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Universal Teachings For Everyday Living Page 2

Dharma Glimpses - Poems - Reader Replies

As part of our 5th Anniversary Celebration, we unveiled

a logo for our organization, The Rev. Gyomay M. Kubose

sharing the Way of Oneness, Rev. Gyomay Kubose’s non-

of how our new logo came about?

“Gyomay” which means “bright dawn.” Cary suggested some

preliminary designs but none seemed exactly right. Half a

year later, while traveling in India, Cary had an inspiration

for our logo. She used a leaf shape based on an actual leaf

from a descendant of the original Bodhi tree that Siddartha

Gautama sat under when he realized Enlightenment over

yellow was chosen because it can represent the sunrise and

also was the color of Gautama Buddha’s followers’ robes

during his time. Yellow is now considered the traditional

color of Buddhism.

What are the meanings of the Bodhi leaf and bright dawn

themes in our logo? Bodhi means wisdom or enlightenment.

central theme in Buddhism. The sun

symbolizes the light of the Dharma Teachings which enables

us to see life clearly. The themes of the Bodhi leaf and of

bright dawn are particularly relevant for our organization.

calligraphy for Gyomay (GYO MEI) is “bright dawn.” The

sun dawns each morning, shining brightly … bringing light

and warmth to what would otherwise be a dark, cold, and

lifeless planet.

His way of living was always so fresh and full of joy. He did

not hold grudges or stay attached to negative past events.

With humility and gratitude, he shone like the sun on people

and things unconditionally. It can be said that Bright Dawn

means the same thing as to keep one’s “Beginner’s Mind”

(i.e. the Buddha’s Mind!).

The Bodhi leaf theme fits in with Rev. Gyomay Kubose’s

closeness to nature. Rev. Kubose really loved plants and

gardening. Just as nature is about naturalness and the real-

artificial pretensions.

The significance and impact of the Bodhi leaf and bright

dawn in our logo can be expanded upon in many ways. I

hope our logo becomes more than just a graphic symbol

identifying an organization. Symbols are powerful and can

pictures of Jesus. The Jewish have the Star of David. The

Buddhists wear Dharma Wheel jewelry and have Buddha

statues in their homes.

In addition to traditional Buddhist icons, I hope some-

day everyone who identifies with Rev. Gyomay

Kubose’s Way of Oneness approach will have

sentation of our bright dawn Bodhi leaf.

For the family of the late Rev. Gyomay

deep spiritual meaning. We want to share

this with others.