The photo to the right is Kapa'au in North Kohala, on the Big Island of Hawai'i, Halawa area flowing down to Hapu'u Bay, in outline
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Hawai'i's perennially warm climate and the softness of its air and sea provide a place of perfect solitude and serenity for meditation practice. For over a thousand years, the beauty, power and nurturing spirit of the Islands has inspired a culture of people in harmony with their surroundings. For generations, it has been a gathering place for contemplative traditions from all parts of the globe. In a safe and supportive environment such as this, the mind becomes naturally quiet and supple, and the heart opens of its own accord.

The Hawaii Insight Meditation Center (HIMC) will be an international retreat center bridging East and West, tradition and innovation. The great forest monastery tradition of Southeast Asia merged with the spiritual geography of the Hawaiian Islands will provide a unique environment in which to offer these accessible contemplative practices of Mindfulness and Loving-kindness. It will be a sanctuary of land and sea in which the contemporary transmission of an ancient wisdom will take root and flourish. We are looking for a sacred region inspired by the ancient Hawaiian geographic zones called ahupua'a, a place of nurture and refuge. Extending between ocean and mountain, and inclusive of diverse bioregions of flora and fauna, streams and valley, the ahupua'a models an intimate interrelatedness between people and their surroundings.

Our land vision is founded upon an ethic of earth/sea stewardship. Our planned mini-ahupua'a includes projects such as preservation and protection of the land, reforestation of rare and endangered native species and restoration of traditional agriculture. In all of our activities we are guided by the traditional Hawaiian values: malama -- to care for and preserve (resources, values); to serve, honor (what is worthy of honor); and pono -- the sum total of all human virtues and the foundation of moral leadership in goodness.

Incorporating sustainable tropical design elements, our retreat facility will reflect both Eastern and Western influences while resting gently on the land. We will offer retreats for all levels of students, lasting from three days to several months, as well as specialized young-adult and family-oriented meditation courses. Retreats for environmental, medical, educational and corporate leaders will also be included in our programs. A clear demand for such increased services has been demonstrated over the past two years through retreats offered by HIMC teachers in conjunction with The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society.

Science and medicine both agree: human wellbeing is enhanced on many levels by the healing powers of the mind achievable through mindfulness meditation. The Hawai'i Insight Meditation Center will be a place of healing, nurtured by meditation practice and an environment conducive to the health of the whole person; a place for discovering new ways of integrating contemplative awareness into the challenge of contemporary life.