Foreign tourists take part in flying lanterns ahead of the celebration of Buddha\'s Day of Enlightenment at Borobudur Temple, Magelang Regency, Central Java, on Wednesday evening. The celebration, which was attended by Buddhists from various regions and countries, was marked with solemn moments among visitors.
MAGELANG, KOMPAS — The diversity of Indonesia is not sufficiently guarded by law. Diversity has to be maintained with love, a pure mental attitude.
The founding father of the Supreme Sangha Indonesia Conference, Bhante Pannavaro Mahathera, said that based on love, every existing difference should be appreciated and accepted.
"Difference is a necessity. We have to accept all the existing differences because in the world no-one is 100 percent the same," said Bhante Pannavaro on the sidelines of the celebration of Buddha\'s Day of Enlightenment at Borobudur Temple in Magelang regency, Central Java, on Wednesday (10/5).
The attitude to accept difference, according to him, has to be carried out by each person, including leaders of the country. With a sincerity of accepting different things, we can see each issue more deeply and avoid bad deeds.
Aside from developing love, Bhante Pannavaro, who is also the head of the Mendut Temple, said each person had to be able to control their respective mental attitudes and thoughts. This needs to be done to ensure that all bad things, which sometimes happen in the mind, do not have an impact on the emergence of problems or social upheaval in the surrounding environment.
A similar thing was said by Bhante Thanavaro Thera, head of the Sakyamuni Buddha Temple in Medan, North Sumatera, on Thursday (11/5). He invited everyone in Indonesia to achieve harmony in thought, speech and deed.
Bhante Thanavaro said the Indonesian nation was very diverse.
Indonesia consists of many ethnicities, religions, races and social groups. This diversity has to be seen as the wealth of the nation, not a threat. If all the sons and daughters of the nation can maintain unity, this distinction will become an asset for the nation.
There is no other nation in the world that has the same wealth of diversity like Indonesia.
The diversity of the nation has to be maintained.
"We all have to maintain the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). We have to respect each other and understand difference so we can live in peace and tranquility," he said.
Must be under control
Supriyadi, director of Buddhist Religious Affairs at the Religious Affairs Ministry, said every speech, thought and deed done by Buddhists should always be controlled and based on wisdom. By doing this, a harmonious and peaceful life among people can be created.
Supriyadi also invited all Buddhists to wisely look at each problem in depth, by finding out the reasons and the triggers of a problem.
"There is no need to be provoked. Buddhists should not quickly react or respond to something without knowing the cause of the problem," he said.
The theme of Buddha\'s Day of Enlightenment 2561/2017 is "Raising Awareness to Become Wisdom". With this theme, every Buddhist is asked to develop awareness and wisdom.
Siti Hartati Murdaya, chairman of the Indonesian Buddhist Representatives, said people must raise the true seeds of themselves into wisdom in order to strengthen compassion for the family, society and the country.
Buddhists are also expected to continue to help the needy, reduce disparities and improve the welfare of the people.
"Caring for others is part of our effort to maintain the unity and oneness of the nation," she said.
