The next day morning we quickly had our American breakfast and started our day with a visit to the Hawaii ISKCON Temple which was located in a huge building and surrounded by lush green trees and Lord Krishna pictures
ISCKON is a non-sectarian community dedicated to spiritual education and promotes unity and peace in the world through chanting of the Maha mantra, these centres distribute sanctified vegetarian food and propagate spiritual knowledge and practices based on the ancient Vedic teachings of Bhakti Yoga, as presented by Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
When we entered the temple we saw that it was designed elegantly and the deities decorated in the typical ISCKON style, breakfast was being prepared in the adjacent hall by Govinda’s buffet which was opened in 1974, it provides pure vegetarian food from 11:00 - 2:30 pm and on Sunday from 7:00 - 8:00 pm, Donation based community meals are served too, there was a small library with books of the founder and a boutique selling dresses, jewelry and cute handbags
We next drove to the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park which is actually a cemetery located on the eastern side of Oahu at the foot of the Koolau mountains, near Kaneohe town.
Thousands of Buddhists, Shinto, Protestant and Catholic residents of Hawaii are buried in this memorial park. It was founded by Paul Trousdale in 1963 and is being very well maintained in immaculate condition
As we drove through the valley, the way was awesome and divine, lined by tall green palm trees forming a canopy over us, everywhere we glanced we could see pleasing greenery set in the backdrop of the magnificent Koolau mountains
What a beautiful and serene place to rest for ever was my morbid thought and as he usually does, my husband read my mind and remarked nonchalantly that we can’t afford it, any way I defiantly thought I am free to at least dream about it, Ha, Ha !
Also on the grounds were large Catholic statues depicting the Passion of Christ, the Virgin Mary, various Catholic saints, crypts and Mausoleums of some of the most influential people in Hawaii.
Most notable of those interred at the mausoleums of the Valley of the Temples is Walter .F. Dillingham, Hawaii entrepreneur and statesman. Another notable historical figure that rests here is Zhang Xueliang, a Chinese general who played an important role in the National Revolutionary Army.
We parked our car and went to the Byodo-In temple which was seen several times in the popular television shows like "House of the Rising Sun,", "The Incident." "Tropical Madness" "Tigers Fan" "The Singapore File," and many more
As we entered the temple premises we saw a beautiful lake on which the temple with its stone arches was reflected
We first went to the Bell House, called Kanetsuki-do which contained a five-foot high, three ton brass bell, called bon- sho (sacred bell), cast in Osaka, Japan, from a mixture of bronze and tin. It closely resembles the bell hanging in an identical Bell House at the Uji Byodo-In. The original one is said to be more than 900 years old and to have come from India a fact which of course made us feel thrilled and proud, I strongly feel that loyalty for India increases manifold when we go out of the country
We all stood in a queue to ring the bell with a heavy wooden log called shu –moku, the bell is revered for its distinctive shape, it’ s tone sends a message of deep calm and peace to the surroundings and cleanses the mind of evil and temptation. The bell is customarily rung before one enters the temple, which is again very similar to the Hindus ringing the temple bell before praying God in the sanctum, as kids we used to joke that it is like giving attendance to God
Nestled on a hill behind the Temple was the meditation pavilion. The structure was in line with the traditional garden concepts as the noble family’s fishing pavilion who found that it is a great place to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Temple away from crowds.
The temple is not a functioning Buddhist temple and does not host a resident monastic community nor an active congregation.
Byodo-In Temple is a smaller-scale replica of the Byodo-in, a World Heritage Site near the ancient city of Kyoto, originally a monastery founded by Fujiwara no Yorimichi in 1052 of the Heian period. It is famous for its Vairocana statue. The statue was lost and replaced in 1053 with a large wooden statue of Amitabha and carved by the Japanese artisan Jocho.
Byodo - In Temple was commissioned and built largely in concrete (whereas the original was wooden without the use of nails) in 1968 at its present location in the Valley of the Temples to celebrate centennial anniversary of the arrival of Japanese immigrants into Hawaii to work as labourers in the sugarcane and pineapple plantations along with the Chinese, Filipino, Korean, native Hawaiians and Portguese
The temple has the Phoenix hall built with the sole purpose of housing the Amida Buddha statue and columbarium. The structure is designed like the mythical bird of ancient legend. The central room is backed by a tail hallway and flanked by twin wing corridors. There are a pair of phoenixes on the rooftop appearing to take flight into the surrounding paradise.
The 18 feet wooden statue of the Lotus Buddha was covered in gold and lacquer. I loved the magnificent Buddha statue which reflected light and appeared to float over the golden lotus leaves.
The hand position (mudra) indicates that the Buddha rests in the highest of the nine paradises, the replica was first designed in miniature by the renowned Japanese sculptor Masuzo Inui, after which the full-size, two-ton piece was carved by Jokei Sagawa. The immense seated figure was then covered with Urushi Japanese lacquer and finished with gold leaf before being enshrined in Phoenix Hall. 52 Smaller delicate sculptures representing enlightenment beings (Bodhisattvas) demonstrate reverence for Amida and the promise of Pure Land filled with music and dance.
The Byodo-In Temple is visited by thousands of worshipers from around the world with people of all faiths participating in its traditions. Apart from worship, the temple grounds are also used for weddings and office meetings.
Surrounding the temple covering a total of 2 acre there were large reflection ponds, they had hundreds of KOI fish also called carps, these fish can live up to 100 years and symbolize love, power, perseverance and longevity
The ponds were attracting the attention of all the tiny tots who were trying to feed the reluctant fish which were already quite obese, on the banks of the pond we could see black swans apparently a gift from Australia
Our grandson promptly bought some fish feed and scattered it randomly across the pond causing a sudden fish traffic jam
There was a gift shop on northwest of the temple, apparently it was originally a Japanese tea house. Fish and bird food, a variety of unique gifts, such as custom Byodo-In Hawaii souvenirs, Omikuji (Japanese paper fortune), Omamori (Japanese amulets), Goshuin stamp, Buddha statues and various lucky charms were available for sale. There were clean restrooms available behind the gift shop, I found that day’s trip totally peaceful and relaxing
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