Sensei Alex Kakuyo is a minister in the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism. In the tradition of Rev. Koyo Kubose; he teaches a nonsectarian approach to the Dharma, which encourages students to find Buddhist teachings in everyday life. Alex is a former Marine, and he holds a B.A. in philosophy from Wabash College. Check out his blog here.
I’ll Take Reality Over Psychedelic Buddhism Any Day
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo You meet all kinds of people on the road. Some of them are clearly running from something; a past trauma or an action they regret. Others are clearly looking for something; a tribe of like-minded people or a safe place to call home....
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Killing the Buddha: The Cycle of Samsara
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo I witnessed a murder last night. It happened in my kitchen while I was making tea. I had just finished boiling water and I was perusing my collection of tea bags. As I leaned over the counter, trying to choose between,...
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Being a Light in a Society of Anger
By Sensei Alex Kakyuo In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a being who has vowed to realize enlightenment in order to save all sentient beings from suffering. Teachers will often tell stories of Bodhisattvas and their great feats/vows of compassion...
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The Zen of Being Mentally Strong
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo Recently, I read a book by professor Nassim Taleb called, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. In the book, Taleb argues that there are three types of systems in the world. There are fragile systems that break...
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What Makes a Buddhist’s Robes Sacred, and a Bathrobe Mundane?
By Alex Chong Do Thompson In less than a month, I'll be inducted as a Lay Minister in the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism. After the ceremony, I'll have a new Dharma name, and be authorized to use the title Sensei. I'll give Dharma...
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The Fifth Precept: Meditation is Not About Getting High (and Why I Don’t)
By Alex Chong Do Thompson This year, I did something a little different for New Year's Eve. Instead of partying with friends or sitting quietly at home, I took part in a 6-day silent meditation retreat at Buddhist Insights in Rockaway Beach,...
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What to do When It’s an Uphill Battle
By Alex Chong Do Thompson According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king in modern-day Corinth and a renowned trickster of both men and gods alike. He famously escaped death by convincing Hades, the god of the underworld, to put on a set...
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How Zen Koans are Helping Me with Life’s Tough Questions
By Alex Chong Do Thompson We're reading Zen Kōans by Rev. Gyomay Kubose as part of my lay minister training. The class discussions have been challenging, insightful, and they've caused me to reflect on how kōans* have affected my practice...
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How Marine Corps Training Taught Me about the Illusion of a Separate Self
By Alex Chong Do Thompson When I arrived at Parris Island for Marine Corps. Recruit Training there were men from many different walks of life standing with me. There were guys from the country who'd been hunting deer since they were six years...
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Unexpected Zen on a Road Trip
By Alex Chong Do Thompson My eyelids are getting heavy as I drive down the interstate. It's been a long weekend of college graduations, and late-night parties with family. It was fun. But the lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. I try all of the usual...
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Kindness, No Matter What
By Alex Chong Do Thompson Before I started practicing Zen, I treated people the way I thought they deserved to be treated. If someone was kind to me, then I would be kind to them. If someone screamed at me, then I would scream at them. And if someone really pissed...
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Kindness is an Act of Resistance: A Buddhist Response to Mass Shootings
By Alex Chong Do Thompson I'm standing in the break room at work, preparing to make a cup of tea and a news alert appears on my phone. I learn there's been a mass shooting in Las Vegas. My heart drops, and I reflexively focus on my breathing. The impromptu...
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No Radioactive Spider, No Secret Ceremony: Becoming Enlightened Takes Work
By Alex Chong Do Thompson I recently started watching an anime on Netflix called, One Punch Man. The main character is an unemployed yuppie named Saitama, who decides one day that he's going to become a super hero. He takes on the name One Punch Man because he...
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How Do We (as Buddhists) Respond to Violence?
By Alex Chong Do Thompson I entered my first full-contact karate tournament when I was 13 years old. I'd been training for several years at that point, and after watching Enter The Dragon one to many times, I decided that I wanted to test myself against a real...
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Nothing is Permanent—Not Even a Tattoo
By Alex Chong Do Thompson Everything changes. These two words seem simple on the surface. But Buddhist teachers have spent the last 2,500 years explaining them to students. It’s almost so obvious as to be laughable. Day turns to night, winter changes to spring, and...
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