VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 2 • June 2026

When Konaʼs Ellison Onizuka Saw the Earth as One

REV. TATSUO MUNETO
RETIRED MINISTER HONPA HONGWANJI HAWAI’I BETSUIN

Human memory is inconsistent; it fades with time.

But certain memories remain vivid despite the passage of time and add meaning to life.

My memory of meeting with Hawai’i’s own Ellison Onizuka is one such memory that has not faded with time, rather it has only enriched my life.

Jan. 28 of this year marked 40 years since the tragedy of the Challenger, NASA’s space shuttle that broke apart in the sky over Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Those of you who read the front-page article of the recent Jan. 28 Star-Advertiser must have recalled this sad event.

We were all devastated when television reported that the space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986. The major accident took the lives of seven astronauts, including that of Ellison Onizuka. And our grief lasted for weeks.

When the Onizuka family’s return to Kona from Florida, the community leaders and the county officials organized a big memorial service at Kona Surf Hotel in honor of Ellison.

Those who gathered expressed their deep sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family; his wife, Lorna, his mother, Mitsue, his brother, Claude, his sisters, Shirley and Norma.

All who were gathered warmly remembered Ellison’s success in his first flight on the shuttle Columbia in 1985, and they regarded him a homegrown hero.

The press widely publicized his background and his stories of success as the first Asian-born astronaut of Buddhist faith.

Ellison Onizuka was born in 1946 into a Buddhist family in Keopu, North Kona. He was raised as a Buddhist faithfully attending Buddhist services at the Keopu branch of Kona Hongwanji.

While at Konawaena High School, Ellison became active in Boy Scout and the 4-H program, becoming aware of his community. At the University of Colorado, Ellison majored in aviation engineering and became a test pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

He married Lorna Yoshida who was from Nā’ālehu at the Tri-State Buddhist Church in Denver. Thus, Ellison affirmed his identity as a Buddhist.

He was a Buddhist not only in religious identity, but also in his way of thinking.

Let me explain: After the shuttle Columbia’s successful mission, when Ellison and his family briefly came back to Hawai’i, the people of Kona were excited about his homecoming.

A big welcome reception was held in the hotel in Keauhou that was attended by about 500 people, which I attended as the minister of Kona Hongwanji.

Bishop Yoshiaki Fujitani also attended and gave a congratulatory message on behalf of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai’i.

What was most impressive at the reception was Ellison’s remarks. After relating his experience as a flight specialist, he told the audience how the Earth looked to him. He said, and I paraphrase:

“The Earth we saw from space was beautiful and one.

“There were no lines or borders separating countries.

“Earth looked fragile and precious, something to be protected.”

What a beautiful observation! There are definitely political boarders on Earth that separate countries. The world itself is divided into continents and subdivided into countries that have their own races, histories and laws. Most surely, the world is divided by lines and boarders.

The world is not one.

But to Ellison, from the space shuttle, he saw the Earth as one, in a very special way. It was through the eyes of wisdom that Ellison saw Earth as one.

The Buddha’s eyes of wisdom see all beings, animate or inanimate as one.

Although people on Earth are different in ethnicity, country and way of life, and borders are needed for us to survive, the Buddha’s eyes of wisdom allow people to love and respect each other as precious neighbors and friends.

People constantly fight one another to gain territory and political and economic power. Due to our weaknesses of blind passions — anger, greed and ignorance — we are creating lines and borders separating us all.

When Amida’s light of wisdom reaches the dark recesses of the human mind, and liberates us from suffering and sorrow of human existence, then, we are guided to work for peace and happiness for all.

Looking at Earth from space, Ellison was awakened to the Buddha’s eyes of wisdom. For this reason, I say that Ellison was a Buddhist not only in religious identity, but also in his own way of thinking.

And his way of thinking was nurtured in the rich soil of Hawai’i, especially Kona. This rich soil raised numerous members of Kona Hongwanji sangha in the past and present.

It is already 40 years since Ellison passed away. His physical being is gone, but his heart and mind and spirit are alive.

They are with us within the Infinite Light and the Immeasurable Life of Amida Buddha.

Namo Amida Butsu