Ebook: The Center Within

The articles in this book were transcribed from talks given over the years. Their original form has been preserved as much as possible and are expressions from everyday life. If these articles help readers to find their centers and live fulfilling and meaningful lives, the purpose of the book is fulfilled.

Rev. Gyomay Masao Kubose was born in 1905 in San Francisco, California. He received his primary and secondary education in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1922, he returned to the United States. In 1935 he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, majoring in philosophy. He then went to Japan and became a disciple of the late Rev. Haya Akegarasu with whom he studied in Japan for five years, traveling with his teacher on lecture tours throughout Japan, Korea and China. Rev. Kubose was ordained as a Shinshu minister and given the Dharma name “Gyomay,”’ which means “bright dawn.”’ Rev. Kubose returned to the United States in 1941 and spent the war years in relocation camps.

In 1944 Rev. Kubose relocated to Chicago and founded the Buddhist Temple of Chicago and has been its spiritual leader ever since. The Buddhist Temple of Chicago was founded as an independent religious organization with no administrative ties to a higher headquarters of any other Buddhist sect. Its founding purpose was to make Buddhism available to all Americans by presenting the teachings in Western terminology. In connection with the Temple he established the American Buddhist Association in 1955.

In 1966 Rev. Kubose returned to Japan to study Buddhism at Otani University in Kyoto and earned his Masters Degree. During this time he also studied and practiced Zen Buddhism. Upon his return to the States in 1969, he established a meditation group and also the Buddhist Educational Center as part of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. He teaches at the Center in addition to lecturing widely here and abroad. He has been cited many times for his work in the field of brotherhood and community relations. In 1970 he received the World Buddhist Mission Cultural Award. Throughout his life, Rev. Kubose has emphasized and taught non-sectarian Buddha Dharma for all.