Courtesy Aiko Senosoenoto

Combining the Buddhist concept of dharma, the teachings that lead to enlightenment, with dance and theater performance, the leader of Buddhist sect Nichiren Sosyu or Pandita Sabha Buddha Dharma Indonesia, Herwindra Aiko Senosoenoto, and her husband have succeeded in running a dance company, which helps youth struggling with drug abuse and other self-destructive behavior.  

She and her husband, choreographer Rusdy Rukmarata, founded EKI in 1996 based on their concern for children facing drug problems.   

“In Buddhist teachings, one way to overcome suffering is not by only thinking about our own, but also by trying to eliminate other people’s suffering. That’s why I founded EKI and approach young people facing problems. Maybe I can make things better,” she said.

“Rusdy had just returned from London after receiving a scholarship there and I was active in the Buddhist organization,” she said of the early days of EKI.

“We saw a lot kids dropping out of school, becoming addicted to drugs and having problems due to pre-marital sex. We trained these children to dance in the hopes that they can express themselves better and distract themselves from their destructive behavior,” she said.

The children were given scholarships to learn dancing in EKI, living in a dorm and subjected to rules, Aiko said. “Some made it, some didn’t,” she said.

One of the main reasons Aiko approached it through dance and theater was Aiko’s husband Rusdy’s background in dance, she said.

Aiko met Rusdy when she was in high school. She and her friends started to take dance lessons with Rusdy. “I’m a hopeless dancer. But I feel that I can help out backstage,” she said.

Aiko and Rusdy then collaborated with theater actor Sujiwo Tejo to put EKI’s name up in lights. Later in EKI’s development, wayang puppet master Nanang Hape joined the company.

Currently, EKI has around 30 dancers. Aiko said she had always envisioned EKI as a professional dance company. That is why all EKI dancers had to practice eight hours a day. “If they don’t have a routine class, they wontt have any stamina on stage,” she said.

The couple lives with EKI students and dancers at EKI headquarters, which is also their house on Jl. Padang, South Jakarta.

In front of the headquarters is the Hosei-ji temple of the Nichiren Sosyu sect, once Aiko’s childhood home.

Both Aiko’s parents were Buddhist priests. Her mother, Keiko Senosoenoto, is Japanese, and her father, Senosoenoto, was the former leader of the Nichiren Sosyu. The two met when Senosoenoto was studying in Japan.

Aiko became a Buddhist priest herself in the age of 29 and became the sect leader after her father passed away.

“My parents were priests so I was used to living among the congregation,” she said of taking the role of the Nichiren Sosyu sect leader.

She said that at first there was resistance. “I was young and a woman. Some people did not like that and protested. But along the way people learned accept me,” she said.

“It would be a waste of time to choose a young person to lead if one expects them to act old,” she said. She said after she took charge many policies in the organization changed. “The system became more progressive,” she said.

Despite her Japanese heritage, Aiko said that she felt a closer affinity to Indonesia than to the land of her mother. Her father, she said, insisted on raising her and her siblings as Indonesians to avoid identity crises.

“A lot of my mother’s friends were married to Indonesians. They have bilingual kids who ended up very confused about where they belong,” she said.

She said Indonesia’s level of development back then made it difficult to connect with other regions in the world.

“They were able to speak Japanese but felt they were different and didn’t belong,” she said.

Senosoenoto and Keiko then raised Aiko and her siblings without teaching them Japanese. “My dad said we should be taught in Indonesian until we became adults. If we wanted to learn Japanese afterwards, we could choose to do that,” she said, adding that she still had not formally learned Japanese language or culture.

“I understand the language a little bit. But I can’t speak it,” she said.

Aiko does not even visit Japan every year in her capacity as leader of the Nichiren Sosyu.

Aiko and Rusdy now send their children to learn Japanese language and culture. The couple has four children between the ages of 10 and 18.

Their eldest suffers from cerebral palsy and is not able to speak. The other children are taught Japanese along with dance and theater.

EKI dance company also runs classes for younger children, in which Aiko’s children take part in.

“I want to make performance art fun for children so they can enjoy developing their imaginations and gain the confidence to perform in front of people,” she said.

The children were given scholarships to learn dancing in EKI, living in a dorm and subjected to rules.

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