This review is about my experience staying at the Temple for few nights, not the meditation sits,…read morewhich were great! Years back, I had stayed few days at the Zen Buddhist Temple, which was ran by this nice lady monk who had since moved. Because I had a phenomenal and transformative experience, I decided to come back for a second retreat! When I came back, the Temple was ran by a male monk from Korea (could be the same monk now, not sure), and I left there with an uncomfortable and unpleasant time. Reflecting on this, I realized that there were certain assumptions that the male monk failed to inform me, before I checked in. I don't want to go into exact details of what those issues were because I don't want to ruin people's view of the Temple. But, if you have any plans to stay at the Temple overnight, ask what rules and expectations are for guests, especially when it comes to the access and use of the kitchen...

Very welcoming and friendly experience. We were introduced to the meditation center from a friend…read moreand will continue to go. I highly recommend if you are looking for a Zen Buddhist temple.

Although I was born in Chicago as half Swedish (father's side), half Sicilian (mother's side), and…read moreBaptized as Roman Catholic - I was raised as a Zen Buddhist. And the Midwest Buddhist Temple in Old Town was the place of meditation and Japanese culture where I and my family went most often. Because we lived in Lincoln Park less than a mile away. I was privileged to have this place be so prominent throughout my young life. It is a wonderful part of my heart. Annually the Midwest Buddhist Temple puts on it's traditional "Ginza Festival", at which there are food stalls, shopping tents, artisan demonstrations, and live music & dance performances on the temple's large outdoor stage.. Occasionally the Midwest Buddhist Temple offers classes in Japanese dance & music, as well as scheduled live performances. The temple is also the home of Chicago's famous "Ho Etsu Taiko".

It was their Ginza Holiday annual event! They had lots of food vendors and crafts! Performances on…read morethe main stage by Minyo dancers, Taiko drumming, Martial arts demonstrations and other groups. It was very entertaining!

I have been here years ago for the Japanese classes. The folks were really friendly and I liked the…read moreteacher a lot. They use Japanese for Busy People as their text, though, and having taken Japanese in high school and college, JfBP isn't a book I like for language learning. Classes were affordable, and they were laid back too. I enjoyed my time learning here.

This place is fantastic! I can't remember the last time I felt more welcome. They do a fantastic…read morejob of guiding you from the moment you step in the door till after the service. It is also structured similar to a Christian service so I didn't feel like a complete fish out of water. If you are curious about learning Buddhism this is a great place to start!

I learned alot from this temple .Mostly how to do meditation.I'm very pleased with Wat PHRASI.read more

Fantastic Thai Temple that is so welcoming and friendly. The monks are also extremely welcoming…read more Came here with my wife to say prayers for departed family members and leave a donation. We took food for the monks and were also invited to stay for a delicious lunch. People that were there were really nice. The temple inside is quite large and the buddhist statues are beautiful. We will hopefully be back soon.

Truly a remarkably tranquil and beautiful house of worship. The gardens are lovely, especially in…read morespring and summer. The welcome center has a lot of useful literature on the Baha'i faith, and it's wonderful to learn more about this incredibly inclusive and peaceful religion, and saddening to hear about the persecution of Baha'i people. I've visited the Lotus Baha'i temple in Delhi before, and the building in Chicago is significantly smaller and less of an architectural marvel. However, unlike the temple in Delhi, the house of worship in Chicago is not a tourist destination. This allows for more serene contemplation, away from the hustle and bustle of the main city. The Baha'i hous of worship is easily accessible by public transport and also has ample parking. The restrooms in the welcome center are spotless. Overall, I highly recommend a visit to the House of Worship. It's not a typical tourist destination, but is instead truly a place for contemplation and silence.

One word: GO! This is the perfect way to spend an hour in…read morethe area. The temple is free to visit every day from 10 A.M. - six P.M. The house of worship includes a temple, gardens, and a Welcome Center. The welcome center has restrooms, a bookstore, and a mini museum filled with pictures and plaques explaining the Baha'i faith and its history throughout the world. Since I visited on a Sunday, I decided to attend the half hour service, so I could see the inside of the temple. The walls are the same color white as The outside and religious scripts are written across the walls in English and Arabic.

