It was just last year that David Anthony Salo and Nancy Ann Crenna visited the Lawai International Center.
Since then, they’ve felt a desire to return to Kauai.
Sunday, at the 18th annual Pilgrimage of Compassion, they did.
“It’s a strong enough pull to come back to this place,” Salo said. “Most places, you don’t get that pull.”
The spectacular beauty and serenity of the Lawai Valley and the path of the 88 shrines struck them — and stayed with them, too.
“I love the quietness of it,” Crenna said. “Like David said, it’s the pull of it. The quiet, the history, the feeling of peace.”
Many places you visit, you forget about, Salo said. But not the Lawai International Center.
“The group effort to keep it going, that’s what I always appreciate,” Crenna said.
About 1,000 people turned out for the pilgrimage with Grandmaster Riley Lee on a sunny afternoon.
It included cultural activities, exhibits, bonsai demonstrations, mochi pounding, a silent auction and refreshments. The main event centered around the Hall of Compassion, where Taiko Kauai set the stage for the program with a powerful 20-minute program of their drums that echoed through the valley.
The Lawai International Center is a nonprofit community project and is considered an archaeological and cultural treasure in a valley many believe is a healing sanctuary.
In 1904, the first generation of Japanese immigrants built 88 shrines replicating an ancient pilgrimage of 88 temples in Shikoku, Japan. Today, it is the only such site existing outside of Japan and is one of the oldest Buddhist temple sites in the country.
A team of enthusiastic volunteers, many on hand Sunday, help maintain the shrines and the lush, green grounds. They also worked on the Hall of Compassion, which took nearly three decades to complete.
One of the volunteers, Philip Morgan, walked the path of the 88 shrines and placed candles in each. He has offered his services there for years.
He paused for a moment when asked about what the center and the pilgrimage mean to him.
“Just a reminder to live a life of peace,” he said.
Boy Scout Troop 148 was there, too, lighting the shrine candles and checking out the path that meanders back and fourth as it winds up the hillside and seems to disappear, then suddenly reappears around a corner.
“It’s just great up here,” said 11-year-old Talen Koerte.
The relaxing sound of the shakuhachi flutist filled the air as Lee led the start of the pilgrimage.
Hundreds of people, who are asked not to speak during the pilgrimage, lined up and followed in single file.
Some reflected quietly on their walk, while others snapped pictures. A few children reached inside the shrines to pull out one of the small shells, branches, medallions or rocks inside.
Lynn Muramoto, LIC president, was delighted with the turnout, seeing old friends and new faces, and more important, the sense of spirit and peace that washed over everyone.
“A beautiful day,” she said. “It’s just a blessing. It’s a wonderful gathering.”
When asked what she hoped people take away from the event, Muramoto smiled.
“A sense of community, a sense of quiet reflection, a feeling of positive energy, a feeling of family and a feeling of coming home,” she said.
Muramoto has been part of the Lawai International Center for two decades. Whether she’s there or not, she can feel its spirit, as will all who walk on the grounds there, she said.
“Once you’re here, you’re a part of it and you never really leave,” she said. “You always leave a part of yourself here.”
