Fellows mentioned in this story:
Ann Teranishi
Jason Fujimoto

From Hawai‘i Business Magazine:

Almost at the end of Kalihi Street, past where it turns into a one-lane road and the rainforest encroaches on the asphalt, is a Zen temple and martial arts dojo called Chozen-ji. The dojo is only 20 minutes from Bishop Street and the state Capitol, but its rustic, Japanese-style buildings, carefully maintained grounds and old-school training methods can make it feel a world apart.

Since the temple’s establishment in Kalihi Valley in 1976, a diverse cross-section of the community has come with regularity and dedication, including former Gov. John Waihe‘e and former House Speaker Calvin Say, and business leaders such as Colbert Matsumoto, Lionel Tokioka and Richard Lim.

Above CEO Ann Teranishi’s desk at American Savings Bank sit two pieces of Zen calligraphy from Chozen-ji, where she has trained in meditation. One is an enso, or circle, evocative of a simultaneous sense of totality and emptiness, everything and nothing. The other is the kanji shin, meaning mindheart or spirit.

When Teranishi first came to Chozen-ji, she had just been asked to lead ASB; she found the strict kind of zazen, or seated meditation, taught there to be useful in preparing her for the new role. Like other students at the dojo, she learned to sit for 45 minutes at a time with her eyes open and without moving. If a mosquito landed on her nose or her legs began to hurt, she was told to resist the temptation to move.

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