Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004
Buddha Bar's closure expected
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer
Crystal Thornburg, a Chaminade University junior, went to the Buddha Bar in Waikiki as part of her religion class' exploration of the controversy surrounding the name.
"When I walked in there, I didn't feel very enlightened," she told her classmates Thursday.
That got a big laugh.
The students' professor, Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, who is president of the Hawai'i Association of International Buddhists, has been among those spearheading the effort to get the establishment to change its name, saying it's offensive to some Buddhists.
The organization has gathered about 400 signatures — from Buddhists and non-Buddhists — for a petition asking the bar to not use the name. Natadecha-Sponsel expects to mail it Monday to Les Hong, who operates the site.
Students and members of Buddhist temples around the island have collaborated on the petition drive. Among those participating: Several members of Natadecha-Sponsel's class at the private Roman Catholic-affiliated university.
They had best move fast.
The bar is scheduled to close in April as the Waikiki Lewers Street redevelopment project gets under way, Hong said yesterday.
Promoters are still using the Buddha Bar name to attract customers. But Hong said that while the establishment still has the name, he himself is not marketing it as a "Buddha Bar" but as the "House of Hong."
"The name is House of Hong Buddha Bar and Lounge; that's our registered name," he said.
Hong said he is not asking promoters to stop using promotional materials that use the Buddha Bar name.
In August, he and two others in the venture discussed whether to change the name and said they would release a statement, but they have yet to do so.
"We're still discussing what our options are," he said. "That's where we are. ... We're going to be history after April."
Until then?
"We'll probably stay with what we are right now," he said.
Asked if he would ever get into another venture like this, Hong, whose family has Buddhist ties, said no. "We're not going to do another Buddha Bar. I'm not going to be involved in it."
Why has Honolulu seen such an uproar about the name, when larger cities — including one in Japan — have similarly named establishments?
"If (people) are really serious about this, why don't they go to Paris, France (to complain?)" said Hong. "We're nothing (compared with) the way New York and Paris are promoting (their Buddha Bars)."
The same question was posited to Natadecha-Sponsel's class Thursday.
The answer, suggested student Tracey Taylor, is that Hawai'i has a larger contingent of Buddhists. Classmate Sam Upton added that Buddhists may be more active here, and that Hawai'i expects a higher degree of cultural sensitivity.
Students in the religion class have been discussing the nature of Buddhism. Some noted that not all Buddhists here are willing to take up the cause, because many in and among different traditions disagree whether a statue of Buddha is a sacred symbol.
That gave the professor a chance to discuss the different sects and forms of Buddhism, and to increase sensitivity to the faith tradition.
The classroom debate "goes with the characteristics of Marianist education here," Natadecha-Sponsel said, citing the university's mission to integrate subject matter with the social situation. "We try to apply the subject of what we teach in each class, and we should be able to see it connect with these characteristics. That's what makes us different from some other universities, to help them grow as socially responsible persons."
