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Aloha to the SpiritsLantern floating and Six Billion Paths to Peace eventremind us that we are never aloneby Mark Glinski There are six billion paths to peace. At least one of them is by water. Thirty-thousand-plus spectators felt any number of emotions as they witnessed the lantern floating ceremony at Ala Moana Beach Park on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. But to stand among them on the shore and watch more than 900 wood-and-paper lanterns drift out to the calm, open sea against the dark, blue sky, was to feel peace. ( click here to read a more detailed version of this article )
Hawaii's Na Lei Aloha foundation has set aside Memorial Day for the lantern floating, giving a peaceful context to a holiday born of war. Originally a Japanese Buddhist ritual, the lantern floating has also become an invocation for peace, as conducted by the Shinnyo-en Buddhist order, which regards peace as one of its missions. "If Shinnyo-en can communicate its message to the world, there will be peace in our lifetime," said attending dignitary Calvin K.Y. Say, speaker of the house for the State of Hawaii.
The spirits embark at sunset
Staged on a beach known as Magic Island, the lantern floating has also become a celebration of Hawaii's Aloha spirit. At the start of the pageant, popular Hawaiian singers serenaded their ancestors with moving ballads. Hula dancers swayed and gestured expressively. As the sky turned gold and orange, a conch shell blower in native Hawaiian costume heralded the start of the ritual. The University of Hawai'i Orchestra struck up a fanfare. Young men carried the six "parent" lantern boats to the platform. Inscribed with the names of Shinnyo-en's founders and members of the Hawaiian monarchy, these larger boats would serve as guides for the others. The paper walls of each lantern glowed from an interior candle. The Shinnyo-en celebrants strode toward the stage in shimmering blue, green, and violet robes, each slung with a long golden sash. The head of the order, Archbishop Shinso Ito, was the last to enter in her blazing vermillion robe. Archbishop Ito conducted consolatory rites, purifying the space for the arrival of the spirits about to embark on the sea. As a vocal ensemble sang Buddhist chants, Archbishop Ito's ceremonial assistants poured offerings of rice and water into crystal vessels for the spirits. Meanwhile, hundreds of lantern bearers assembled along the beach behind the platform. The young men bore the parent lantern boats to the beach, where volunteers in canoes gently coaxed them out onto the ocean. The smaller lanterns followed slowly, forming a long, drifting chain of auras. As attendees craned their necks to follow their departure, the Shinnyo-en Taiko drummers pounded out an emphatic farewell. For one last touch of Aloha, the orchestra and chorus struck up the Hawaii state anthem Hawaii Aloha. The attendees all joined hands, and many sang along. The sky was now an even, deep blue. The better to see the lanterns. Each was inscribed with the name of a departed loved one or ancestor at the request of a spectator who wished to revere their memory. "My niece passed away. In memory of her, I wanted to participate," said Bishop Dwight Nakamura of the Jodo Mission of Hawaii, another attending dignitary, "It is very emotional. It touches me deeply."
Prayers, poems, personal journeys
One day later, the Shinnyo-en Foundation held its second Six Billion Paths to Peace awards ceremony and forum at a hotel walking distance from Magic Island. The event seemed to hold the energy of the lantern floating, not to mention the Aloha spirit. The program opened with representatives of the Volunteer Resource Center of Hawaii performing soulful oli chants. A speaker then recited the Prayer of Saint Francis. As the Six Billion Paths program continued, it was quite evident that there were many instruments of peace in the room.
Performers from Oakland, California-based Destiny Arts presented a modern dance/poetry recital about peace. The conviction of their performance testified to the success of their program. The mission of Destiny Arts is nothing less than to "end isolation, prejudice and violence in the lives of young people." Mentorship and creative activity are central to this effort. Teenagers liberated from the rut of urban violence become mentors to other at-risk children. They accept the responsibility gladly. As one of the artists, nicknamed "Nee Nee," eloquently put it, "Destiny Arts makes you realize that you represent destiny."
