Sensei Alex Kakuyo is a former Marine, author, and Buddhist teacher in the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism. He teaches a nonsectarian approach to the Dharma, which encourages students to seek enlightenment in everyday life.
You can follow him by visiting his blog, The Same Old Zen and on Twitter: @sameoldzen.
The Lesson in The Game of Thrones Finale (and Why we Hate it)
By Sensei Alex Kakyuo WARNING! Game of Thrones Spoilers ahead! If you haven't seen the final season yet, you may want to close out this article now. ...
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Buddha as a Blues Brother
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo I discovered Blues music when I was 10 years old. I was at my maternal grandmother’s house, watching TV when a movie called the Blues Brothers came on the screen. The premise of the movie is fairly simple---two brothers,...
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A Buddhist’s View on Love, Romance & Compassion
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo Valentine's Day was last week, and people celebrated in a variety of ways. In fact, Kanye filled his living room with roses and hired Kenny G to serenade his wife, Kim Kardashian-West. Others celebrated in more low-key...
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Do Buddhists Have a Role in Politics?
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo A while back I read a book called, The Ape in the Corner Office by Richard Conniff. In the book, Conniff uses examples from the animal kingdom (everything from fish to primates) to explain why people do the strange...
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Resolutions: Accepting All of the Crooked Parts
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo There was an old Buddhist priest who ran a small temple at the top of a hillside. He'd spent several decades chanting, praying, and providing spiritual support to his community, but the time had come for him to retire....
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You’ve Always Had the Power to Return Home
By Sensei Alex Kakuyo When we examine the human body, the default setting is one of good health; that is to say, we assume that people are supposed to be healthy, and then we go from there. We wake each morning with the expectation that we'll be able to...
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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 under stress,...
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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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