TheJakartaPost
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Prince who left his castle and our castle of dreams
Being a Buddhist living in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world is a very unique experience for me.
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Thousands of worshipers and visitors at Borobudur Temple release 5,000 lanterns symbolizing prayers. (The Jakarta Post/Tarko Sudiarno)
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eing a Buddhist living in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world is a very unique experience for me. As far as I know, in general, we don’t have difficulties in holding prayers or building temples around the country. There have been a few cases of rejection against Buddhists in certain areas. But most of the time, Buddhists can live in harmony with the rest of the population.
Still, I have had some unique experiences. In college, I was surprised when one friend asked me, is Shakyamuni a man or woman? I wasn’t offended since she was sincerely raising the question, but still it dawned on me how so many people have so little knowledge about the Buddha or Buddhism.
Then I wasn’t surprised when some people asked: What is the relation between Shakyamuni and Siddhartha Gautama? What are the differences between temple, vihara and klenteng? If you’re a Buddhist you must be a vegetarian right? Some of my friends knew that I am a Buddhist priest or pandita, and asked if priests could marry.
Luckily, no one has ever dared to ask, “Does Buddhism allow Buddhists to kill, like what they did in Myanmar?” I would surely say NO. It was something that even Indonesian Buddhists will never understand and would absolutely disagree with the killings of the Rohingya Muslim minority. From what I know, the tragedy in Myanmar was related to their political situation, not to Buddhism in general.
Like other religions, Buddhist also have a sacred day, Waisak (Buddha’s Day of Enlightenment), when the whole country will be on holiday. It’s not as festive as Idul Fitri or Christmas so sometimes people forget to greet Buddhist friends with “Happy Waisak Day”. Well, it’s not a big deal, but it would be nice to greet Buddhists on Waisak, as a gesture to appreciate our diverse faiths, particularly minorities.
To those asking about Siddhartha Gautama, he was born a prince around 563 BC.
His father was king Sudhodana, leader of the Shakya clan who ruled Kapilavastu in today’s Nepal. Siddhartha was born in Lumbini Park, a site in Nepal that has been acknowledged by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world heritage, “the birthplace of Lord Buddha”.
