Teachers

Alex is a lay Buddhist minister, he was authorized to teach by Rev. Koyo Kubose, Dharma heir of the Bright Dawn Buddhist tradition.

Bright Dawn Lineage

Rev. Haya Akegarasu 1877-1954

Rev. Haya Akegarasu studied Pureland Buddhism under Rev. Manshi Kiyozawa for a decade. Akegarasu was a former head of administration of the Higashi Honganji, and was a major figure in the Dobokai reform movement, which emphasized the importance of faith in Buddhist practice, and stated that the Buddhist Pureland exists in this present life; not the afterlife.

Rev. Gyomay M. Kubose 1905-2000

(Bright Dawn Lineage founder- 1944)

Although born in America, Rev. Gyomay M. Kubose spent the early part of his life in Japan where he undoubtedly absorbed a heritage rich in Buddhist influence. Returning to America, he attended the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with a degree in Philosophy in 1935. Then he went to Japan and studied under his teacher, Rev. Haya Akegarasu, at his Dai-Nippon Bunkyo-kenkyu-in at Myotatsuji Temple in Ishikawa Prefecture. 

Accompanying his teacher on lecture tours, he traveled extensively in Japan, Korea, China, and the US. He returned to the US in 1941 just prior to World War II and spent two years in the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in Wyoming. Then he came to Chicago in 1944 and founded the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. In 1949, he accompanied and interpreted for the Abbot and Lady Kocho Otani of the Higashi Honganji, the Eastern Headquarters of Pureland Buddhism in Japan, on their US tour.  

He started the Buddhist Educational Center in Chicago in 1970, which offers courses in Buddhism and Japanese cultural arts. He also established a meditation group. He has lectured widely throughout North America, Peru and Brazil, and in Japan. Throughout his life, he emphasized and taught non-sectarian Buddhism for all. He passed away in Chicago on March 29, 2000.

Rev. Koyo S. Kubose 1941- 2022

(Bright Dawn Successor/Dharma Heir 1998)

He was born in Los Angeles, California. After World War II, he relocated to Chicago with his family. He earned a BA from the University of CA at Berkeley, an MA from San Francisco State University, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Iowa.

He went to Japan for three years and studied Shin Buddhism at the Eastern Buddhist Society at Otani University. He also did meditation practice under Zen masters Uchiyama Kosho of the Soto tradition and Kobori Nanrei of the Rinzai tradition.

Upon his return to the US in 1977, Rev. Koyo worked with his father, the Venerable Rev. Gyomay Kubose, a pioneer in the Americanization of Buddhism. From 1983 - 1995, Rev. Koyo served as a minister at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, which his father established in 1944.

Rev. Koyo was president of BRIGHT DAWN Center of Oneness Buddhism, which he established in 1996 to carry on his father's lifework. On April 4, 1998, Rev. Gyomay Kubose officially transmitted his spiritual authority to Rev. Koyo Kubose.

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In addition to his training in the Bright Dawn Buddhist tradition,  Alex has studied both Korean and Chinese Zen with the following teachers:

Zen Teachers

Ven. Shih Ying-Fa- A practicing Buddhist for the last 32 years, Venerable Shih Ying-Fa is the Abbot and founder of CloudWater Zendo, the Zen Center of Cleveland, and is the founder of the Nien-Fo Ch'an Order of Buddhist Monks.

Master Ying-Fa is the sole Dharma Heir of the late American Ch’an Master Wuming Longyan, and is a disciple of his root teacher Sensei Koshin Ogui, the former head of the Buddhist Churches of America. Master Ying-Fa founded CloudWater Zendo in 1994 and subsequently founded Zen meditation groups in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington state. 

Lincoln Rhodes, JDPSN- He became a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1974 and received inka in 1981. He helped found the Kwan Um School of Zen, several of its Zen Centers, and was the abbot of Providence Zen Center for many years. He is the guiding teacher of Indianapolis Zen Center.