Lāhainā Jodo Mission

Jodo Buddhism was founded by Saint Honen in 1175. The word Jodo, from which the name of the sect was derived, means "Pure Land," is the name given to the Western Paradise or the realm of Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Life and Light.

Today, these teachings have spread to all corners of the world. It was introduced to Hawaiʻi in 1894 and continues to grow here.

Japanese immigration to Hawaiʻi that began in 1868 marked the beginnings of large-scale settlement and, with it, the establishment of a strong religious base of Buddhism.

The Lāhainā Jodo Mission was founded in 1912 with the support of many Japanese immigrants then working in the nearby sugar and pineapple plantations.

After the original temple was destroyed in a fire in 1968, the members of the Mission decided to build a Japanese style Buddhist temple on the beachfront property that provided an idyllic setting.

The Great Buddha and the Temple Bell were completed in June 1968 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to arrive in Hawaiʻi

In 1970, the main Temple and Pagoda were built with the generous and wholehearted support of the members of the Mission as well as the general public. Masao Omori, a Japanese philanthropist, donated the expertise of Japanese craftsmen that was necessary for the construction of the buildings and the casting of the Buddha.

The present temple stands on the exact spot of the former temple building. The new structure was built by traditional Japanese carpenters with the help of our members and friends. Lāhainā Jodo Mission is a unique Buddhist temple with its architectural structure that blends Japanese and Western styles.

One of the most interesting features is the solid copper shingles that cover the rooftops of both the Temple and the Pagoda. All the shingles were individually hand-made and are interlocked on all four sides, forming a solid copper sheeting. Also, the traditional construction of the wooden beams allows the pieces to interlock without the use of nails.

Inside the temple, five Buddhist paintings adorn the walls. These were painted in 1974 by the renowned Japanese artist Iwasaki Hajin. In later years, Mr. Iwasaki painted beautiful floral ceiling paintings and produced two paintings depicting the dream of Saint Honen (1133-1212) meeting the Chinese Pure Land Master Shantao (613-681).

The 12-feet tall copper and bronze statue of Amida Buddha is the largest of its kind outside Japan. It was cast in Kyoto, Japan, from 1967 to 1968, and weighs approximately three and a half tons. The Great Buddha was completed in June 1968, as a commemorative project for the early Japanese immigrants.

Made of bronze, on one side of the temple bell (the ocean side) are the words Imin Hyakunen no Kane (The Centennial Memorial Bell for the First Japanese Immigrants to Hawaii) cast in Chinese characters. On the other side are the characters Namu Amida Butsu, which means "Save me, oh, Amida Buddha."

The Pagoda, or Temple Tower, is approximately 90-feet high at its tallest point. The covering of the roof is made of pure copper. The first floor of the pagoda contains niches to hold the urns of deceased members.

At Lāhainā Jodo Mission, the temple bell is rung eleven times each evening at 8 o'clock.

The first three rings signify the following:
• I go to the Buddha for guidance
• I go to the Dharma (the teaching of the Buddha) for guidance
• I go to the Sangha (Brotherhood) for guidance

The next eight rings represent the Eight-Fold Pathway to Righteousness:
• Right Understanding
• Right Purpose
• Right Speech
• Right Conduct
• Right Livelihood
• Right Endeavor
• Right Thought
• Right Meditation

According to Buddhist legend, when Sakyamuni Buddha entered Nirvana, his body was cremated at Kusinara. Seven of the neighboring rulers, under the leadership of King Ajatasattu, demanded the ashes be divided among them.

At first, the king refused their demands and a dispute ensued, threatening to end in war. But a wise man named Dona intervened and the crisis passed. The ashes were divided and enshrined in eight great stupas in India.

The ashes of the funeral fire and the earthen jar that contained the remains were given to two other rulers to be likewise honored. Because of the enshrinements, followers came to worship and pay homage to these stupas, also called pagodas, which later became a symbol of the spiritual image of the Buddha.  (Information here is from lahainajodomission-org)

The image shows the Lāhainā Jodo Mission.  In addition, I have included other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Buddhism in Hawai‘i

New England Congregationalists first brought Protestant Christianity to the islands in 1820.  Roman Catholic missionaries came to Hawaii in 1827.  Quakers came in 1835 and Mormons in 1850.  Methodists came in 1855, and members of the Church of England arrived in 1862.

