HANAPEPE — The community is invited to attend the annual Bodhi Day service that will be held at the West Kauai Hongwanji Mission, Hanapepe Temple, on Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m.
HANAPEPE — The community is invited to attend the annual Bodhi Day service that will be held at the West Kauai Hongwanji Mission, Hanapepe Temple, on Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m.
“Bodhi Day is the day to commemorate Sakyamuni Buddha’s attainment of Awakening,” said the Rev. Tomo Hojo of the West Kauai Hongwanji Mission, which is the consolidation of the former Koloa Hongwanji Mission, whose main temple was destroyed by a fire, and the Waimea Hongwanji Mission in Waimea Valley.
“According to legend, the historic event took place on Dec. 8 as the first faint light of day started to glow in the eastern sky,” Hojo said. “By this example, Sakyamuni demonstrated that it was possible for man to become a Buddha, a fully awakened person. Bohdi Day signifies the dawn of humanity’s universal emancipation from suffering and unawareness.”
Because it is a Kauai Buddhist Council event, other Buddhist temples will join together for this service.
The Kauai Buddhist Council is comprised of the six local Buddhist sects. Its mission is to promote peace and compassion on the island of Kauai. It also coordinates the popular community bon dances during the summer.
Guest speaker for the day is Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, located on the Pali Highway in Honolulu.
Umitani was born in 1978 in Etajima, Hiroshima, Japan. His family temple is Kogenji Temple, which was established in 1585.
He received his Tokudo ordination in 1998, and Kyoshi certification in 2020 before being elected the 17th bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii in July 2023.
