Chozen-ji — Local services in Honolulu

Not a temple. Also very colonized. Let me start by saying my father grew up in Thailand and I was raised mostly buddhist. If you need a "guru" to outsource your discernment, you have completely missed the point of spirituality. I was having a hard day and I came to find a moment of peace when an extremely rude white person came out and had an attitude with me while I was crying and essentially kicked me out. Kind of interesting to see that people blindly follow false idols that teach you separation from another. If it's a closed practice school then they should probably keep the gates closed if they don't want the public to enter. Better to go somewhere else that is accepting and can at least be...

Unfortunately, my meditation experience at Chozen-ji was disappointing. I was disheartened by the teacher’s public criticism of students, which felt both unexpected and unsettling, creating an environment that was harsh rather than supportive.

For those new to meditation, or anyone seeking a more compassionate and welcoming approach, I highly recommend the temple in Palolo, which offers free Saturday meditations, where kindness and gentle guidance are truly at the heart of the practice (no...

A secret and hidden gem. I come here for meditation training, but it's more than that - it's a discipline, and when I say that, I mean it, so be ready! A beautiful temple location with traditional and non-traditional practices. Beginners must go to ZaZen meditation and sit still for about half an hour. You do this until you feel you can move to the advanced class where you sit still with supervision for 45+minutes following vigorous walking and then another 45minutes of sitting...