The Same Old Zen
by Sensei Alex Kakuyo
Latest posts
The Illusion of Reality
Protect Your Inner Peace
Pleasure Won't Make You Happy
The Animal Within Us
I don't have a large house by any means. But there's plenty of room for three cats and two humans. In addition to our first floor, we have a basement, an upstairs, and an attic space. If our four-legged children wanted, they could divide the house up into sections and never see each other. Instead, they follow each other around the house in a slow-motion chase. Every now and again the chase is…
Pictures on My Wall
Many years ago, I attended a Dharma talk on nonattachment. The monk explained the teaching by discussing the importance of having bare walls. He explained that if we decide that we want to hang a picture on the wall, that requires us to buy a frame for the picture. Then we have to get a nail and put a hole in the wall. What if we put the nail in the wrong place, and we miss the stud? Even if we…
Hells Bells and Buddhist Purelands
As I write this essay, there is an AC/DC album playing in the background. I like AC/DC for a couple of reasons. First, they are objectively the greatest rock band of all time; putting out bangers like You Shook Me All Night Long, Thunderstruck, and the infamous T.N.T. Second, the incongruity in their early videos is hilarious. You have Colin Burgess drumming in the background, doing his job like…
Nurturing the Seeds of Virtue
Three years ago, I planted asparagus in our garden. Asparagus is a centerpiece of many homesteads because it's nutritious, easy to grow, and it comes back every year. But gardeners must abide by several rules if they want their asparagus patch to feed them year after year. First, the asparagus can't be harvested for the first three years after planting. This allows it to establish a strong root…
Learning to be Intolerant
Acceptance is a big deal in Buddhist circles. We're told that we must accept suffering, accept mistreatment, accept the opinions of others. We're told to be like the ocean, which accepts all things and rejects nothing. Much of this thinking is rooted in a slavish dependence on the absolute. This is especially true in Zen circles where the conventional world is painted as less than, and we're told…
Lost Cats and Buddhist Love
As I write this one of our cats, Finn, is sprawled across my lap. He is an all-white, American short hair with blue eyes and below average intelligence. I've watched him carefully plan his leap onto the bookshelf only to jump headfirst into the wall. And he regularly gets lost wandering through our house; meowing sadly until I or my partner go to find him. What Finn lacks in intelligence, however,…
How to Save The World
A student went to his Zen teacher and found him working in the garden. The teacher greeted his student and asked, "How is Buddhism in the south?" The student replied, "There is much discussion." The Zen teacher paused a moment, and then he said, "Come help me plant radishes in the garden." The student asked, "How will that help the world?" The Zen teacher replied, "What do you call the world?"…
Freeloading Chickens
One common misconception about chickens is that they lay eggs every day. In truth, their levels of production increase and decrease based on the weather. In the summer months when the days are long chickens tend to lay eggs every other day. However, they lay fewer eggs in the fall when the days get shorter, and they go through their molt, replacing their old feathers with new ones. In the winter,…
Letting Go of Minimalism
As a younger man, I prided myself on being a minimalist. I never owned more possessions that what I could fit into a duffel bag. I did my best to avoid clothing purchases; choosing to make due with the free t-shirts that were passed out at college fairs and job recruitment events. When I finally moved into my own place, I scoffed at the idea of buying furniture; choosing to eat and sleep on the…
Rolling in the Grass
As I write this, it feels like hundreds of ants are biting my arms and legs. I have a grass allergy, and prolonged exposure results in itching and small bumps appearing on my skin. It's been this way my whole life. When I was a child I loved playing outdoors with my friends. We spent countless afternoons wrestling in the grass and hiking through the forest. This led to countless nights when I…
Love the Fight
No one ever talks about the connection between homesteading and crisis management. If one goes to Instagram and searches for #homesteadlife or #hobbyfarm, they'll be greeted with pictures of happy chickens, well-groomed garden beds, and barns that look like they came from a magazine. The message is that growing food and caring for animals is a lazy, carefree way to spend one's life. You can…
Living a Holy Life
In the meditation hall, I have an altar dedicated to Amida Buddha and the bodhisattvas Kannon and Jizo. It contains three statues, which bear their respective images along with candles and an incense burner. The statues are of good quality, but they aren't that different from other figurines. They're white, standing approximately six inches tall. I bought them on Amazon, and for most of the day,…
Do One Good Thing (Dharma Talk)
I discuss strategies for coping with suffering and the importance of focusing on positive actions that we can take in this present moment. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you'll love my books!
Sitting with Buddha and Fixing my House
Two years ago, I bought an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. I was tired of the noise and congestion of city life, and I wanted to be closer to nature. More than that, I wanted to use the skills I'd learned by apprenticing on organic farms across the country. I wanted to build things. I wanted to grow food. I wanted to care for animals. And I'm happy to say that I've been able to do all of…
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…
Karma and Family Heirlooms
In pre-industrial America, it was common for family heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to another. A woman might wear her mother’s wedding dress to get married or a father might give his prized car to his son as a graduation present. Other times, the heirloom might be less descript; a bookcase that Grandpa built when he was a child or a photo album that a favorite aunt maintained for…
Sweeping Up Wood Chips
If one were to visit my home in the wintertime, they'd see wood chips all over the house. They end up on the floor, and on the chairs, and I've even found them in my bedroom. I use the wood chips in my chicken coop to provide nesting material and warmth to the birds. They're effective, but the downside is the wood chips stick to my pants when I enter the coop to collect eggs and feed my feathered…
Create Pockets of Contentment (Dharma Talk)
I discuss Buddhist pure lands and the challenge of facing all of the world's suffering. Using the pure land teaching I show how we can create small sanctuaries that save ourselves and others from harm. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you'll love my books!
Learning to Walk Alone
I've been alone my entire life. I don't mean that literally, of course. I have a large family, a girlfriend, and a job that requires me to speak with people on a near-constant basis. When I was younger, I served in the Marine Corps. where I routinely shared a squad bay with 60 other men. And when I worked as a farmer's apprentice, I shared a bunkhouse with 5 other people. So, it's rare that my…
Goodness is It's Own Reward (Dharma Talk)
I discuss the "paradigm of meritocracy, and how it can set up wrong expectations when we go about our daily lives. I also discuss the Buddhist practice of Intoku ; explaining how it can help motivate us toward Right Action when there is no clear benefit to ourselves or others. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you'll love my books!
Only Two Things Matter in Life (Dharma Talk)
I explore the age-old question, "How Should I Spend My Time?" and discuss the two most important items on everyone's to-do list. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you'll love my books!