Waisak Day celebration: Between ritual and commerce

By R. Fadjri

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Bright yellow banners flutter in the wind, lining the road between the Mendut and Borobudur temples in Central Java. A giant billboard carrying the picture of Vice President Try Sutrisno and his wife Mrs. Tuti Sutrisno greets everyone heading for the two sacred Buddhist temples. A huge festival attended by 200,000 Buddhist from all over the country will celebrate Waisak, Buddha's Day of Enlightenment 2540, tomorrow.

Activities to mark the holy day have been held since Thursday, starting with the blessing of the Waisak water from a natural spring in Umbul Jumprit village in Central Java. Water from the spring on the foot of Mount Perahu runs through nearly all parts of the Central Java province. A decorated horse cart carried the water to Mendut Temple, where it was blessed before its distribution tomorrow. The Buddhists believe that the blessed water can bring prosperity and happiness, as well as cure illnesses.

There was also a ceremony for the fetching of the Api Dharma from the eternal flame in Mrapen in the Grobokan regency of Central Java. The town is about 350 kilometers from Mendut temple. The Mrapen flame, which is also used during the National Sports Week, will be used to light the Waisak candles.

Water and fire symbolize Buddhists' close relations with nature.

"Nature is the manifestation of God's existence," said Witono, a Buddhist priest from Mendut.

A procession of Buddhists will walk from Mendut to Borobudur tomorrow. The procession, called Pradaksina, will circle the temples three times as a sign of respect to the holy shrines.

Three elephants will carry the remains of the Buddha -- shreds of his hair placed in a wooden box. Led by 80 priests, the Buddhists will recite prayers and the Buddha's sermon Jaya Manggala Gatra. The 15-verse sermon in Pali, an Indian dialect, and the prayers will be repeated throughout the five-kilometer walk from Mendut to Borobudur. The procession starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to reach the Borobudur at 6 p.m.

Last year, 30,000 people joined the half-a-kilometer-long procession.

The peak of the celebration, the Puja Bakti Waisak, starts tomorrow evening. The ceremony consists of three rituals, called the Tri Mustika (the three Buddhist shields). The shields -- sermon, prayer and meditation -- will last until dawn.

The Waisak procession from Mendut to Borobudur began in 1966. Previously, the Indonesian Buddhist community celebrated Waisak by meditating until dawn during Bulan Purnama Sidhi (in May and June).

The celebration at the Mendut and Borobudur temples is the largest Waisak ceremony in Indonesia. This year, for the first time in history, the Indonesian Buddhist community from all sects will gather at the temples for the celebration. Previously, each Buddhist sect celebrated the holy day at their own worship places.

"It is really a blessing if all Buddhists join the celebration at Borobudur. This will unite them," said David Herman Jaya, a chairman of the celebration's organizing committee.

Sixty percent of Indonesian Buddhists belong to the Walubi Council of Buddhist Communities. The remaining 40 percent belong to the two other large sects, Yayasan Pandita Sabha Budhadharma Indonesia, and Sanga Agung. Each sect performs its own rituals in different languages.

"By focusing the celebration at the Mendut temple and Borobudur, it is expected that all Indonesian Buddhists will unite and create harmony among them, between them and followers of other religions and between Buddhists and the government," said Witono.

By focusing the celebration at the Mendut and Borobudur temples the Buddhists also hope to revive the temples, which are now considered no more than archeological relics which attract tourists, Witono added.

"It is time we revived the Mendut temple and Borobudur for Buddhist rituals," he said.

Witono sees no reason why tourism and religion cannot coexist.

"There's nothing wrong with performing rituals which contribute to the state income," he argued.

Each Waisak Day, thousands of Buddhists come from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Singapore to join the ceremony at the Mendut and Borobudur temples.