Alex Kakuyo is a Buddhist teacher and breathwork facilitator.A former Marine, he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before finding the Dharma through a series of happy accidents.Alex has a degree in philosophy from Wabash College and he helps students transform daily activities into spiritual practice.He is the author of Perfectly Ordinary: Buddhist Teachings for Everyday Life.
You can follow him by visiting his blog, The Same Old Zen and on Twitter: @sameoldzen.
The Thing Within Us That Lives Off Conflict
Like cats, looking for a fight, we have a thing within us that lives off of conflict.
The Need for Intolerance
Like the Buddha, we must learn to be intolerant.
Doing the Work and Planting the Seeds
Typical, life’s important moments always happen when no one’s around.
Saving the World is Hard (But We Can Start by Making the Bed)
In the face of so much madness doing little things to care for ourselves and others seems unimportant.
No Shortcuts to Inner Peace
There is no short cut to inner peace; there is only the path, and we must walk it every day.
Why I am Not a Minimalist (anymore)
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo As a younger man, I prided myself on being a minimalist. I never owned more possessions that what I could fit into a duffel bag. I did my best to avoid clothing purchases; choosing to make due with the free t-shirts that were passed out at...
Life is Loving the Struggle Just as Much as the Good Parts
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo No one ever talks about the connection between homesteading and crisis management. If one goes to Instagram and searches for #homesteadlife or #hobbyfarm, they'll be greeted with pictures of happy chickens, well-groomed garden beds, and...
Don’t Seek a Holy Life, Make a Holy Life
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo In the meditation hall, I have an altar dedicated to Amida Buddha and the bodhisattvas Kannon and Jizo. It contains three statues, which bear their respective images along with candles and an incense burner. The statues are of good...
Obstacles on the Path: All My Wants Really Don’t Matter
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo Two years ago, I bought an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. I was tired of the noise and congestion of city life, and I wanted to be closer to nature. More than that, I wanted to use the skills I'd learned by apprenticing on organic...
The Things We Pass Down
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo In pre-industrial America, it was common for family heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to another. A woman might wear her mother’s wedding dress to get married or a father might give his prized car to his son as a graduation...
The Zen of Just Being a Good Neighbor
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo My community is sitting under three feet of snow, at the moment, and we get a few more inches every day. So, I've been doing many of the jobs that one associates with winter snowstorms; insulating the chicken coop, putting salt down on the...
When Life is Poop: Buddhist Ways to Fertilize the Garden
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo As a homesteader, I spend a lot of time dealing with manure. I clean it out of the cat's litter boxes. I step in it each time I feed the chickens and I collect it from our two rabbits, Belladonna and Oleander. That last part might be...
Enlightenment is Not the Goal (Hint: It’s a Starting Point)
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo A student sat down in front of their teacher and asked, "How do caterpillars become butterflies?" The teacher replied, "They don't---only butterflies can become butterflies." This koan comes from my new book, A Year of Zen...
My Bodhisattva Vow: I’ll Do My Best to Stop Your Suffering
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo In a couple of weeks, I'll have my one-year anniversary of living on a homestead. I can say with full honesty that I love this life. Growing food and caring for animals is rewarding. Watching the land grow and shrink throughout the year is...
I’m Buddhist and I Have Faith When Things Get Hard
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo Faith is a dirty word in American Buddhism. When teachers discuss having faith in Buddha and his teachings, for example, there's a lot of hand-wringing involved. We're quick to explain that faith in Buddhism is more akin to trust, and...