Best Zen Meditation Centers In Honolulu Near Me

4worldlovers:
Robert Gyoun Aitken Roshi (June 19, 1917—August 5, 2010) was co-founder of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha with his late wife, Anne. He was an esteemed Zen teacher within the American Zen community many of whom turned to him for his…

4worldlovers:
The temple’s name, Mu-Ryang-Sa, means “Broken Ridge Temple.” You may have noticed on your drive up that the top ridge of the temple is broken. What appears as a flaw of the temple has both a story and a significant Buddhist teaching. The construction of the first temple building began in 1980, but during the temple’s construction, it was discovered that the roof of the main hall exceeded City and County height limitations. As a result, the roof was lowered to its present height. In Buddha’s teachings, he speaks of shattering our inner ridge-poles of ignorance, greed, and craving in our “house of illusion.” The shattering of the ridge-pole of ignorance by wisdom results in the demolition of illusion and the attainment of liberation, or nirvana. As with the enlightenment of the Buddha, may the shattering of own ridge-pole remind us of the structures of ignorance that can be let go to reach the true heights of our inner liberation.


MuRyangSa’s abbot Do-Hyun first came to Hawaii in 1979 when MuRyangSa was first laying its foundations. After a four-year stay, he went on to pursue his undergraduate degree in Psychology, Chinese Literature and Sanskrit from Berkeley University then his masters at Beijing University. Completing his studies, Abbot Do Hyun returned to Honolulu in 1996 and began his stewardship of MuryangSa.

Abbot Do-Hyun envisions MuRyangSa to be more than beautiful temple grounds for monk retreats and meditation. As the largest Korean temple outside of Korea, MuRyangSa aspires to be a cultural community center that can promote and share the teachings of the dharma through educational, cultural and monastic programs. MuRyangSa is constructed in the true architectural style of historical Korean temples and holds replicas of pagodas and statues dating to the 5th century. Sitting on the mountainside of Palolo Valley, one can breathe in the valley’s fresh air while overlooking the ocean. This humble location makes for a sacred setting for cultivating the mind, body and spirit. To further its role in the community, MuRyangSa will establish two important programs–a four-year college that is devoted to Buddhist studies in English and the first joint nursing home and hospice care facility for Korean elderly in Hawaii. The four-year college, Hawaii Start College, will host various programs for credit and non-credit in Korean Buddhism, language and culture including Korean dance, music, calligraphy and tea ceremony. The Palolo Nursing Home and Hospice will provide high quality health care to the Korean elderly community who currently do not have a Korean nursing home facility in Hawaii. At the Palolo Nursing Home, Korean elderly residents will be able to enjoy the comforts of Korean food, traditional medicine and receive care surrounded by the Korean architecture of their homeland. These ambitious aspirations are currently underway will renovate adjacent six homes within the next few years. With generous support from patrons from Korea as well as from the local community, MuRyangSa has begun its efforts to grow as a strong community center.


The main entrance gate to the temple represents one of the many levels of the Buddhist spiritual plane. At this first gate, the Four Heavenly Kings stand guard over the four directions (North, South, East & West). The role is to keep out evil influences that we find in ourselves such as greed, lust, will for violence, and self-destroying pride. Beneath each guardian you will notice these ills represented in quasi-human forms, which the Kings crush under their feet.


*The Peace Pagoda which stands in the center of the main lawn is an exact replica of the Sokka-Tap, a historical pagoda of the Silla Dynasty (57 BC-935 AD) located at Bulguksa Temple in eastern South Korea. The three levels of the pagoda represent the three basic forms of all existence: the world of form (matter and mortality), formlessness (spirit or energy), and that which is beyond (that which gave rise to the two other worlds). Concurrently, it also represents the three foundations of Buddhism: Buddha, the Law, and the Brotherhood of Monks. In the center of the pagoda’s base rests a small urn, holding “sari” or calcified remains of the Buddha. These were presented to the temple by a temple in Sri Lanka and are revered as genuine relics of the historical Buddha.

4worldlovers: Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii (HHMH), its Commission on Buddhist Education, and its Committee on Social Concerns invite you to “LGBTQIA+ 101” on Saturday, April 22. Providing an opportunity to …


“Peace On Your Wings” at Hawaii Theatre: Tickets still available for Feb. 9-11, 2023! (plus promo video)


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