La'i Peace Center

The vision of Sakyadhita Hawai'i is to create La’i Peace Center to benefit the community and the world. In 2003, we acquired five acres of agricultural land just 40 minutes from Honolulu to establish a center for promoting peace. The land is ideal for offering peace education programs, meditation, Dharma teachings, retreats, and workshops on myriad topics. With deep respect for the land, we are cultivating healing herbs and organic produce.

Peace Education

Initiated by Buddhist women, the center provides programs for the entire community. Together, proponents of compassion and wisdom demonstrate the value of working collaboratively to foster peace, social justice, and the well-being of the planet. The Center offers respite and resources such as education and training in mindfulness, health, compassionate communications, and peace leadership for all sectors of the community, with some programs especially for women and children.

We also incorporate:

  1. Gender Equity
  2. Shared Decision Making
  3. Cultural Diversity
La'i Peace Center Sign People Cutting Grass
Butterfly Cutting Grass Field
La'i Center Dream Plan Map
Bodhi Tree Lotus
Nala with Lotus Pond Rainbow

Timeline of the La'i Peace Center

2003
Beginnings

Sakyadhita Hawai‘i enters into an agreement to purchase five acres of undeveloped land in rural Waialua on the North Shore of Oahu.

2013
The Land

Sakyadhita Hawai‘i completes the purchase of the land but is unable to develop it due to a lack of funding. The seasons pass and the grass grows higher and higher.

2014
Tackling the Grass

Volunteers begin the enormous task of clearing the 10-foot-high guinea grass that covers the land.

2015
Planting Trees

Dedicated volunteers begin planting trees on the property, including banana, mango, and avocado.

2016
Building a Shed

The Huynh family donates a prefab shed and an international volunteer team constructs it, led by Bill and Melodee Metzger, Bhiksuni Tam Hanh, and Crocker the fireman.

2017
Clearing and Planting

Teams of volunteers, including martial artists, families, and monastics continue the gigantic task of clearing five acres of guinea grass.

2018
More Clearing and Planting

A new mower and two weed whackers make it much easier to clear the grass. Volunteers plant many different varieties of trees, vegetables, and medicinal plants: ulu, taro, noni, olena, mango, guava, avocado, ice cream bean, and more.

2019
Bodhi Tree Ceremony

Over sixty people gather to celebrate the planting of a bodhi tree, a descendent of the tree under which the Buddha achieved awakening 2,500 years ago in India. Prayers and blessings are offered by practitioners of eight different religions.

2020
Japanese Tea House

A small tea house is built to process herbs and share tea with volunteers and visitors. Nikola Carouso redesigns the Sakyadhita Hawai‘i logo and letterhead. Everyone joins in planting new trees, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal plants.

2021
Art and Furry Friends

A stunning mural by artist Thomas Chung is installed at the tea house. A cute puppy named TinTin arrives from Maui on Christmas Day, joined by a sweet kitten named NaLa (Swahili for Lion Queen).

2022
Papaya and Plumeria

Over 75 plumeria and 100 papaya trees begin to flower and fruit. Danica Sy redesigns the Sakyadhita Hawai‘i website. The first lotus flower and Bird of Paradise blossom. Volunteers share delightful meals straight from the garden.

Where we are now?

We continue creating a center where people can gather to promote peace, cultivate organic produce, make new friends, broaden cultural horizons, and learn more about our natural environment.

Arts

La'i Peace Center promotes the arts and offers opportunities for creativity. We are pleased to spotlight the talents of artists such Rajendra Shakya, who crafted our seated Buddha image in Nepal, Thomas Chung, who painted large murals as backdrops for the Buddhas, and Cindy Janus, who painted the bath house with our logo and TinTin surfing big waves.

Mindfulness

La‘i Peace Center is an ideal location for children and adults of all backgrounds to practice mindful awareness through sitting meditation, walking meditation, or simply appreciating nature and its inhabitants.

Environment

Five acres of land provide a playground for volunteers eager to learn about nature, study plant and animal life, and plant trees, flowers, and vegetables that they can watch grow and soon eat for lunch!

Empowerment

In harmony with the ideals of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, Sakyadhita Hawai'i supports and encourages the ideas and efforts of women to transform the world and create a more peaceful society.

Future Plans

As we continue forward, we want to build

Lotus icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
Lotus Pond

The lotus symbolizes rising unstained by the muck. We plan to construct a lotus pond with guppies and different colored lotuses.

Zen icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
Hawaiian Healing Garden

Learning from the wisdom of the Hawaiian people, we plan to construct a rain garden with Hawaiian indigenous plants.

Plantation icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
Tree Plantation

We plan to continue planting trees on the land, including monkey pod, ulu (breadfruit), mountain apple, macadamia nut, and coffee.

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