To all my Buddhist Friends in Indonesia and other parts of the world, I wish you all a Happy Waisak 2554.
Photo: Courtesy of Google
Showing posts with label Buddha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buddha. Show all posts
Friday, May 28, 2010
Have a Wonderful Waisak
To all my Buddhist Friends in Indonesia and other parts of the world, I wish you all a Happy Waisak 2554.
Photo: Courtesy of Google
Friday, February 5, 2010
Borobudur Visitors Must Wear Sarongs
The Borobudur Temple in Central Java is an ancient Buddhist temple that was built during the golden era of the Buddhist kingdom in the eight century, and until now it is a holy place used for religious prayers, rituals and ceremony.
Considering this fact, the government plan to ask visitors to Borobudur to wear sarong. Please find below an article from Kompas.
Indonesia Asks Borobudur Visitors to Don A Sarong
Kamis, 4 Februari 2010 | 08:10 WIB
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Visitors flashing their knees at Indonesia’s number-one tourist attraction, the ancient Borobudur temple, will have to wear government-issue sarongs under a new plan to protect the site’s dignity. Officials said tourists wearing shorts and mini-skirts would be politely asked to don a sarong for the duration of their visit to the Buddhist temple, erected between 750 and 850 on a verdant plain in central Java.
“When visitors enter a sacred place, they must show their respect. They shouldn’t wear shorts or mini-skirts because it’s impolite,” temple manager Purnomo Siswo Prasetyo told AFP on Wednesday.
“It’s like in Bali — when tourists visit temples there, they also have to do the same thing,” he said, adding that the rules were put in place after locals and visitors complained about the attire of some tourists. During a month-long trial, tourists will also be required to wear rubber sandals to avoid damaging the temple’s intricately carved stonework, he said.
The optimal footwear to ensure as little damage as possible is done to the temple’s volcanic stones is made of woven dried pandanus leaves, he said. Such items were not yet available but they had been ordered from the local community and could soon be added to the list of things inappropriately attired tourists will have to wear.
No fee would be charged for use of the sarongs and sandals during the trial, but Prasetyo said he could not rule out a charge at a later date. “We hope this will open up job opportunities for surrounding communities and lead to economic growth,” he said.
Some 2.5 million tourists visited Borobudur last year. Indonesians pay 15,000 rupiah (1.60 dollars) to enter the compound while foreigners are charged 15 dollars.
As Islam spread through Java after the 12th century, the “temple mountain” of Borobudur was abandoned and lost to the jungle. It was “rediscovered” in 1814 by English colonial trader Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and was restored with the help of UNESCO in the 1970s.
Considering this fact, the government plan to ask visitors to Borobudur to wear sarong. Please find below an article from Kompas.
Indonesia Asks Borobudur Visitors to Don A Sarong
Kamis, 4 Februari 2010 | 08:10 WIB
“When visitors enter a sacred place, they must show their respect. They shouldn’t wear shorts or mini-skirts because it’s impolite,” temple manager Purnomo Siswo Prasetyo told AFP on Wednesday.
“It’s like in Bali — when tourists visit temples there, they also have to do the same thing,” he said, adding that the rules were put in place after locals and visitors complained about the attire of some tourists. During a month-long trial, tourists will also be required to wear rubber sandals to avoid damaging the temple’s intricately carved stonework, he said.
The optimal footwear to ensure as little damage as possible is done to the temple’s volcanic stones is made of woven dried pandanus leaves, he said. Such items were not yet available but they had been ordered from the local community and could soon be added to the list of things inappropriately attired tourists will have to wear.
No fee would be charged for use of the sarongs and sandals during the trial, but Prasetyo said he could not rule out a charge at a later date. “We hope this will open up job opportunities for surrounding communities and lead to economic growth,” he said.
Some 2.5 million tourists visited Borobudur last year. Indonesians pay 15,000 rupiah (1.60 dollars) to enter the compound while foreigners are charged 15 dollars.
As Islam spread through Java after the 12th century, the “temple mountain” of Borobudur was abandoned and lost to the jungle. It was “rediscovered” in 1814 by English colonial trader Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and was restored with the help of UNESCO in the 1970s.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Controversial Buddha Bar
On Thursday, 5 March, dozens of Buddhist students raided the Buddha Bar in Jakarta‘s elite area of Menteng, and forced the management of the French franchise bar to shut it down.
According to The Jakarta Post, those students belong to the Indonesian Buddhist Association (AMB). They protest the use of Buddha as the name of the bar and the use of Buddhist effigies as decoration of the bar where alcohol drinks are sold and people could get drunk there. According to a representative of AMB Widodo, the Jakarta government has sent a letter to the Principal of the Buddha Bar in France i.e. George V Hotels & Restaurant chain, to protest against the use of Buddha as name of their bar. And the management of the Buddha Bar, run by Renny Sutiyoso, daughter of former Governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso, has also requested its Principal for change of the bar's name.
Further, The Jakarta Globe reported that the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has suspected irregularities in the use of a historic building as a venue for the Buddha bar. According ICW's Agus Suryanto the building, built in 1913, has been categorized in 1983 as a historic building. And according to the Cultural Preservation Law No 5 Year 1992, a historic building cannot be used merely for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals.
Meanwhile, Kompas has quoted the Speaker of Jakarta Regional Parliament (DPRD) Ade Surapriyatna as saying that he will talk to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo about closing of the bar immediately. This opinion was supported by several members of the DPRD, who said that the use of the historic building is contradictory to the regulation.
The above students' action brings mixed feelings for me, on the one hand I was surprised that a students association representing Buddha, which I always thought peaceful, would take a violent action i.e. raiding and closing down the bar. But on the other hand I can understand how offended those students were by the usage of their religion as a name & effigies for a bar.
According to The Jakarta Post, those students belong to the Indonesian Buddhist Association (AMB). They protest the use of Buddha as the name of the bar and the use of Buddhist effigies as decoration of the bar where alcohol drinks are sold and people could get drunk there. According to a representative of AMB Widodo, the Jakarta government has sent a letter to the Principal of the Buddha Bar in France i.e. George V Hotels & Restaurant chain, to protest against the use of Buddha as name of their bar. And the management of the Buddha Bar, run by Renny Sutiyoso, daughter of former Governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso, has also requested its Principal for change of the bar's name.
Further, The Jakarta Globe reported that the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has suspected irregularities in the use of a historic building as a venue for the Buddha bar. According ICW's Agus Suryanto the building, built in 1913, has been categorized in 1983 as a historic building. And according to the Cultural Preservation Law No 5 Year 1992, a historic building cannot be used merely for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals.
Meanwhile, Kompas has quoted the Speaker of Jakarta Regional Parliament (DPRD) Ade Surapriyatna as saying that he will talk to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo about closing of the bar immediately. This opinion was supported by several members of the DPRD, who said that the use of the historic building is contradictory to the regulation.
The above students' action brings mixed feelings for me, on the one hand I was surprised that a students association representing Buddha, which I always thought peaceful, would take a violent action i.e. raiding and closing down the bar. But on the other hand I can understand how offended those students were by the usage of their religion as a name & effigies for a bar.
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