Skip to main content

About


Sensei Alex Kakuyo is a lay Buddhist minister and former Marine.  His approach to Buddhism focuses on the connection between spirituality and daily life.  He teaches students how to find enlightenment in every breath, every action, and every moment.

Alex's journey into Buddhism began when he had a quarter-life crisis in January 2013.  At this point, he possessed everything that he thought would make him happy (a fast car, money, job success, etc.), but he still went to bed feeling miserable each night. 

Convinced that there had to be more to life than simply earning a paycheck he began studying spirituality, which led him to the teachings of the Buddha. After reading the 4 Noble truths, Alex knew that he'd found his path.  

Finally, he had a clear explanation as to why suffering exists in the world along with a systematic approach to ending that suffering

He threw himself into Buddhist training; spending several hours a day in meditation. However, something still didn't seem right.  He remained unconvinced that he could effectively practice the Dharma while living and working in conventional society.

This led him to give away all of his possessions (including his prized Ford mustang), and spend 8 months traveling the United States; meditating, studying sutras, and working on organic farms.

During this time, Sensei Alex built a tiny house in Indiana, planted an orchard in New York, and had several deep realizations; which informed his spiritual practice.  The greatest one came when he read a quote from Layman Pang, which states:

My daily activities are not unusual,
I’m just naturally in harmony with them.
Grasping nothing, discarding nothing.
In every place there’s no hindrance, no conflict.
My supernatural power and marvelous activity:
Drawing water and chopping wood.

This passage made him realize that running away from the world would not help him realize enlightenment.  Rather, he needed to learn how to find awakening in ordinary, everyday existence.  With this in mind, he returned to the marketplace.  He got a job, an apartment, and a cat named Enso.  In May 2018 he was authorized to teach in the tradition of Rev. Koyo Kubose.

Sensei Alex Kakuyo has a B.A. in philosophy from Wabash college.  He travels the country giving Dharma talks, teaching meditation, and helping people turn their daily existence (washing dishes, paying bills, driving to work, etc.) into a path towards inner peace.



Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2018 at 4:45 AM

    Om Mane Padme hum

    ReplyDelete
  2. alex carterMay 16, 2019 at 9:40 PM

    Wonderful! Namu Amida Butsu!

    ReplyDelete
  3. MARCFebruary 8, 2021 at 6:14 PM

    I just read you reprinted article on Lion's Roar. I am a hungry ghost, too. I never had a name for it. Thank you for your work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BryanFebruary 23, 2021 at 4:32 AM

    I also just read your article, reposted on Lion's Roar. The right message, at the right moment for me. Now, off to wash the dishes. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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
21 comments
Read more

Living with Sadness

  Today, I woke up feeling sad. All of my basic needs are met. I have a pantry full of food and a warm, safe place to sleep at night.  Put simply, my life is going well by most objective standards. I have (almost) nothing to complain about. So, why am I sad? I don’t think there is a reason. I think there is a wellspring of emotion, and when we wake up our cup is filled with whatever happens to be in the well that day. Sometimes, I wake up angry and irritated. Other times, I wake up quiet and contented. But today I woke up sad. I’ve been sad a lot lately. And I’m not sure there’s much that can be done about it. I could explore the tide pools of sadness. I could tie a rock around my neck and and sink into its dark waters; looking for the source. But I’m scared I’d drown. I’m scared I’d fall in love with the dark anonymity of the sandy bottom, find peace in the fullness of my grief until I forsook the surface world and breathed watery death into my lungs. There’s comfort in sadness. And t
2 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