'Waisak' marks a sipiritual transformation<\/p>\n
By Harkiman Racheman<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): This year, Waisak, Buddha's Day of
\nEnlightenment, was celebrated on May 18 by Buddhists worldwide.
\nIn Indonesia, a national commemoration by local Buddhists of
\nvarious persuasions was centered around the Borobudur temple in
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
And, as the government has renewed recently its religious
\npolicy which guarantees absolute freedom as well as flexible
\nredefinition of religious harmony, this year's Waisak celebration
\nwill hopefully constitute a unique celebration of Indonesian
\nBuddhists' religious rights and social emancipation.<\/p>\n
Even though deeply established here from the 5th century to
\nthe 17th century, Buddhism is still the most underrepresented and
\nmisunderstood minority religion in Indonesia. It is not
\nsurprising that the average non-Buddhist, and, in fact, even some
\nstatistical Buddhists, may not have the faintest idea of what
\nBuddha's Day commemorates.<\/p>\n
Waisak (named after the month Vaisakha in the Buddhist
\ncalender, which corresponds to April-May) commemorates three big
\nevents in the life of Siddhartha Gautama. The most important
\nfestival in the entire Buddhist calender, Waisak celebrates the
\nbirth, the enlightenment and the passing away of Siddhartha
\nGautama, who later became a Buddha (or \"an enlightened one\"). On
\nthis particular day, Buddhists from all denominations gather
\ntogether to worship and rejoice with hymns and flower offerings.<\/p>\n
Also referred to as Sakyamuni (Sage of the Sakya clan),
\nSiddhartha was born on a full-moon day in the month of Vaisakha
\naround 563 B.C. in a wooded garden called Lumbini (now
\nRummindei), near Kapilavastu, in modern Nepal. The legend says
\nthat the Bodhisattva (Future Buddha) was conceived by Queen Maya,
\nwife to King Suddhodana, after her body was entered by a white
\nelephant in a rare dream.<\/p>\n
An old sage named Anita came to visit after the infant was
\nborn in order to confirm his signs of spiritual greatness and
\nreveal that he would grow up to become either a powerful monarch
\nor a Buddha. However, as recounted in history, Siddhartha chose
\nto leave his inherited life of abundant luxuries in order to seek
\nthe Truth. However, just what spiritual significance does the
\nbirth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama entail?<\/p>\n
Buddhism<\/p>\n
While multiple interpretations exist in accordance with
\ndiverse sectarian traditions, one thing is clear in point. The
\nbirth of Siddhartha paved the way for the institutionalization of
\nthe distinctive religious teachings known today as Buddhism.<\/p>\n
Without the sage's nativity, it would not have been possible
\nfor humankind to know Buddha's teachings as an integrated body,
\neven though certain universal values contained therein may also
\nbe found elsewhere in other religious discourses.<\/p>\n
At the age of 29, Prince Siddhartha Gautama took a radical
\nturning point in his spiritual career after experiencing absolute
\ndisillusionment with suffering-laden human existence. In Buddhist
\nliterature, this is widely known as The Great Renunciation.<\/p>\n
The legend has it that, upon encountering signs of appalling
\nhuman destiny (i.e. old age, sickness and death), Siddhartha
\ndeterminedly left his home, family and kingdom with the help of
\nhis charioteer Channa. Cutting off his well-groomed hair and
\nexchanging his princely clothes with a hunter he met on the way,
\nSiddhartha ventured on a quest for total emancipation from the
\nutter miseries of existence.<\/p>\n
After some years of painstaking spiritual experiment,
\nwandering, training, learning and refinement, Siddhartha finally
\ndiscovered the answers to his long-time question on human
\nsuffering. At Bodh Gaya under a bodhi tree on a full-moon day in
\nthe month of Vaisakha, the 35-year-old ascetic finally reached
\nthe ultimate understanding of the Truth through self-realization.
\nIt is the discovery of this entire body of spiritual knowledge
\nand experience which is another thing commemorated serenely by
\nBuddhists on Waisak.<\/p>\n
Having become a Buddha, the enlightened Siddhartha continued
\nto preach Buddhism for 45 years to every desperate being,
\nirrespective of their caste or social class -- something
\nprevalent in the Indian subcontinent in those days. The Mahayana
\ntradition even says that Buddha taught other sentient beings that
\nresided in other celestial realms. In traditional Buddhist
\nterminology, Buddha is pictured as setting in motion the Wheel of
\nthe Dharma seven days after his cosmos-shaking enlightenment.<\/p>\n
But, what did the historical Buddha really teach?<\/p>\n
To answer in a nutshell, Buddha taught (as well as teaches, of
\ncourse!) a path of spiritual liberation through virtue,
\nmeditation and wisdom. This constitutes the essence of Buddha's
\nteachings or, what may be justifiably called, Basic Buddhism, to
\ndistinguish it from further developments of Buddhism; such as
\nMahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Vajarayana Buddhism.<\/p>\n
Virtuous lifestyle<\/p>\n
In order to free themselves from suffering, secular people
\nneed to first commit themselves to a virtuous lifestyle. As lay
\nBuddhists (unlike monastic monks and nuns), they need to take up
\nthe five training rules in their domestic life.<\/p>\n
All Buddhists should refrain from killing living creatures,
\nstealing, indulging in sexual misconducts, speaking harshly or
\nfalsely and taking intoxicating drinks or drugs. This psycho-
\nethical training is essential in order to lay the foundation for
\nthe subsequent stage of mental cultivation.<\/p>\n
Largely known as meditation, Buddhist mental cultivation
\npractices aim at calming the restless, misery-causing mind.
