Hawaii—Haole Mon, Lava Tubes and the Heart Sutra

Aloha, Haoles and Wanderers,

Like a massive lantern in an ancient Japanese ceremony, the M.V. Explorer headed out into the Pacific. This vast stretch of water links Japan and America, and the worst version of this connection is the Great Pacific Garbage patch in what used to be known as the Horse Latitudes. Here, not so far from Midway Island, and trapped by the Great Northern Gyre, currents keep more than 100 million tons of rubbish, especially plastic that kills birds and fish, trapped and rotating. Here's the Wikipedia URL, which is only the briefest start to studying this phenomena some of you will know from an episode of Planet Earth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

There were beautiful days before and after this floating disaster, with about five minutes of watching a whale (humpback, I think), and several days of being followed by dolphins.

By night we slid into the pier at Aloha Tower on Oahu:







On the first night I walked with others about four miles to Waikiki, hearing some pop, blues and jazz, blues and pop from guitarist John Valentine out on the patio of the Ala Moana Surfrider, my fave spot on the beach. I had some longed-for Kona microbrews at Duke's, just up the beach, listening to another singer-guitarist, then walked four miles back, late, to the Aloha Tower, where I beat the resident pool shark, Jose, at the Bikini Cantina.

But the highpoint of the visit was not the great beer, pool or even passing the run-down office of the Doug-the-Dog Parsons (the infamous bounty hunter). Instead, it was our field trip to visit Glenn and Glenda Paige, and all the staff of the Non-Killing and Global Non-Violence Institutes at the Korean Buddhist Mu Ryang Temple in the hills above the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus.

The faculty, students and I were met by two of the world's most generous people, Glenn and Glenda Paige:



They and the staff of the Non-Killing and Global Non-Violence Institutes provided us with beautiful leis. We toured the temple and grounds.

Here's a look outside and in; I won't explain the iconography of the paintings the way Abbot Gwo did for us, as I know some of you will know this, and others may not be interested:































We began with the quiet pleasure of Abbot Gwo reciting the heart sutra in the temple. Then we had an important, but all-too-short session with Glenn Paige and the others discussing Glenn's books, especially The Political Science of Non-Killing. This book asks a simple question, "Can we all live together without killing anyone?" This book, already an international bestseller, can be downloaded for free here:

www.nonkilling.org

I was happy my friends Skye Fitzgerald (documentary film-maker) and his wife, Patti Duncan (who teaches Gender Studies at Oregon State University), were there:



I know from a summer spent in Honolulu in the past, how varied the wonder of Oahu is—in spite of all the awful things we've "done" to it through history—in terms of both the diverse ethnic cultures, and nature. For example, a little above Hanauma Bay, near the lighthouse, I've heard lava tubes roar, teaching me what cthonic gods (erupting from the earth in the epics of the ancient Mediterranean) must be based upon. And late at night, hiding with the kooka-rachas in a big palm fern on Hotel Street, waiting for the last bus from Aloha Tower, I've been a Haole-Mon, overhearing pimps, drug pushers and even separatists who would like malihinis like moi to go home.

I'm only sorry we don't have time for a little snorkeling at Shark's Cove, or an evening of jazz at Jazz Minds, or the Dragon Upstairs. Next time!

With an again unearthly cast to the sky, we set sail for Guatemala: