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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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span>Being 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”.
Living his privileged life in a castle, he had never seen suffering. Then one day, he went outside the castle where he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse. Deeply disturbed, he realized all human beings cannot escape the suffering of aging, sickness and death.
Siddhartha was not trying to avoid the fate by finding an antiaging or eternal life medicine, though he had all the money to pursue it. One day he decided to become a monk, left his castle and beautiful wife, princess Yashodara. Siddhartha wanted to find the meaning of this short and temporary human life and the key to happiness for all humans.
Siddhartha’s decision to leave the castle is a valuable story for all of us, Buddhist or not. In modern times, many people try to find happiness and pursue the “castle” of their dreams by all means.
People work hard to be successful. But once we reach the top, can we still have the compassion to think about other people’s suffering? Or are we too busy to think about our own happiness? There are also many leaders who forget their promises once they gain power. Some of us also forget to be an ordinary person when we start living a privileged life.
And some people who seem to have everything still end their life in such a tragic way, through drugs or suicide. So maybe having a “castle” is not supposed to be our goal in life.
Prince Siddhartha Gautama was later known as Shakyamuni Buddha, the one who offered a middle way. He is the sage of the Shakya clan (Shakya-muni), “the awakened one” (Buddha). He did not suggest asceticism but neither embraced luxury. He practiced the Bodhisattva way as the ultimate happiness that is to have a compassionate mind to all sentient beings.
Compassion is totally different from sacrificing oneself or others. In compassion we also find happiness and so do others. For Buddhists, it is their way of life, the kind of life that will bring true happiness.
Indonesia will always be the country with the largest population of Muslims in the world. But Indonesia also holds the honor as the country with the largest Buddhist temple in the world: Borobudur.
I believe Buddhists will always have a place in Indonesia. And may the peace of Waisak Day bring harmony for Indonesians, who will find their out who will be their president and vice president in the next few days.
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The writer is a Buddhist priest of Majelis Nichiren Shoshu Buddha Dharma Indonesia, which is a member of the youth and sports division of the Indonesian Buddhist Association.
