Members are eligible to participate in all Temple
activities, including regular dokusan, Sangha meetings, Board
of Directors meetings, the formal student relationship with Roshi,
ordination, and the Monastery Without Walls program. Members pay
lower rates for sesshin and classes with the School for Zen Arts
and Studies.
A member must be thoroughly acquainted with the Temple forms,
including:
- the proper way to wear and use the sitting robe (click
here to order robes)
- zazen posture (ability to sit motionless and quiet in a
correct zazen posture during the formal periods of zazen)
- kinhin
- entering, leaving and walking in the zendo
- taking a seat in the zendo and leaving one’s place
in proper order
- gassho
- raihai
- chanting
- dokusan procedures
A member supports the ZCD by making monthly monetary contributions
and by attending and voting at the two All-Sangha Meetings held
in the fall and spring training periods. They may also support
the Center through rotation in the committee system.
Prospective members must complete an introductory seminar on
Zen Buddhism. Those with extensive experience with Zen practice
at other centers are waived from this requirement; however, it
is still recommended that such a person attend a seminar to become
familiar with the approach to Zen offered at this temple. After
attending several sittings, a person may pursue membership by
filling out a membership questionnaire, found in the foyer, and
placing it in the donation box. A meeting with the Head of the
Zendo will be arranged to explain membership, zendo forms, zazen
posture, and answer questions. Upon completion of the interview
the prospective member will begin paying dues and may attend dokusan
on a regular basis. Applicants are given a copy of the Organization
and Practice Guidelines book and are encouraged to read Taking
the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover by Robert
Aitken (available in the ZCD Store). The applicant then makes
arrangements to attend one of the monthly new member reviews to
ensure that he or she is able to sit correctly, execute zendo
forms properly, and to answer any questions. An Entering the Gate
ceremony is held in conjunction with a Sunday sitting to acknowledge
and welcome new members.
After fulfilling these requirements and becoming a member, thereby
ensuring a thorough understanding of the Temple forms and the
ability to contribute to a strong zendo atmosphere, a member’s
level of participation at the Temple is entirely up to them.
Membership Contributions
Although there is a suggested monthly membership contribution,
no one is turned away from the Temple due to lack of personal
financial resources. Dues are adjustable according to one's ability
to pay. Please make arrangements with the Head of the Zendo if
this is necessary. All members living within a 100-mile radius
of Denver are considered in-town members and pay in-town
dues, currently set at $45 per month. members living
farther than a 100-mile radius from the Temple are classified
as out-of-town members and pay $30 per month.
Because the Temple has no endowment or subsidies and is supported
almost entirely by membership contributions, the timely payment
of membership dues is crucial for its financial viability. Monthly
contributions are due the first of each month. If there is financial
difficulty in meeting this obligation, please contact the office,
Head of the Zendo, or Temple Treasurer. Members who are in arrears
more than three months and who have not made arrangements to address
this will be contacted and requested to bring their dues up-to-date.
Those who have received several notices about delinquent dues
but fail to respond may be dropped from membership.
The Zen Center of Denver is maintained, governed, and run by
its members. The Center is governed by a Board of Directors elected
by the membership. Board meetings are open to all members. Meetings
of the entire membership are held at least twice a year for elections
and general discussion of anything relating to the Center. The
fall meeting involves elections to the Board of Directors that
requires a vote from a quorum of the membership. If you can attend
only one Sangha meeting per year, please try to make this one.
Suggestions, complaints, and observations will also reach the
Board of Directors and the Lotus in the Flame Order by placement
in the donations box in the foyer at any time.
The day-to-day operations of the Center are performed through
a committee system made up of Center members. Members may help
run the Center by participating in one or more committees. The
committees include Computer, Family, Community Outreach, Finance
and Budget, Housekeeping, Kitchen, Library/Books, Library/Teisho
Tapes, Construction and Maintenance, Membership, Photo and Art,
Publications, Sewing, Yard, Income Generation, Design and Architecture,
and Fundraising. When you join, leave, or change committees, please
notify the Head of the Zendo so that the committee list can be
periodically updated. Because the interaction of members required
in administering and running the Center in the Zen training atmosphere
provides an important arena for ego attrition and the cultivation
and expression of dana (generosity or giving), the committee system
is much more than simply a mechanism for maintaining the Center’s
activities.
The Center’s bylaws are in the library, and the minutes
of the Board of Directors and Sangha meetings are posted on the
administration section of the bulletin board and also placed in
a notebook in the library. The minutes set forth a summary of
the content of the meetings, including detailed financial reports
accounting for the use of all Center income. The Center’s
bylaws provide detailed grievance procedures that could be initiated
by any member, and which could result in the dismissal of any person
in a position of authority or power, including the Spiritual Director.
Also included in the bylaws is a sexual harassment clause and
an antidiscrimination clause.
