very intimate with yourself and how you work -- how you cause your own suffering. It's seeing into impermanence, that nothing stays the same, that we are not fixed beings, that we are influenced by everything going on around us and that we constantly changing."

Hutchcraft, 56, came to Buddhism in the usual WASP way. Born a Baptist, he took up Quakerism before sitting with two Zen Buddhist groups in Evanston. He worked with a teacher for nine years before his ordination in 2005.

A newspaper man for 30 years, the "old '60s guy" now works as a statewide-organizer for the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

"The combination of Quaker and Zen has had a pretty profound influence on me," Hutchcraft said. "Your awareness grows and deepens until sitting behind a desk doesn't cut it anymore and even reporting doesn't cut it anymore. Zen keeps pulling. It takes you to a deeper connection. It helps you see what you can do."

Hutchcraft lends newcomers a slender copy of "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind," a primer on Zen meditation and practice based on talks by Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, who died in 1971. Suzuki taught: "Our life can be seen as a crossing of a river. The goal of our life's effort is to reach the other shore, Nirvana. The true wisdom of life is that in each step of the way, the other shore is actually reached."

"In Zen, there is a constant letting go, a constant taking away, not adding to," Hutchcraft said.

Every aspect of zazen meditation -- the posture, the lowered gaze, the "being with the breath," is aimed calming the body and purifying the mind so that insight into the nature of existence can be gained and "satori," or enlightenment can be achieved.

Rick Clark, of Gurnee, who was raised Roman Catholic, was drawn to Zen two years ago.

"In Buddhism, you don't rely on a higher power to transform you," Clark said. "You have to take personal responsibility. As I'm sitting on the cushion, I become progressively more aware of my mind states. Buddhism teaches you shouldn't accept anything unless you experience it to be true. There's no blind faith. You don't have to leave your rational sense at the door."

"Zen clarifies the mind, gets rid of the garbage and allows you to see things as they really are," said Ray Witham, a Buddhist priest from Kenosha. "When you see clearly, you can act. Enlightenment is pretty simple really. It's just getting rid of the junk."

We Need Your Help to Train the
Buddhist AI Chat Bot
NORBU!
(Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding)



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your name in the payment slip. Thank you.


Dear Friends in the Dharma,

We seek your generous support to help us train NORBU, the word's first Buddhist AI Chat Bot.

Here are some ways you can contribute to this noble cause:

One-time Donation or Loan: A single contribution, regardless of its size, will go a long way in helping us reach our goal and make the Buddhist LLM a beacon of wisdom for all.

How will your donation / loan be used? Download the NORBU White Paper for details.



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your purpose of payment (loan or donation) in the payment slip. Thank you.

Once payment is banked in, please send the payment slip via email to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv. Your donation/loan will be published and publicly acknowledged on the Buddhist Channel.

Spread the Word: Share this initiative with your friends, family and fellow Dharma enthusiasts. Join "Friends of Norbu" at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norbuchatbot. Together, we can build a stronger community and create a positive impact on a global scale.

Volunteer: If you possess expertise in AI, natural language processing, Dharma knowledge in terms of Buddhist sutras in various languages or related fields, and wish to lend your skills, please contact us. Your knowledge and passion could be invaluable to our project's success.

Your support is part of a collective effort to preserve and disseminate the profound teachings of Buddhism. By contributing to the NORBU, you become a "virtual Bodhisattva" to make Buddhist wisdom more accessible to seekers worldwide.

Thank you for helping to make NORBU a wise and compassionate Buddhist Chatbot!

May you be blessed with inner peace and wisdom,

With deepest gratitude,

Kooi F. Lim
On behalf of The Buddhist Channel Team


Note: To date, we have received the following contributions for NORBU:
US$ 75 from Gary Gach (Loan)
US$ 50 from Chong Sim Keong
MYR 300 from Wilson Tee
MYR 500 from Lim Yan Pok
MYR 50 from Oon Yeoh
MYR 200 from Ooi Poh Tin
MYR 300 from Lai Swee Pin
MYR 100 from Ong Hooi Sian
MYR 1,000 from Fam Sin Nin
MYR 500 from Oh teik Bin
MYR 300 from Yeoh Ai Guat
MYR 300 from Yong Lily
MYR 50 from Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
MYR 1,000 from Chiam Swee Ann
MYR 1,000 from Lye Veei Chiew
MYR 1,000 from Por Yong Tong
MYR 80 from Lee Wai Yee
MYR 500 from Pek Chee Hen
MYR 300 from Hor Tuck Loon
MYR 1,000 from Wise Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd
MYR 200 from Teo Yen Hua
MYR 500 from Ng Wee Keat
MYR 10,000 from Chang Quai Hung, Jackie (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from K. C. Lim & Agnes (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from Juin & Jooky Tan (Loan)
MYR 100 from Poh Boon Fong (on behalf of SXI Buddhist Students Society)
MYR 10,000 from Fam Shan-Shan (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from John Fam (Loan)
MYR 500 from Phang Cheng Kar
MYR 100 from Lee Suat Yee
MYR 500 from Teo Chwee Hoon (on behalf of Lai Siow Kee)
MYR 200 from Mak Yuen Chau

We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.

If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv


TOP