The Shinnyo-en Foundation presented a Presidential Service Awards to two other teenage success stories. Naohito Miura, a senior at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu. Miura works with his school's Red Cross program to teach small children how to swim. "I get them used to the water. I teach them how to kick and other stuff," said Miura with a shy grin. "It makes me feel good to see them smile and to hear their parents' gratitude." Aspiring teacher Leilani Perkins donates countless hours of her free time toward helping younger students with their schoolwork. Teaching is not just her chosen career; it is truly her path to peace. "Working with students has helped me find out who I am and find peace within myself," said Perkins in her acceptance speech.
Peace through serviceShinnyo-en Foundation Program Officer Liane Louie-Badua, Ph.D., moderated a panel on "Exploring the Role of Service in Culture, Religion, and Spirituality." Panelist Paulie K. Jennings, executive producer of the World Invitational Hula Festival, attributed her penchant for service to her Hawaiian roots. Panelist Dr. Joseph Bobrow, a clinical psychologist and Zen master, spoke of how the source of his sense of responsibility to serve "goes back to family" and his "socially conscious parents." It is not surprising that one of the concepts that attracted him to Buddhism as a young man was that of the Bodhisatva, one who helps others become enlightened.
For panelist McClellan Hall, executive director of the National Indian Youth Leadership Project, service and reciprocal responsibility are touchstones of his native Cherokee community, where elders provide guidance in all aspects of his life. One particular thing they told him decades ago put him on his vocational path to help native youth. "The Elders performed a ritual where they looked into the future. They could see a time approaching when we would lose our youth," said Hall. "It seemed to me, I could either give up or try to do something." Bobrow thinks of service not so much as a cultural imperative as an urge innate in the human psyche. He directs the Coming Home Project, which provides therapy, meditation training, and other rehabilitative assistance to veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. "When you create a safe place of unconditional love, what gets unleashed is people's natural desire to give support. It's a sleeper element of healing," said Bobrow. Jennings witnessed a stunning demonstration of service that changed her life. During the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, she volunteered with the Austrian Red Cross to help escort Hungarian child refugees to safety in Vienna. On the bus bound for Austria, she saw a boy, newly orphaned by the violence of the revolution, comforting a distraught little girl and giving her water. "At that moment, I thought, 'This is our future.'" said Jennings. Honoring ancestors, cherishing childrenThe Six Billion Paths program had a recurring emphasis on helping and guiding children that balanced out the lantern floating and its theme of guiding ancestors. The mistress of ceremonies was another teacher by vocation, Angela Baraquio Grey, the 2001 Miss America. Prior to winning her crown, Baraquio Grey taught high school. Now, she chairs a foundation that promotes character building in Hawaiian communities. During and after the program, she gratefully acknowledged the Shinnyo-en Foundation for the support it has provided her organization. "I am honored and fortunate to have the help of like-minded people, like the foundation," said Grey. "We are all pushing forward to a higher goal." "I can't say enough about the Shinnyo-en Foundation and the help they've given us," concurred Jennings after the forum. "We try to connect Hawaii with the rest of the world by teaching hula. The foundation understands how hard that is, and how important it is." For many invitees, the Six Billion Paths event provided illumination and inspiration to stay on their own paths to peace. Corinne Ching, member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, said she had learned a lot from the forum panelists that would help her in her work with the legislative body's Heritage Caucus, which preserves Hawaii's historical and cultural landmarks. "I'm reminded that we're doing this preservation work for our children, not just to teach them about history, but to teach them about grace," said Ching. She also reflected on something that Baraquio Grey said to conclude the program. "She said that peace is daily thing. Everything we do, every time we speak, we have an opportunity to create peace," said Ching. "I'm taking that home with me." Ching and several of her fellow legislators presented an award to the Shinnyo-en Foundation, acknowledging its many services to the State of Hawaii and its communities.
Joe Matsoka, Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Hawaii, noted how events like the Six Billion Paths to Peace forum bring together like-minded people who can encourage and educate each other. "When we have a dialogue like this, we can address parallel needs and exchange information and resources," said Matsoka. This was another theme common to the lantern floating and Six Billion Paths to Peace: We are never alone. The lantern floating reminds us that our ancestors are always with us. The forum reminds us that there are many people around us to provide help when we need it, just as there are many opportunities for us to help others.
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