Temple work The color brochure prepared for visitors to Hawaii's only Korean Buddhist temple includes a poetic description of the shattering of illusion that is necessary before a mind is liberated and able to achieve enlightenment.
lifts Buddhist spirits
Korean center officials hope the
roof-height rift in Palolo is overBy Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.comThe poetry is carried through in the name of the structure, Mu-Ryang-Sa meaning "broken ridge." It doesn't refer to the rugged mountainside in view, but to the ridge line of the temple roof that has been shattered by air hammers in recent weeks.
"Buddha made a metaphor about wisdom overcoming ignorance" in terms of a building being torn down, its ridgepole shattered, said temple office manager C.K. Kim.
Buddhist beliefs aside, the temple name also memorializes its first 13 years, which have been marked by a legal battle that the congregation of the Palolo Valley temple hopes is near an end.
Construction on the temple began in 1980 and was halted in 1988 when several nearby residents complained to the city and later to the courts that it rose higher than zoning laws allowed. In the most recent of numerous court hearings, Circuit Judge Gary Chang upheld earlier this year a city Department of Planning and Permitting decision that the temple height must be reduced by 6.2 feet. A court-appointed master is overseeing compliance. The 13 opponents, organized as Concerned Citizens of Palolo, have plans to appeal, still seeking a 9-foot reduction.
Meanwhile, leaders of the temple plan to move forward to complete what is envisioned as a center for cultural exchange between East and West and a showcase of Buddhist tradition, as well as a place for Korean Buddhists to practice their beliefs.
"This is the largest Korean temple in any country outside Korea," said Kim, former president of the 500-family membership. A retired financial adviser, he was enlisted by the current abbot to handle administrative duties. The other half of the paid staff is John Griffiths, formerly employed at the University of California at Berkeley, who was drafted by Abbot Dohyun Gwon to help with communications and community relations.
Gwon, 49, was educated at Berkeley and Tokyo University and has attended the University of Beijing. He took over leadership of the temple from former abbot Dae Won Ki five years ago. It was at that time that the former temple name, Dae Won Sa, tied to the former abbot, was changed.
The new abbot's American education and fluency in English, which Ki did not have, "made a great difference in resolving the problems," Griffiths said. "He is a hands-on person, communicating with the city and courts, which wasn't happening before."
Kim and Griffiths talked Thursday in a temporary ground-floor office of the three-story structure while workmen could be heard preparing the shaved-down roof line for the cement pour that was to begin the next day. The pointed peaks of the blue-tiled roof were to be replaced with a flat surface.
But all of the features, brought from Korea and carved in concrete instead of wood as is the tradition, remain intact. Panels of turquoise, coral and red, images of mythological beasts and famous Buddhist teachers, ornate railings and shining tiles make the structure a landmark amid the surrounding greenery and single-family homes.
The tallest and still unfinished building -- slated to be cultural center topped by the main meditation hall -- is one of several structures in the complex on the 1.5-acre site. A traditional gilded image of Buddha dominates the center hall where members, and resident monks from Korea, meditate.
Kim said the location was discerned by experts in a process similar to feng shui, the popular Chinese practice of designing an environment for harmony.
Besides the Sunday service, the week's activities include a Korean language class on Sundays and a Saturday evening class on Vipassana meditation conducted by Gregory Pai.
The legal wrangle, which has delayed completion of the temple and has been costly for the congregation, has not generated a negative attitude at the temple, Kim said.
"In Buddhism it is important to release desires, anger, whatever you have. As long as you keep those things in mind, you can't concentrate. Buddha says unless you release those things, you can't reach enlightenment."