JP/18/PATUNG

JP/18/PATUNG

Surabaya's four-faced Buddha, a religious tourism asset

Indra Harsaputra
The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

Without squinting, Buddhist culture researcher Sirichai from
Mahidol University, Thailand, focused his gaze with amazement and
delight on the four-faced Buddha statue at Sanggar Agung (Great
Temple) in Surabaya's coastal amusement park, Taman Ria Kenjeran.

"I'm visiting this place specially to see this gold-plated
statue. I'm sure thousands of foreign guests will later be
thronging Sanggar Agung to perform religious rituals," Dr.
Sirichai, also a university lecturer, told The Jakarta Post
several weeks ago.

The statue, nine meters high with four-kilogram of gold
plating, is, he says, the tallest in the four-faced category.
Thailand boasts the world's grandest statue in the Sleeping
Buddha temple in Hatyai -- 35 meters long and 15 meters high --
but this is a reclining Buddha.

The Sanggar Agung Buddha in Surabaya is thus the tallest
Buddha of its kind in the world, he claimed, explaining that this
kind of statue represented the four-facets of Buddhist philosophy
of compassion, charity, neutrality and meditation.

It means that Buddhists should love mankind, contribute to
charity without discrimination, and keep praying and carrying out
their religious rituals. "When good deeds are properly practiced,
a heavenly atmosphere is created on earth," he added.

Inaugurating the monument on the evening of Nov. 10 was monk
Viryanadi Mahatera of Sanggar Agung, Thai Kingdom chief monk
Phrarajkhru Sivacharaya, and Hindu Dharma priest Gede Anom Jala
Karana Manuaba.

The religious affairs ministry's Hinduism-Buddhism director
general I. Wayan Suarjaya attended the ceremony, which also saw
the Indonesian Museum of Records declare the statue as the
country's tallest Buddha.

Viryanadi blessed the monument by intoning Gay Kwang (words to
open the light of Buddha), to the accompaniment of Balinese
traditional gamelan music played by the Sekehe Gong Banjar
troupe. Prayers then followed to consecrate the statue led by the
Parisada Hindu Dharma priest and the chief monk of Thailand.

Istanto, spokesman for Buddha Catur Muka ("four-face Buddha"),
said the digit "nine" associated with the image was
philosophically meant to indicate the Great Lord's relationship
with the Nine Deities of Hinduism.

The statue symbolizes nobility, virtue, truthfulness and
happiness, whereas in the Hindu faith it suggests the points of
the compass.

He expressed the hope that the presence of this statue would
turn Sanggar Agung into a tourist destination. This Buddhist
figure is especially revered because the temple is located in a
well-known place of worship in East Java. "Buddhists from all
over the world will come here to worship," he added.

Surabaya has several other famous locations that attract
religious tourism, including Ampel, which is known as an Arab
settlement of Hadhramaut origin and as a center for Muslim
worship, and the Al-Akbar Mosque, which is located in the
Menanggal area of the East Java capital.