Buddhists celebrate 'Waisak' at Borobudur

Buddhists celebrate 'Waisak' at Borobudur

P.J. Leo, The Jakarta Post, Borobudur, Central Java

The annual celebration of Trisuci Waisak -- the holy day for
Buddhists marking three great occasions: the birthday of
Siddharta Gautama, His Enlightenment as Buddha and His demise --
took place at Borobudur temple, Central Java, last Sunday.

Thousands of Buddhists joined the celebration, even without
the presence of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who had
promised to attend.

The ceremony began on Friday, May 24 when Buddhist priests
took water from the spring at Umbul Jumprit in the small town of
Temanggung. The water was then brought to the Mendut temple.

The next day, Buddhists joined in lighting a torch from Mrapen
eternal flame in Purwodadi, east of Semarang. The flaming torch
was also brought to the Mendut temple.

Many Buddhists from all over Indonesia flocked the square at
Mendut temple early on Sunday to pray before marching to
Borobudur temple.

The parade, which was greeted warmly by locals despite the
sweltering heat and unrelenting sunlight, was also colored with
Reog (East Java's traditional lion dance), Barongsay (Chinese
lion dance) and Liong (Chinese dragon dance).

At the Borobudur temple, the procession began at exactly 6:51
p.m. signaled by the beating of gongs and the turning off of all
the lights in the yard of the temple. It was followed by
meditation from local and foreign priests who came from Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, China, Poland,
Canada and the Netherlands.

Priests from eight Buddhist councils in Indonesia -- the
Indonesian Mahayana Buddhist Council, the Indonesian Maitreya
Buddhist Priests Council, the Indonesian Buddhist Council of
Indonesian Tantrayana Satya Buddha, the All-Indonesia Council of
Priests Pursuing the Three-Virtues, Pandita Sabha Buddha Dharma
Indonesia, Parisadha Buddha Dharma Nichiren Syosu Indonesia, the
Indonesian Buddhist Council of Tatrayana Zhen Fo Zong Kasogatan
and the Council of Indonesian Theravada Buddhists -- led the Puja
Bakti prayers.

With the theme, "Buddhists aim to purify the heart and thought
for peace", the goal was as cool as the night wind that swept
through Borobudur temple that evening.