Alex Kakuyo's Blog, page 6

Riots, Homesteads, and Buddhist Pure Lands

I live in the downtown area of a major city, and it's a hotspot for rallies and protests of all kinds.  Black Lives Matter, Trump, supporters, The Green Party; you name the group and they've protested in my city.  
And as a Buddhist minister, part of my work is visiting areas of unrest and being an example of peace.  Sadly, when there are so many groups with different agendas, there is no end to the unrest.
I give talks, I teach meditation, and sometimes I sit in silence as the world moves quickly...

Buddhism and Anti-Natalism

David Benatar is the head of philosophy at Cape Town University and the author of Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence.  In his book, David argues that bringing new life into the world is an immoral act.  In order to make this argument he uses an axiological asymmetrical argument, which states:

If a being exists, suffering is bad and pleasure is good.  However, if a being does not exist, missing out on pleasure isn't bad, however missing out on suffering is good. 

In other ...

Stacking Rocks in the Wilderness

I was involved with the Boy Scouts of America as a child.  Every month, my scout troop and I would pack up the trailer and drive to some far-off location where we'd build fires, pitch tents, and hike through the wilderness.  Eventually, I became an Eagle Scout; the highest rank that a boy scout can earn.

One lesson that was drilled into us at the start of every camping trip was the philosophy of "leave no trace" camping.  The idea was simple, the natural word was sacred and worthy of our respect....

The Dharma of Cardi B

Cardi B is a Bodhisattva. According to her website, she worked as a stripper before appearing in the VH1 Reality TV series: Love and Hip Hop New York from 2015 to 2017. In June of 2017, Atlantic Records released her first commercial Hip Hop single, Bodak Yellow, which reached number one on the Hot 100 chart. The rest, as they say, is history

Cardi B is now a well-known name in the Hip Hop/R&B community.  She goes on world tours, makes frequent appearances at awards shows, and has an estimated net...

Lessons from a Spider Buddha

There's a large spider living outside my window.  I don't know how he got there; whether he climbed up or was carried by the wind, but he's been there all summer.  
I stand and watch him sometimes as he goes about his day; spinning webs and catching insects.  The world is in a state of turmoil, but he's completely unbothered.  I respect that.
Sadly, my window doesn't provide adequate protection for him.  When it rains, the droplets batter the spider's web like canon balls; tearing it to pieces.  I...

The Dharma of Wearing a Facemask

In many ways, Buddhist practice allows us to see the hidden parts of ourselves.  Like a bodybuilder who flexes his muscles in the mirror, we view our spiritual body from every angle and take note of what's there.  Sometimes we like what we see.  And sometimes we don't.  However, it's in those moments when our reflection makes us cringe that we find opportunities for growth.
For example, when I was living on an organic farm in Indiana a tension emerged between my desire for spiritual practice and ...

I Don't Want an Eternal Life

Today, I realized that I'm no longer a "young" man.  My favorite music from the '90s is starting to show up on classic rock stations. Despite my best efforts, I'm losing track of new technology.  And I may or may not have told a group of kids to, "get off my lawn," over the weekend.
There were a number of questions that arose with this realization.  I considered the direction of my life and where it's heading.  I thought about my career and if I'm saving enough for retirement.  And I thought abou...

The Dharma of Online Trolls

The greatest troll of all time was a man named Andy Kaufman.  Kaufman was born on January 17, 1949, and he made his living as a performance artist, professional wrestler, and self-proclaimed "song and dance" man.  
Kaufman had a show in vegas for a while, and he appeared on both Saturday Night Live and the popular sitcom, Taxi.  He died of lung cancer at the age of  35.
As part of his act, Kaufman would go on stage and act in a strange, anti-social manner in order to get a response from the audien...

Accepting the Unconditional Love of Buddha

Growing up, it was important to my mom that all of her kids learn how to swim.  So, I spent four weeks out of every summer taking swimming lessons at the local pool.

The pool was broken into five sections with level 1 being the shallow end and level 5 being the deep end.  Naturally, the deep end was where all the action was; it had a diving board and a waterslide!

Everyone was required to start at level 1 and work their way up to level 5 by showing proficiency in various skills ranging from holdin...

The Buddhist Pureland and Living Under Curfew

In Pureland Buddhism, we're taught that the world is both a land of suffering and a wish-fulfilling jewel.  Through the grace of Amida Buddha, and teachings like those found in the Meditation Sutra we're able to see beauty in the midst of our pain.

Of course, this doesn't mean that we no longer experience suffering.  Rather, it means that our relationship to suffering changes.  We see every hardship as a teaching, and we learn to appreciate the many gifts (healthy food, clean water, indoor plumbi...