Skip to main content

Giving

Dearest friends,

Generosity or Dana as it's called in Pali is one of the six perfections that we must cultivate as Buddhist practitioners.  Volunteering our time and giving our money to causes and organizations we believe in is an effective means of creating a Buddhist Pureland in this lifetime.

For me, teaching the Dharma has been part of Dana practice, and one of the most enriching parts of my life.  As I go on retreats, study sutras, and work to make the teachings widely available through articles and Dharma talks my practice deepens and Buddhism is made available to anyone who needs it.

However, there is no larger organization or corporate entity that funds my work.  100% of the time, money, and energy to keep this project going come from my own body and my own pockets.  That's fine, as I see my work as a love-offering to the larger community, but there are limits to what I can do on my own.

If you've benefited from one of the articles that I've posted on this blog or one of the Dharma talks that I've posted on Youtube.  Please consider making a secure, one-time donation by clicking on the donate button below.

Namu Amida Butsu,

Sensei Alex Kakuyo


Please click the donate button below to make your secure donation.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Magic Mushrooms and the Buddha Dharma

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. This results in a strange mix of people ending up in strange places and sharing their lives for any where from a few weeks to a few months.   You part ways knowing that you'll never see each other again despite your endless promises to keep in touch.  But you always remember the people you meet on the road, and your life is usually better for having met them. Case in point, I met a guy named "Fred" when I was farming in Indiana who'd lived an insanely cool life.  He did corporate America for a while, and decided it wasn't for him.  So, he high-tailed it to Vietnam and taught English for several years before deciding that he wanted to become a shaman.  After that, he made his way to Brazil where he wandered fo
19 comments
Read more

3 Universal Truths that Buddha Taught

Philosophers have wrestled with the concept of universal truth for centuries. But no one has been able to figure out exactly what it is, or even if it truly exists. In fact, the existentialist philosopher, Nietzsche famously threw up his hands and stated, " God is dead ," while contemplating the question. Of course, he wasn't claiming that a literal super natural deity had died. Rather, he was expressing the fact that human conceptual thought around things like happiness, goodness, truth, etc. is inherently flawed. As a result, universal truth as represented by God cannot exist. In Nietzsche's view, the best we can hope for is to live as individuals, constantly striving against one another to impose our will to power upon the world. The Buddhist view, however, is different. While Buddha would agree that humanity's conceptual view of the world is limited, he observed three experiences that all living beings share. These are often referre
9 comments
Read more

The Buddhist Teaching of Oneness

The teaching of Oneness in Mahayana Buddhism is one of the most important, and oft-misunderstood portions of the Dharma.   If we understand it, then practices like compassion and loving-kindness naturally become part of our lives.  However, if we misunderstand it, feelings of fatalism are the result. One of my favorite explanations of this teaching can be found in the Vimalakirti Sutra.  In it, a wealthy Layman name Vimalakirti falls ill, and it soon becomes apparent that he's going to die.  In his wisdom, Buddha sent Manjushri to Vimalkirti's home to see if anything could be done.   When he arrived Manjushri asked Vimalakirti, "Why are you sick?"  And the dying man responded by saying: This illness of mine is born of ignorance and feelings of attachment. Because all living beings are sick, therefore I am sick. If all living beings are relieved of sickness, then my sickness will be mended. Why? Because the bodhisattva for the sake of living beings e
Post a Comment
Read more