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.