Each
year, around 500 million Buddhists throughout Asia, including Indonesia,
celebrate Tri Suci Waisak. On this day, the holiest in the Buddhist
calendar, Buddhists commemorate the three most important events in
the life of the Buddha, Siddharta Gautama: his birth from the heaven
Tusita, his attainment of Nirvana, and his passing from this mortal
life.
Tri Suci Waisak 2551 fell on 1 June 2007. The theme of the official celebration in Indonesia was "In the Spirit of Practicing the Buddha's Dharma, Let Us Increase Religious Tolerance for World Peace," while the sub-theme was "Save the Earth from Destruction by Instilling the Buddha's Dharma to Conserve the Environment." Indonesia's Buddhist community felt these themes were entirely appropriate, given the current world situation.
In modern times, Waisak was first celebrated in Indonesia in 1930 especially by a theosophist association at Candi Borobudur. The holiday was publicly celebrated at the same venue in 1953, followed by a nationwide major celebration six years later, with bhikkus (Buddhist monks) in attendance from Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Japan.
Each year, the main procession to greet the exact seconds of Waisak is performed in the same reverent way. The area around the two temples of Candi Mendut and Candi Borobudur in Magelang, Central Java, becomes the focus of the activities.
This year, before the main Puja Bhakti ceremony, Indonesia's Buddhists conducted a series of social and humanitarian activities from 6 through 26 May.
Then,
on 30 May, the Puja Bhakti ceremonies were held at Candi Mendut, starting
with the collection of Waisak holy water from Umbul Jumprit spring
at Parakan, Temanggung, Central Java. The water at Umbul Jumprit is
considered to be pure and unpolluted, thus meeting the ritual requirements.
The water, which for Buddhists symbolizes humility – a trait
that should be emulated by all humankind, and that bring calm and peace
into human's spiritual life – is revered and blessed
at Candi Mendut by representatives of three leading Buddhist associations:
the Dewan Sangha, Majelis-Majelis Agama Budha, and LKBI.
The next day, a procession goes to gather natural fire from Mrapen, Grobogan (Central Java). This eternal flame is then also taken to Candi Mendut to be sanctified.
In the evening, thousands of Buddhists conduct the Siripada ceremony, bearing the holy fire and thousands of candles on foot from Candi Mendut to the Progo River, where the candles are released, along with fish. The procession comprises ranks of escorts, ranks carrying the offerings and, at the head of the column, a rank of bhikkus carrying the holy water. Next, Dharma torches are lit all around Candi Borobudur.
Fire, according to Buddhist teachings, symbolizes the light that breaks through darkness, erases all gloom, and provides the spirit to eliminate ignorance in this life.
To begin this sacred event, a holy contemplative text about Waisak is read; a gong is then struck as a signal to enter a meditative state.At that moment, all is silent; no one makes a sound, and all those present fold their arms on their chests and shut their eyes. These special seconds of Waisak are a deeply sacred moment, when the assembled bhikkus solemnly pray and meditate together at Candi Mendut.
The next day, the believers amass and march in a procession of 28 groups toward the great temple of Borobudur.
That
evening, the national celebration is held. This year, six ASEAN countries
collaborated in a staging a six-episode performance summarizing the
Buddha's life, entitled "Imaging Buddha". The first episode,
telling of the birth of the Buddha, was performed by a troupe from
Thailand. The second episode, on his youth, was presented by Cambodia.
Performers from Laos presented the third episode, in which the Buddha
was released from earthly concerns.
The fourth episode, on his struggle to attain enlightenment, was performed by a group from Myanmar. The fifth episode, on the Buddha's first sermon and his travels, was presented by the troupe from Indonesia, and the final episode, on his passing from this life, by performers from Vietnam.
Waisak, which is celebrated by all Buddhist believers in Indonesia, always displays local cultural patterns and traditions, as well as the purely religious rituals.
The teachings of the Buddha aim to guide humans to improve themselves in terms of ethics and behavior. In Buddhist teachings, humans go through this life with five categories of thoughts and levels of awareness. Improving the quality of physical life entails various aspects, such as combating poverty and backwardness and upgrading the overall level of people's welfare.
Quality in the realm of feelings is improved by avoiding identification with misunderstanding, mistaken views, and attachment. Improving the quality of cognition involves developing cognition into a sense of deeper understanding so as to achieve clear and accurate perceptions. In the realm of thoughts, quality is upgraded by promoting the good thoughts taught by the Buddha, such as generosity, philanthropy, and social solidarity.
The quality of awareness is improved by developing worldly aspects such as social and national awareness, leading then to a noble awareness that is above worldly things. The higher purpose of all this self-improvement and ethical improvement is to attain welfare, prosperity and progress in this life while still maintaining balance, peace, happiness, and purity of heart and mind.
