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Universal Teachings For Everyday Living Page 2
The purpose of the Kubose Dharma Legacy is to offer a non-sectarian, non-dualistic approach, the Way of
Some of this report was written at 35,000 feet some-
where over the Pacific Ocean. Gathering 2000: A Con-
ference on the Future of Shin Buddhism in America was
held on August 18-20 in Waikoloa, Hawaii. I joined a panel
of guest speakers: Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom, Rev. Dr. Ken-
neth Tanaka, and Rev. Dr. Taitetsu Unno. All of these
opening remarks I jokingly said that I felt like a pair of
brown shoes at a black tuxedo affair. Yet I unabashedly
neither a scholar nor a person of deep religious piety, I
Dharma-intoxicated life. My laid-back playful style reso-
nated with the warm, open Aloha spirit. I was inspired
by the down-to-earth spirituality of the followers of the
shoes. I felt like a comfortable pair of zori’s!
The first session of the conference dealt with “Defin-
ing Shin Buddhism in an American Context.” The other
guest speakers and I sat at a raised table in front of the
200 participants. After our individual presentations, we
answered questions from the audience and there were
several lively discussions. One of the discussions was
on the meaning of naturalness. It was pointed out that
Buddhism, this is not to negate the importance of self
with 100% effort.
Another discussion began on the idea of a separate,
defiled self. This led to an examination of such dualities
dualistic opposites are only conceptual labels used to
describe reality. Labels can be useful but they should
not be confused with actual reality. Reality itself is a dy-
negative, is constantly changing. For example, a celeb-
rity achieves his long sought after stardom but finds he’s
ample is of a person who suffers a tragic injury but later
because of his disability his life unfolds in a new fulfilling
Rather than get stuck in either side of a dualism, I
recommended that one should “live in the hyphen.” As
the discussion progressed, it was mentioned that one
Buddhism there is no final answer or conclusion. Life is
a journey, not a destination. Life is a mystery to be lived,
not a problem to be solved. Whatever insight we may
have, we still need to keep going, keep growing. As an
“slash” as in success/failure, win/lose, etc.
As a panel, we guest speakers bantered back and
forth among ourselves and enjoyed a good chemistry
together. To illustrate this, after I had talked about duali-
lose? I answered, “Well, sometimes when you lose, you
win; and when you win, you lose!” We all had a great
session on “Expressions of Shin Buddhism in America.”
After a short morning service, each speaker gave a pre-
sentation. Then we all had lunch and a guided tour of
the lava/sand beach area. The conference was held at
the Waikoloa Resort Hotel right on the ocean. Our meals
were eaten on a large patio, which was sheltered yet
open to the ocean. Nature offers us many teachings.
The blue sky of Hawaii is special to me. It is an expres-
sion of Dharmakaya (“the formless Buddha body”) and
symbolizes the absolute reality that is infinite and time-
me that I am always right here, now.
The afternoon consisted of the participants being di-
vided into four “break-out” groups. Each group engaged
among all the groups. Good discussions were gener-
ated— including one resulting from going on a guided
visualization hot-balloon trip to “see” the landscape of
Buddhism in the future.
After a meal of saimin noodles piled high with all kinds
temple’s Bon dance. I might mention that Hawaiian sun-
sets cannot be described but have to be experienced. I
brew.” This was definitely a spiritual experience because
it is always a joy to relate the Dharma to whatever I am
experiencing. For example, I learned that the red/or-
ange sunset colors were enhanced by tiny particles of
volcanic ash (called “vog” instead of “fog”). On the big
island, lava rock is prominently visible. Excavating land
for development requires special equipment because
lava rock is harder than the usual dirt or earth as on the
question. The Hawaiian islands were formed by volca-
nic action. The rock goes to the center of the earth! I
immediately saw this as a metaphor for one’s self. What
one expresses (i.e. what is on the surface and seen by
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