A new and improved path (to the city)

This past Sunday resulted in a trip into Chicago. This is something that we don't do very often. I'm not a "city" person. The missus isn't a city person. And there is little there that we typically consider worthwhile that would motivate us to take on loads of traffic and parking headaches. But we've found a reason now -- and it exists at 4216 North Paulina, the home of the Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church.

For the last nearly eight years, we've been attending Buddhist services right here in nearby West Chicago. But a lot of additional research and a different focus led to the discovery of this little gem hiding in the midst of a typical city neighborhood. Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church is the Illinois home of the Nichiren Shu sect. I won't go into the details of what differentiates one sect from another, but the Nichiren Shu philosophy, its view of the Lotus Sutra, and its positioning of all relevant Buddhist teachings scratches us exactly where it itches, to borrow the phrasing.

We started attending a couple of months ago and are completely smitten with the low-key atmosphere, the positive exchanges, the friendly mostly Japanese membership (some Chinese), and the more accurate focus on the legitimate Nichiren teachings, as well as the more universally known Sakyamuni Buddha, acknowledged as the original Buddha. Services are available every two weeks. We are on more of a "monthly" schedule, A) because of travel, and B) because the Chief Priest himself only usually makes the journey once a month from Schaumburg. Might as well make our visits count!

Overall, it's a relaxed, enjoyable vibe, with the required recitation and chanting, hand-held drums to accompany the Taiko-provided rhythms, and all of the beauty one could possibly hope to see presented in such a humble city dwelling.

Once the service is complete, friendly exchanges take place for a while. Usually a lesson or just an interesting, relevant story. Then this is all followed with a lunch served in the lower level, where Japanese dishes are offered up to any takers, along with some sort of dessert. During our last visit, a Japanese member had just turned 88 and was celebrating, so various cakes were offered up. On Sunday, another member was celebrating an occasion and brought in chicken and other goodies.

No, we don't go for the food. It's a nice bonus, though. We actually had other lunch plans for the day (next blog to come) and had to scoot out of there. But each visit reassures us that this is certainly a welcome place to be and we've been made to feel right at home from the first moments. Su is already quite popular. I guess that's not a surprise. She's not exactly shy!