For the Lunar New Year, upon our parents request my friend and I blistered this snow storm and…read morevisited some temples for the new year to pray for a great 2014. I heard about this temple briefly from an elderly man I met on a flight to Chicago from California. This temple was easy to find, but there isnt much content about it online, so i'm glad i'm creating a search for this temple on yelp!! From the outside the temple looks very plain, but instead its a huge eye opener! It has a huge praying room and an individual room for those who recently passed away. In addition to the praying rooms, in the back theres a mini school where Sunday school is held to learn to speak/read/write Vietnamese, martial arts, lion dance and traditional dance. A great community center with a lot of amenities and resources for all ages. Since it is the Lunar New Year, the temple has been cooking all weekend long vegetarian and vegan food for all the guest. Best part, its all free!!! I stuffed my face with delicious veggie noodle soup, tofu, veggies and desserts! I was informed that every Sunday from 11am (after the second praying session) until they close they offer free food for all attendees, but this weekend due to the special occasion its going on all weekend. All of the people here at the temple were SOOOO FRIENDLY! A lot of them made an effort to converse with us. They also gave us a tour and prayed with us individually. This temple has a true sense of family. I think I found my resident temple between the two temples I went to today! CHUC MUNG NAM MOI!

A truly wonderful place to learn more about meditation. The staff are warm, friendly and very…read morehelpful. Highly recommended.

I love this place so much. I have been for several years…read more Meditation helps me clear my mind and organize my daily life. After I have practiced with the group of people at the temple I feel more and more powerful and peaceful. And now I also practice by myself at home. I really recommend this place .

I am a long time student and supporter of Taigen (Roshi). We first me in San Francisco around 2001…read morewhen I began sitting with his Sangtha. It is difficult to describe in words how important Taigen and his Sangha were to me then. My beloved father died in 2004 and I recall how supportive the Sangha was at that time. I guess you might say that Taigen was just the right teacher at the right time. I recall how impressed I was with Taigen's sincerity and passion for Soto Zen. Taigen helped to firmly shift my mind in the direction of the Dharma. It should also be noted that Taigen is considered one of the great contributors to the academic study of Dogen in the West. Deep Bows, Phil T

It feels a little funny giving a Buddhist temple a yelp review.... but here goes…read more I practiced here for more than 7 or so years and I would consider myself a former student. I very dearly miss the company of the people I practiced with at ADZG and I remember my time with them fondly. I came to ADZG a confused young man and I left a confused older man. If you're looking for a place that will fix you you're looking in the wrong place. Over the course of my attendance the guiding teacher spent countless hours with me answering my questions and at times showed greater concern for my well being than I had shown for myself. He is not perfect, he has things to work on and it's important to note that we all do. I'm not trying to minimize or maximize his benevolence and every person who enters ADZG will have a different experience of him. My ask, if I can make a request, is that you enter this space with your eyes open and your ears ready. This place may not be for you. You may run away after your first visit. But, please do not take any review of this place as the definition. Our age is poisoned by politics and partisanship. I've heard the guiding teacher make political statements during talks and I believe he should stop that immediately. But he's not a bad person and the people who go to ADZG are not in a cult. Zen isn't a leftist movement and if you're a more conservative person this practice is for you too.

Fun times! We hit up some awesome activities here... Celebrated Songkran Day with amazing Thai food…read moreand vibes - the community was L I V E !

It is a very beautiful temple, shady, a very wide area in the temple, very beautiful. The people in…read morethe temple are very friendly. Today we intend to go and buy food that is sold every week. without knowing that this week is closed, very sad, but not disappointed at all because I met a monk who came to give advice Give knowledge about this temple and also listen to Mahachat sermons. which has never been heard before It's a very merit... Amen...

I have always had a welcoming and peaceful experience here, both online and in person.read more

Wouldn't trust Shambhala as far as I could throw them! Any "meditation" studio that would host wild…read moreparties after closing hours with incredibly loud DJing, in my opinion, shouldn't be teaching patrons how to relax. Doesn't sound so peaceful now, does it? I question the judgement of any business owner who would allow their children or relatives to come into their space and be so obnoxious and disruptive to other residents in 1017 West Washington. If you can't respect your neighbors, you certainly shouldn't be preaching love and joy. There are plenty of other ethical places to go in west loop to expand your practice. Please don't give them the satisfaction of neighborly kindness when they can't do the same in return.