LAWAI — Lynn Muramoto knew there was something special, even healing, about a 32-acre parcel of land overgrown with weeds, tucked away in Lawai Valley. It was a place where ancient Hawaiians throughout the island chain traveled to in order
LAWAI — Lynn Muramoto knew there was something special, even healing, about a 32-acre parcel of land overgrown with weeds, tucked away in Lawai Valley.
It was a place where ancient Hawaiians throughout the island chain traveled to in order to receive the healing properties of the valley.
It was also where Japanese workers at the Koloa Sugar Company, the first sugar plantation in the state, carved 88 Buddhist shrines along the hillside in 1904 and made regular pilgrimages to the area for decades before it fell into neglect.
“It was in 1991 that we first came here, and we knew, at that time, that the destiny of this place was to uplift all of humanity with compassion, peace and the spirit of aloha,” said Muramoto, Lawai International Center president.
A lot has changed in the valley since then.
Volunteers and members of the Lawai International Center, founded in 1991, have cleared the weeds that once covered the hillside shrines made of stone and wood, a miniature replica of a 1,000-mile pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku in Japan — and the only known one in existence outside of that country.
Tours, conducted three times a day on the second and last Sunday of the month, once again bring visitors on the same pilgrimages made years ago.
And one more important site element, the Hall of Compassion, a traditional 13th century Japanese structure, was unveiled on Sunday following more than two decades of preparation and the help of over 700 volunteers over the past year.
At least 250 people gathered under rainy conditions on Sunday at the Lawai International Center to celebrate the opening, which was dovetailed with the nonprofit’s 13th annual pilgrimage.
“Today, the rain is a symbol,” said Gloria Nakea, Lawai International Center board officer, to the crowd as she stood at the foot of the Hall of Compassion. “The millions and millions of drops are a symbol of all of those who will follow us.”
Construction on the wooden structure, Muramoto said, began about a year ago when several master temple builders throughout Asia were commissioned to build it.
But only two — one from Japan and one from Taiwan — were able to make it.
That was when Lawai International Center officials issued a mass call to the community to help in the building’s construction, Muramoto said.
The response, she said, was outstanding.
“Standing behind me is an absolute miracle,” Muramoto said to the crowd. “It is indescribable how the call was made to the human spirit. Deep within all people … is that compassion and that’s what you are all about. The only reason we are here is because of who you are.”
First-time visitors Julianne Caldarera and Mackenzie Wendler, both of Koloa, said they heard about the ceremony through random acquaintances.
“It’s beautiful,” Caldarera said. “I thought the pilgrimage part was amazing — that was the best part. It’s a really interesting time of meditation because it’s really slippery, so you have to concentrate on every step and be very aware of how you’re walking up there so you don’t fall, but it’s also very beautiful.”
“It felt like we were being elevated by the sound of the flute playing along the way,” Wendler added. “It felt like it was floating you up the side of the mountain.”
Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr., who spoke at the dedication ceremony, said the site as a whole is an embodiment of the aloha spirit that exists within all people.
“What makes Kauai so special is that we can all come together knowing our different cultures but beating of the same heart (puuwai) — and you beat of the same heart no matter where you come from,” Carvalho said. “That’s what is so special and that special-ness is the aloha spirit. I’m not going to stand here and explain it, because it is what it is … and you will know when you feel it. When you feel that something inside of you, that’s what it is and that means we need to continue spreading that spirit not only here on our island.”
Nina Monasevitch, of Lihue, who has participated in about five pilgrimages over the past seven years, said this year in particular was very special because of the addition to the Lawai International Center.
“This is, of course, extraordinarily special because of the temple, but it’s really peaceful, inspiring and humbling,” Monasevitch said. “It is a testament to the power of the human spirit coming together and volunteering their time to something for the greater good of all.”
