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Indonesia Buddhism
Indonesian Buddhism in the early 1990s was the unstable
product
of complex accommodations among religious ideology,
Chinese ethnic
identification, and political policy. Traditionally,
Chinese Daoism
(or Taoism), Confucianism, (agama Konghucu in
Indonesian)
and Buddhism, as well as the more nativist Buddhist
Perbuddhi, all
had adherents in the ethnic Chinese community. Following
the
attempted coup of 1965, any hint of deviation from the
monotheistic
tenets of the Pancasila was regarded as treason, and the
founder of
Perbuddhi, Bhikku Ashin Jinarakkhita, proposed that there
was a
single supreme deity, Sang Hyang Adi Buddha. He sought
confirmation
for this uniquely Indonesian version of Buddhism in
ancient
Javanese texts, and even the shape of the Buddhist temple
complex
at Borobudur in Jawa Tengah Province. In the years
following the
1965 abortive coup, when all citizens were required to
register
with a specific religious denomination or be suspected of
communist
sympathies, the number of Buddhists swelled; some ninety
new
monasteries were built. In 1987 there were seven schools
of
Buddhism affiliated with the Perwalian Umat Buddha
Indonesia
(Walubi): Theravada, Buddhayana, Mahayana, Tridharma,
Kasogatan,
Maitreya, and Nichiren. According to a 1987 estimate,
there were
roughly 2.5 million followers of Buddhism, with 1 million
of these
affiliated with Theravada Buddhism and roughly 0.5 million
belonging to the Buddhayana sect founded by Jinarakkhita.
Other
estimates placed Buddhists at around only 1 percent of the
population, or less than 2 million. Buddhism was gaining
in numbers
because of the uncertain status of Confucianism.
Confucianism was
officially tolerated by the government, but since it was
regarded
as a system of ethical relations rather than a religion
per se, it
was not represented in the Department of Religious
Affairs.
Although various sects approach Buddhist doctrine in
different
ways, a central feature of the religion is acknowledgment
of the
Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble
Truths
involve the recognition that all existence is full of
suffering;
the origin of suffering is the craving for worldly
objects;
suffering ceases when craving ceases; and the Eightfold
Path leads
to enlightenment. The Eightfold Path invokes perfect
views,
resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness,
and
concentration.
Buddhism originally was an intellectual creed, and only
marginally concerned with the supernatural. However,
political
necessity, and the personal emotional desire to be
shielded from
the terrors of the world by a powerful deity, have led to
modifications. In many ways, Buddhism is highly
individualistic,
with each man and woman held responsible for his or her
own self.
Anyone can meditate alone; no temple is required, and no
clergy is
needed to act as intermediary. The community provides
pagodas and
temples to inspire the proper frame of mind to assist the
worshippers in their devotion and self-awareness.
Data as of November 1992
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