Use religious teachings to fight corruption, President says
Use religious teachings to fight corruption, President says
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
Buddhists flocked to Borobudur temple here on Tuesday to
commemorate the Buddhist Day of Enlightenment with a series of
religious processions held at the ceremony, which was also
attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Prayers were sent up to the heavens as thousands of Buddhists,
who had been at the famous temple since Monday night, were called
on to purify their minds and souls from temptation, and to
rededicate themselves to spreading humanity and good deeds -- the
essence of Buddhist teaching.
The joyous commemoration of the birth of the holy Siddharta
Gautama reached its peak at 3:17 a.m. on Tuesday, when the
Buddhists gathered at the temple's main altar and meditated for
17 minutes, which was accompanied by the sprinkling of holy water
by the monks.
A number of dignitaries, including Minister of Religious
Affairs Maftuh Basyuni, Central Java Governor Mardiyanto, and
several ambassadors, attended the ceremony.
The President took the opportunity on Monday night to reflect
on the benefits of using religious teaching as part of the effort
to curb corruption in the country.
"It's quite confusing that our nation, which we say is
religious, turns out to have a very high level of criminality,
especially corruption," he said.
He said that this was rooted in the fact that Indonesians were
still not sufficiently solid when it came to morality, especially
as regards respecting the rights of others.
"Of course, it would be different if we didn't view the
teachings only as rituals, but more as part of our daily
activities, because religious teachings can serve as a major
help in combating corruption," said Susilo just a day before he
left for an official visit to the United States, Vietnam and
Japan.
The President also brokered the idea of "five don'ts" during
the ceremony that all Indonesians needed to heed -- don't be
pessimistic, don't be lazy, don't underrate oneself, don't
denigrate the nation and don't be emotional.
The commemoration itself was proceeded by religious events
that began on Saturday with the arrival of Vesak holy water from
Umbul Jumprit fountain in Parakan, Temanggung.
The events continued with the arrival of the Vesak eternal
flame in Mrapen, Grobogan, on Sunday.
The next day, the Pindhapata ritual was held, where the monks
walked on foot around Magelang city carrying small containers.
Passersby gave alms to the monks as they continued on their tour
around the city.
This ritual is meant to reinforce the importance of charity
and of living modestly.
This was then followed by a three-kilometer-long procession
from the Mendut temple to Borobudur temple, as thousands of
Buddhists recited religious verses.
Waisak celebrates the birth, the enlightenment and the death
of Siddharta Gautama, who became Buddha (the enlightened one).
This year's Waisak observance is the 2,549th, according to the
Buddhist calendar.