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by Rev. Koyo S. KuboseAdrienne KuboseRev. Koyo S. KuboseKanon Kubose8334 Harding AvenueSkokie, Illinois 60076 Phone: (847) 677-8211Fax: (847) 677-8053Email: kubose@worldnet.att.netWebsite: www.brightdawn.orgDial-the-Dharma: ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]The moral is that once again what we assumedI gamble? Yes. Did I win? No. Experience is a great As 2000 comes to an end (the year has flown bydedicating our efforts in the new millenium to Rev.there!”Yet, life goes on and it is important to realize and

Universal Teachings For Everyday Living Page 2

Oneness Newsletter Winter 2000

Please send:

Dharma Glimpses - Poems - Reader Replies

Spring issue deadline: January 15

(847) 677-8053

The 2000 U.S. presidential election caused the hottest

topic of controversy on the American political scene in

decades. The media coverage of the voting situation

in Florida opened up Pandora’s Box. Questions were

raised about the vote-count validity in other states too.

Even the results of past presidential elections could be

viewed in a different light. What a mess! The nation’s

eyes were opened to how problematic the voting sys-

tem could be. Like noses, everyone had an opinion,

and what fun it was to spout off with 20/20 hindsight!

was a simple, straightforward process was revealed to

involve complex complications. Isn’t this how life is?

This reality pertains not only to a national election but

to the politics of power on all levels, right down to an

individual’s everyday life. Things go along okay but

with changing conditions, difficulties develop due to

self-centered interests. When things don’t go the way

we want, we humans often make things worse by re-

acting negatively, even engaging in self-destructive

behavior, as well as blaming others, becoming cyni-

cal, and so forth.

When things go wrong, we may use euphemisms

like, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” or

“It’s a character builder!” However, it really is true that

difficulties do provide opportunities for learning expe-

riences that good experiences do not. So, it’s because

of the flaws that were revealed in the election process

that leads to reform and improvements. On the per-

sonal level, it’s the irritating people that reveal one’s

impatience, and it’s the trying people that challenge

one’s compassion. In Buddhism, it is said that such

people are Bodhisavattas or teachers in disguise that

offer the opportunities to learn about and improve one-

remind ourselves that it is possible to learn from our mis-

takes and difficulties. We should indeed have the attitude

to view problems as opportunities or challenges. Of course,

whenever we do learn from a particular mistake or diffi-

culty, this does not mean that we will be able to avoid

other kinds of mistakes or difficulties in the future. Expe-

rience is a great teacher that teaches us in many ways.

Wisdom is a constant journey.

Adrienne and I journeyed to Las Vegas in Novem-

ber to attend the annual Chicago All-Clubs Reunion. Did

teacher, yet some fools never learn. Hey, wait a minute...

maybe it was because I didn’t bring my lucky frog!

almost as fast as my money did in Vegas!), I reflect on my

blessings and realize that despite losses of all kinds and

personal shortcomings of all kinds, I am so fortunate in

many ways. I am tremendously blessed with fulfillment

in the two major areas of life: work and love. Having a

loving family that supports me in my Dharma work is a

combination that defies all conceptions of good fortune.

I send out a great ‘thought-wave’ to share my bless-

ings with all of you. The Kubose Dharma Legacy will be

Gyomay M. Kubose and his wisdom in teaching Buddhism

for ordinary people in their everyday lives. May the year

2001 bring all of us deeper understanding of the Dharma.

May we all learn to soften our judgmental nature and thus

experience the peace within and harmony with others that

characterized Rev. Gyomay Kubose’s life.

self. Yet, as human beings we often feel like yelling,

“There are too many Bodhisavattas running around out