First ever Peace Pagoda on the Pacific Coast nears completion

Monks from the Japanese Buddhist order Nipponzan Myohoji and U.S. citizens are in the process of building a Peace Pagoda in Poulsbo, Washington. If completed this year, it will be the Order's 81st pagoda in the world, the third in the U.S., and the first on the Pacific Coast. The project, first attempted in 1982, resumed construction in 2019, with completion anticipated by summer 2025. Pagodas are located not only in Japan and India, but also in Vienna, London, New York, and other parts of the world.

Pagodas embody the teaching of non-killing. It is a lighthouse for humanity.

The original pagoda was a domed mound in which the sacred ashes of the Buddha were enshrined after his nirvana approximately 2,500 years ago. The base of the Pacific Northwest pagoda is 44 feet in diameter and 42 feet high, topped by a bronze spire decorated with ornate Japanese style detail.

Its location is the site of the Ground Zero Center, a grassroots peace movement group that advocates Gandhi's Ahimsa (non-violence) principles. The project, which began in 1980 at the proposal of Ven. Nichidatsu Fujii, head of the Nipponzan Myohoji Order, who visited the site, is now being realized after nearly half a century of work. The busshari (holy ashes of Buddha) offered by a Nepalese monk will be enshrined in the pagoda. It is a three-dimensional embodiment of the first of the five precepts of Buddhism, respect for all life, including animals, or the teaching of “no killing (ahimsa)”. If each person's life is likened to a boat, the pagoda is a lighthouse. It guides its voyage and the world in safety and security.

Building by American Volunteers, an Ongoing Project

While two Bainbridge Island monks, Senji Kanaeda and Gilberto Perez, are responsible for the project, the majority of the construction has relied on volunteers from the local American community, including Jim Lyman, the project's director. Some of them include a mason who underwent chemotherapy and risked his life to help. By last year, the foundation and walkways were completed, and now the final touches, which require professional help, are being put in place. The dome framework will be covered with concrete and stucco, and a niche for the Buddha's image and a three-way relief symbolizing the life of the Buddha will be enshrined in the future. Ultimately the vision for the project will culminate in making a facade and staircase around the base. After the construction is completed, appropriate landscaping will unite the pagoda with its natural surroundings.

Future Prospects, Call for Cooperation

Upon completion, Nipponzan Myohoji will hold a traditional inauguration ceremony to celebrate the opening of the pagoda, inviting monks, nuns, Native American friends, politicians and representatives of other religions from around the world. The pagoda is scheduled to be inaugurated in the spring of 2026.

We sincerely look forward to your contributions toward the construction of the Pagoda, its surroundings, and the Inauguration Ceremony. Let us cross the Bridge of Friendship with you and celebrate the completion of the monument oriented toward the realization of world peace.

We hope you will consider making a donation to help us realize the pagoda, a symbol of peace and unity for all living things.

pagoda foundation pagoda walls Shonin with sorin spire

Learn the full history of the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda here: https://www.gzcenter.org/the-peace-pagoda-at-ground-zero/

Friends of the PNW Pagoda

A place to join the friends of the Nipponzan Myohoji in supporting the construction of a peace pagoda near Seattle, Washington