Buddhists 'Asadha' to be observed

Buddhists 'Asadha' to be observed

MAGELANG, Central Java: Commemorating the Buddhist celebration of
Asadha, the Buddhist community is to hold the Sejuta Pelita
Sejuta Harapan procession at Borobudur Temple on Saturday.

Asadha celebrates the first rotation of the Buddhist Dharma
wheel when Buddha first spelled out his teaching to five Buddhist
monks.

According to chairman of the organizing committee Djunaidi,
the procession will start at 5 p.m. by taking the holy flame from
Mrapen, with the lighting of a million candles at the peak.

"We shall light a million candles for the ruwatan (exorcism
ritual) for the nation. The objective is to pray for the safety
of the nation and of the world," said Djunaidi, adding that the
celebration was also intended to greet the 60th anniversary of
Indonesia's independence.

That is also why, Djunaidi says, although the Sejuta Pelita
Sejuta Harapan is held to commemorate the Buddhist celebration of
Asadha, representatives from other religions, including from
Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism and Hinduism, will also
participate.

These will include Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid of Nahdlatul
Ulama, Ahmad Syafii Maarif (Muhammadiyah), Franz Magnis Suseno
(Catholic). The ministers of Religious Affairs and Tourism,
Central Java governor and Yogyakarta governor will also be among
other distinguished guests at the event.

"They will all join us in the procession, walking around
Borobudur Temple, and praying for the safety of the nation,"
Djunaidi said.

Various traditional performances including gamelan and
traditional dance from across the country, said Djunaidi, will
also be performed during the opening ceremony held ahead of the
candle-lit procession.

"We consider this to be a way of showing that the community is
concerned about difficulties that the nation is going through,"
he said. -- JP