\nThrough insight meditation, practicing Buddhists are later
\nexpected to be able to unravel the complexity of their mind in
\norder to fully understand its nature or activity. Continuous and
\npersevering mental practice may eventually lead to a crystal
\nclear mind which is no longer tainted with negative thoughts,
\ndoubts or worries. It is only within this meditative state of
\nmind that the Ultimate Truth may manifest itself concretely.<\/p>\n
When the mind has been cleared of its defilements, a sense of
\nwisdom will come into being. From the Buddhist perspective,
\nwisdom is commonly described as people's empirical faculty, as it
\nwere, to see their life as it is, not as they would want it to
\nbe.<\/p>\n
When people have teethed this advanced level of wisdom,
\nthrough repeated practices of virtue and meditation, they will
\nfully comprehend the Four Noble Truths. These truths are: First,
\nlife is fundamentally unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n
Next, the cause of unsatisfactoriness is our negative desire.
\nHowever, the unsatisfactoriness can be eliminated. And, the way
\nto eliminate the unsatisfactory life is by following the Way or
\nthe Eightfold Path.<\/p>\n
This eight-way path, to put it briefly, comprises: the right
\nview, the right intention, the right speech, the right action,
\nthe right livelihoods, the right effort, the right mindfulness
\nand, finally, the right concentration.<\/p>\n
Thus is the core teachings of Buddhism. And, when celebrating
\nBuddha's Day of Enlightenment, Buddhists will remind themselves
\nof these important precepts and guidelines in order to lead a
\ngood and meaningful life.<\/p>\n
The enlightened one passed away at the age of 80, again on the
\nfull-moon day of the month Vaisakha, in the Sala Jungle on the
\noutskirts of the town Kusinara, India. The sage, whose teachings
\nwere later committed to writing and expanded by his closest
\ndisciples, has left Buddhists with a rich spiritual system and
\nheritage.<\/p>\n
This body of knowledge, called Tripitaka (three baskets of
\nscriptures), more importantly, gives Buddhists an exact action
\nplan toward developing their virtue, meditation and wisdom -- the
\nthree essential qualities prior to a complete release from
\nsuffering-laden existence.<\/p>\n
Now, the fact that Buddha's death coincides with that of his
\nbirth and his enlightenment makes the Waisak celebration of
\nutmost importance to the Buddhist community.<\/p>\n
Unlike other religious festivals, which celebrate important
\nevents separately, Waisak provides a combined momentum for
\nBuddhists all over the world to commemorate the three spiritually
\nsignificant events together, and within the same breadth.<\/p>\n
Therefore, in celebrating Waisak this year, it is important
\nthat local Buddhists fully comprehend the threefold significance
\nof the religious festival. Otherwise, they will miss the whole
\nidea of embracing the religion! Rather than being swept along
\ninto the massive current of shallow formality and skin-deep
\nritualism, Indonesian Buddhists should instead use this year's
\nobservation to reflect on their level of devotion, piety and
\nfaith by referring back to the examples demonstrated by Buddha.<\/p>\n
New resolution<\/p>\n
At the same time, they should probably make a new resolution
\nto place the teachings of Buddha back at the core of their
\neveryday individual life and to allow these teachings to inspire
\ntheir activities all of the time. That way, they will find this
\nyear's Waisak celebration spiritually transforming and
\nenergizing, especially in helping them brave the uncertain future
\nof the country.<\/p>\n
In the mean time, though occasional socioreligious tension is
\nstill occurring between believers of different creeds, we should
\nbe grateful to the state and the non-Buddhists of Indonesia who
\nhave generally shown a high-level of tolerance, well-meaning and
\nunderstanding toward the aspirations of Indonesian Buddhists. And
\nlet us all hope that their appreciation and understanding of the
\nreligion as a whole will continue to improve in a religiously
\npluralistic Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Finally, to all Indonesian Buddhists, Happy Waisak 2543 to
\nyou! May our still-fragile country be blessed by the Triple Gems
\n(Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) with accelerated socioeconomic and
\npolitical stabilization and improvement. Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!<\/p>\n
The writer graduated from Victoria University of Wellington,
\nNew Zealand. Based in Medan, he is currently a freelance writer
\nand university teacher.<\/p>",
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