Waisak, celebrated in meditation, ceremony

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Wed, 05/21/2008 10:44 AM | Bali

Buddhists are expected to foster high morals and to continuously seek improvement, said a Buddhist monk Tuesday in a statement to mark Waisak, the Buddhist Day of Enlightenment.

Monk Jotidhammo Mahathera, chairman of Sangha Theravada Indonesia, was quoted by Monk Sucirano at a ceremony at Buddha Sakyamuni Temple in Denpasar.

"Please turn to your conscience for guidance in your daily lives. It will guide you to the best answer," he read.

Thousands of Buddhists across the resort island gathered at the temple to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and spiritual liberation of Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

Siddharta was born in 623 BC in Lumbini in modern day Nepal. It is said Queen Maya, his mother, gave birth in the middle of a journey to her parents' kingdom. Siddharta's followers believed he displayed various signs of divinity from the moment of his birth.

After years of rigorous asceticism Siddharta attained enlightenment and began traveling across India to spread his teachings.

These focus on the "Four Noble Truths on the existence of suffering" and the "Noble Eightfold Path", which deals with the right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration, knowledge and liberation to reach spiritual self-enlightenment.

The worldwide Buddhist population is estimated to be between 300 and 500 million, with the vast majority in Asia, including in Japan, China, Tibet, Thailand and Myanmar.

For Indonesian Buddhists, this year's Waisak is of special significance because it falls on the same day as the centennial of the country's National Awakening Day.

In his statement, Mahathera urged all Buddhists to use the special moment to awaken their religious selves.

"As a Buddhist, it is our obligation to present Buddha as the main source of inspiration in our daily efforts to have a moral awakening," the statement read.

Those in attendance then performed a 15-minute meditation leading up to what is believed to be the moment of the Buddha's enlightenment.

Arif Murti, a participant in the ceremony, said according to Buddhist teachings, meditation would help the meditator acquire positive energy and enable them to live a better spiritual and physical life.

"Meditation will guide us to pray for the well-being of mankind and not just ourselves," he told The Jakarta Post after the meditation session.

At the end of the almost four-hour-long ceremony, the participants released hundreds of birds and thousands of balloons into the air as a tribute to the compassionate spirit of Buddha.

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