Shortage of laborers to work in the growing sugar plantations prompted the Hawaiian Legislature to pass "An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants," a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system (labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.)

Japanese immigration to Hawaiʻi that began in 1868 marked the beginnings of large-scale settlement and, with it, the establishment of a strong religious base of Buddhism.

A large wave of Japanese laborers started arriving in 1885; 29,000 Japanese traveled to Hawai‘i for the next nine years to work on sugar plantations under three-year contracts.

The history of formal Buddhism teachings in Hawai‘i can be traced to the arrival of Soryu Kagahi, a priest of the True Pure Land Sect and a native of Oita Prefecture. 

Upon learning of the extreme hardship, both physical and spiritual, of the Japanese immigrants in Hawaiʻi due to the differences in language and culture, he came to Hawaii to comfort these immigrants and to help in alleviating their hardship.

Kagahi, the first Hongwanji minister, came to Hawai‘i to minister to the religious needs of Japanese immigrants and to share the teachings of Shakamuni Buddha and Shinran Shonin.

Upon arriving in Honolulu on March 2, 1889 (which is presently celebrated as Hawai‘i Kyodan’s “Kaikyo Kinen-bi” or “Hongwanji Day”, the founding day of the mission), Reverend Kagahi rented a house and hung a sign, “The Great Imperial Japan Hongwanji Denomination Hawaii Branch” and used it as a base for his religious activities.

He also traveled to Kauaʻi, Maui and Big Island and conducted religious services.  He visited the Big Island on two occasions and helped the people in Hilo in founding the fukyojo, the forerunner of the present Hilo Betsuin.  (Hilo at that time had a larger Japanese population than did Honolulu.)

In October 1889, Reverend Kagahi returned to Japan to report on the Hawaiʻi situation and to urge establishment of Jodo Shinshu in Hawaii.  He also stressed the need for financial assistance to Hawaiʻi to carry forward these activities.

However, since authorities in Japan initially viewed the Japanese presence in Hawaii as “transient,” they did not see the need for a Hawaiian mission.

That changed in 1897 when the Japanese immigrants petitioned the Honpa Hongwanji headquarters in Japan and requested that Buddhist missionaries be sent to Hawai‘i.

They expressed the urgency and need for “community stability” – a stability achieved through religious institutions and the revival of cultural commonalities among the immigrants.

Leadership in Japan, now aware that the Japanese immigrant had become more than a transient, responded enthusiastically, and more missions were established.

The rise of Buddhism in a predominantly Christian environment was due, in part, to this deeper expression among the Japanese immigrants of their need for a sense of community.

Several of the sugar plantations were sympathetic and supportive of the desire for temples and donated parcels of land near the immigrant camps. 

In 1898, the Rev. Honi Satomi arrived as the first Bishop of Hongwanji and property located off Fort Street at the end of Kukui, in the area called Fort Lane (just above Beretania Street and Central Fire Station) was purchased for the first site of the temple.

Queen Lili'uokalani and Mary Foster (donor of Foster Botanical Garden,) attended a Buddhist service in 1901 to commemorate the birth of founder Shinran Shonin.

In 1918, the Honpa Hongwanji Mission was built in Honolulu, the world’s first reinforced concrete Buddhist temple.

Several Buddhist sects came to Hawai‘i in the late-1800s and early-1900s to fill the needs of the early Japanese: Jodo Shin-shu Honpa Hongwanji Sect, Jodo Sect, Shingon Sect, Nichiren Sect, Jodo Shin Sect and the Higashi Hongwanji Sect.

Over the past 120 years, the Japanese community established 174 temple sites and through the process of building and rebuilding, constructed nearly 300 Buddhist temples throughout the islands, many of which were built in sugar plantation villages by early Japanese immigrants and served tiny congregations.

The image shows the Hilo Hongwanji Temple in 1889.  In addition, I have posted some of the other Buddhist temples across the state in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC