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Topics - GandalfTheElder

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Tahun Baru Imlek dianggap sebagai hari raya agama Khonghucu apakah benar? Ini hanya terjadi di Indonesia. Misa Imlek di Gereja Khatolik pun sama mereka berniat dilarang. Tridharma (Sanjiao) dipertanyakan. Imlek milik Khonghucu bukan Sanjiao. Lantas gimana sih duduk masalah sebenarnya? Artikel dari pihak Khonghucu:

Makna Tahun Baru Imlek

Ditulis oleh : Ws.Budi S Tanuwibowo

Sejak tahun 2002 Tahun Baru Imlek ditetapkan sebagai Hari Libur Nasional oleh Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri, setelah dua tahun sebelumnya ditetapkan sebagai Hari Libur Fakultatif oleh Presiden KH.Abdurrahman Wahid. Jauh sebelumnya, pada tahun 1946, Presiden Republik Indonesia Pertama, Ir.Sukarno, telah menetap 4 (empat) Hari Libur Fakultatif bagi masyarakat Tionghoa yang waktu itu mayoritas masih beragama Khonghucu, yakni : Tahun Baru Imlek, Qing Ming (Ceng Beng), Hari Lahir Nabi Kongcu (Kongzi, Confucius) dan Hari Wafat Nabi Kongcu.

Meski sudah dikenal lama dan bahkan telah ditetapkan sebagai Hari Libur Fakultatif sejak tahun 1946, namun karena pernah mengalami masa pengekangan pasca keluarnya Inpres No.14 / 1967 yang membatasi agama, adat istiadat dan budaya Tionghoa (efektif berlaku 1978-1998), banyak orang yang kemudian bingung dan tidak memahami benar makna Tahun Baru Imlek selengkapnya, terutama dikalangan generasi muda.

Agama atau Budaya?
Banyak orang yang bingung dan kemudian berdebat, Tahun Baru Imlek itu hari raya agama, etnis ataukah budaya? Padahal, perdebatan itu sebenarnya sederhana saja dan mudah diakhiri dengan pertanyaan berikut :


Kalau budaya, apakah memerrlukan upcara dan sembahyang yang kita pahami benar menjadi ranah agama?
Kalau etnis (dalam hal ini Tionghoa), mengapa juga dirayakan oleh bangsa-bangsa lain seperti Jepang, Korea, Vietnam dan bangsa lainnya, meski dengan istilah berbeda? Bahkan banyak suku Jawa, Sunda, Manado, Papua dan sebagainya, yang meraykan Tahun Baru Imlek? Bagaimana menjelaskan fenomena ini?
Lihatlah semua hari libur nasional Indonesia, Kalau tidak terkait peristiwa penting nasional, pastti terkait dengan agama. Apa hebatnya suku Tionghoa dibanding suku lainnya, sampai hari raya budaya atau sukunya perlu dirayakan secara khusus? Bagaimana dengan suku Jawa, Madura, Sunda, Batak dan lainnya? Apakah nanti tidak terjadi iri hati?

Masih banyak hal sederhana yang bisa dengan mudah menegaskan bahwa Tahun Baru Imlek sejatinya agama. Namun agar kita tidak terjebak pada kesempitan pandangan, ada baiknya kita membahas makna Imlek secara luas, yang menyangkut berbagai aspek : astronomi, agama, agraris, sosial-budaya, politis dan bisnis.

Makna Agronomi
Ada tiga sistem perhitungan kalender yang setidaknya kita kenal, yakni : solar, lunar dan lunisolar. Kalender solar atau matahari, didasari orbit bumi mengelilingi matahari selama ± 365,25 hari per tahun. Contohnya Kalender Masehi, Kalender Lunar atau bulan, didasari orbit bulan mengelilingi bumi selama ± 29,5 hari per bulan, atau 354 hari per tahun. Contohnya Kalender Hijriyah atau Islam. Itulah sebabnya 1 Muharram, Idul Fitri atau yang lainnya, selalu jatuh maju 11 hari disbanding tahun sebelumnya.

Kalender Imlek, perhitungan hari per bulannya didasarkan pada edar bulan mengelilingi bumi, namun selisih 11,25 dengan sistem solar selama 19 tahun (19 x 11,25 hari, identik dengan 7 bulan) dikoreksi dengan menyisipkan 7 kali bulan ke-13 selama kurun waktu tersebut. Itulah sebabnya awal tahun penanggalan Imlek tidak maju terus seperti terjadi pada Kalender Hijriyah, namun selalu dalam kisaran 21 januari-19 Februari.

Dengan menggabungkan kedua sistem solar dan lunar, atau lunisolar, maka Kalender Imlek bisa digunakan untuk menghitung bulan baru dan purnama, pasang surut air laut, pergantian musim, dan letak semu matahari terhadap sumbu bumi.

Dari paparan di atas menjadi jelas bahwa Tahun Baru Imlek mempunyai makna astronomi, karena terkait dengan sistem tata surya, sistem penanggalan atau awal dari sebuah tahun baru, yang didasari sistem lunar (yinli, imlek) yang dipadu dengan system solar (yingli atau yanglek) atau sejatinya lebih pas disebut lunisolar (yinyangli atau imyanglek).

Makna Agama
Kalender YinYang Li atau Imlek diciptakan oleh Huang Di, yang merupakan nenek moyang orang Han (suku terbesar yang mendiami wilayah Tiongkok) dan sekaligus salah satu nabi utama dalam Ru Jiao (agama Khonghucu). Oleh karenanya banyak orang yang menamai Kalender Imlek sebagai Kalender Huang Di.

Namun semasa Huang Di berkuasa, Kalender ini belum digunakan. Baru pada masa Dinasti Xia (2205-1766 SM) kalender tersebut digunakan, sehingga lazim disebut pula sebagai Kalender Xia. Setelah Xia runtuh diganti Dinasti Shang (1766-1122 SM), Dinasti Zhou (1122-256 SM) dan Dinasti Qin (256-202 SM), kalender tersebut tidak lagi digunakan dan diganti dengan kalender dari setiap dinasti baru yang berkuasa.

Kalender Xia baru digunakan kembali setelah Kaisar keempat Dinasti Han yang bernama Han Wu Di memerintah. Pada tahun 104 SM, beliau menetapkan digunakannya kembali Kalender Dinasti Xia, mengacu pada sabda Nabi Kongzi yang tersurat pada Kitab Suci Si Shu, bagian Lun Yu, Bab XV, Pasal 11 ayat 2. Pada saat yang bersamaan Han Wu DI juga menetapkan Ru Jiao atau agama Khonghucu sebagai agama resmi negara. Untuk menghormati Nabi Kongzi, Han Wu Di menetapkan tahun pertama kalendernya dihitung sejak 551 SM, yang merupakan tahun kelahiran Nabi Kongzi. Itulah sebabnya Kalender Imlek 551 tahun lebih tua dari tahun Masehi.

Dari paparan di atas jelaslah bahwa ada 4 (empat) tokoh penting yang berperan dalam penggunaan kalender Imlek, yaitu : Huang Di, Xia Yu (pendiri Dinasti Xia), Kongzi dan Han Wu Di. Ketiga tokoh pertama di atas adalah nabi-nabi dalam agama Khonghucu, sedangkan Han Wu Di, adalah Kaisar pertama yang menetapkan Ru Jiao (agama Khonghucu) sebagai agama Negara. Maka jelaslah Kalender Imlek terkait erat dengan Ru Jiao atau agama Khonghucu.

Kalau kita perhatikan ritual yang terkait dengan Tahun Baru Imlek yang dilakukan sejak seminggu sebelumnya (Hari Persaudaraan) sampai dengan dua minggu sesudahnya (Cap Go Meh), jelas tak bisa dibantah bahwa Tahun Baru Imlek adalah Hari Raya Agama Khonghucu.

Makna Agraris
Ketika Huang Di menciptakan penanggalan Imlek, ada dua hal penting yang menjadi dasar pertimbangannya. Pertama menjadi pendoman bagi upacara keagamaan (Ru Jiao), dimana pada setiap musim, dilakukan sembahyang besar yang dipimpin oleh kaisar sendiri. Yang kedua adalah dapat digunakan sebagai pedoman bagi awal bercocok tanam. Itulah sebabnya awal tahun barunya dijaga di antara tanggal 21 Januari hingga 19 Februari, yang masing-masing berkisar 14 hari dari tanggal 5 Februari yang merupakan titik tengah letak semu matahari antara 23,5 derajat lintang selatang dengan khatulistiwa atau batas musim dingin dan semi bagi wilayah di utara khatulistiwa.

Hal di ataslah yang juga menjadi dasar bagi nasihat Nabi Kongzi kala menyarankan digunakannya kembali penanggalan Dinasti Xia atau yang kita kenal sekarang sebagai Penanggalan Imlek. Beliau sangat menekankan arti pentingnya kalender bagi kehidupan rakyat yang waktu itu sepenuhnya hidup dari pertanian. Kalender adalah pedoman bagi rakyat, bukan symbol legitimasi kekuasaan kaisar. Pada zaman itu, setiap kaisar atau dinasti baru muncul, sistem kalendernya selalu diganti, dihitung sejak kaisar tersebut berkuasa. Jelas hal ini membuat fungsi kalender sebagai pedoman bagi rakyat petani menjadi kabur, karena awal perhitungannya tidak lagi terkait dengan musim.

Makna Sosial Budaya
Sejarah Ru Jiao atau agama Khonghucu erat berhimpitan dengan sejarah bangsa Tionghoa. Dan ini terjadi dalam kurun waktu lama, tak terputus selama 5000 tahun lebih lamanya. Tak heran meski pun kini agama orang Tionghoa sudah beraneka ragam, tapi budaya dan sebagian tingkah lakunya terpengaruh kuat dengan Ru Jiao atau agama Khonghucu. Maka konsekuensinya, segala sesuatu yang dulu menjadi ranah agama, lama-lama diterima dan menjadi budaya yang mempengaruhi perilaku social orang per orang, diturunkan turun-menurun oleh orang tua. Salah satunya yang terkait dengan Tahun Baru Imlek.

Hal yang sama menimpa masyarakat atau bangsa Jepang, Korea, Mongolia, Manchuria dan Vietnam. Meski bukan orang Tionghoa, karena terpengaruh ajaran agama Khonghucu, mereka juga merayakan Tahun Baru Imlek meski dengan nama berbeda. Oleh karena tidaklah tepat bila Imlek disebut sebagai hari raya budaya atau etnis. Apalagi Indonesia Imlek juga dirayakan oleh suku-suku lainnya, yang kebetulan menganut agama Khonghucu. Lagi pula, Xia Yu, sang pendiri Dinasti Xia, dinasti yang pertama kali menggunakan Kalender Imlek, sejatinya berasal dari etnis proto Melayu, nenek moyang bangsa Indonesia.

Makna Politis
Sejak dahulu Imlek seolah menjadi barometer politik. Ketika Dinasti Xia runtuh pada 1766 SM, dinasti-dinasti sesudahnya tidak lagi menggunakan Kalender Imlek. Masing-masing dinasti sesudahnya punya kalender tersendiri. Baru setelah Han Wu Di dari dinasti Han menetapkan kembali penggunaannya dan menggunakan tahun kelahiran Nabi Kongzi sebagai acuan dasar, dinasti-dinasti sesudah Han tidak lagi menggunakan kalendernya sendiri.

Di Indonesia, Imlek juga seakan menjadi barometer politik Negara pada agama Khonghucu dan masyarakat Tionghoa. Ketika awal merdeka Imlek pernah menjadi hari raya fakultatif. Kemudian harus dirayakan secara terbatas di lingkungan keluarga. Setelah reformasi ditetapkan sebagai Hari Raya Nasional. Mudah-mudahan ke depan politik diskriminasi hilang lenyap di Negara tercinta yang Bhinneka Tunggal Ika berdasarkan Pancasila ini.

Makna Bisnis
Kehidupan modern tidak lepas dari pengaruh bisnis dan teknologi. Setiap hari raya keagamaan kini tidak terbatas dirayakan oleh umatnya saja, namun juga dimanfaatkan banyak orang untuk kepentingan bisnis, mulai dari pariwisata, entertainment sampai perdagangan. Saat Idul Fitri (Islam), Natal (kr****n-ka****k) sampai Imlek (Khonghucu), mal-mal ramai berhias. Bisnis menggeliat, harga-harga melambung tinggi. Bukan mustahil suatu saat Nyepi (Hindu) dan Waisak (Buddha) juga dimanfaatkan untuk kepentingan bisnis.

Dan kalau sudah demikian, maka kita tidak lagi bisa menbedakan suatu perayaan itu terkait agama, budaya atau apapun namanya. Semuanya berwajah bisnis, yang menjadi roh dunia modern.

Lantas Maknanya Apa?
Tak ada gunanya lagi memperdebatkan soal Imlek itu agama atau budaya. Sudah jelas rohnya adalah agama (Khonghucu). Namun kini ia tidak lagi menjadi monopoli umat Khonghucu, seperti halnya kita bersama menikmati Idul Fitri, Natal, Nyepi, Waisak dan lainnya sebagai Hari Kebersamaan umat manusia. Kita masih banyak membutuhkan hari-hari kebersamaan, agar wajah dunia tidak lagi tersekat-sekat secara eksklusif. Maka marilah kita jadikan Idul Fitri, Natal, Nyepi, Waisak, Imlek dan yang lain sebagai Hari Kebersamaan Umat Manusia, terlepas dari agama, ras, budaya dan atribut-atribut lainnya.

Gong He Xin Xi, Wan Shi Ru Yi. Salam bahagia di tahun, berlaksa perkara sesuai harapan. Shanzai.

2



Path of Awakening!

Entry ticket just Rp 10.000,- / person.

Supported by:
1. Sangha Theravada Indonesia
2. Sangha Agung Indonesia
3. Sangha Mahayana Indonesia

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

3
Zen Buddhism and Steve Jobs
by: Dr Jim Eckman

James P. Eckman (Jim) is President and Professor in Bible and History at Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been at Grace since 1983.

http://graceuniversity.edu/iip/2011/11/11-11-26-2/

Dia (Prof. Eckman) beragumentasi:

Third, how could one possibly reach someone like Steve Jobs, who was so influenced by Zen Buddhism?  The ultimate reason for seeking an intelligent understanding of Zen Buddhism is to find bridges we can build to reach the Zen Buddhist with the gospel.   did this constantly, as He regularly adapted His message to His hearers.

Bridge #1: First and foremost, consistency in what we believe is crucial.  Our doctrinal convictions must be matched by the reality of the Christ-like life.  Because Zen Buddhism is fundamentally an ethical faith with no real emphasis on the supernatural, the authentic life of Christ speaks volumes to the Zen Buddhist.  Authenticity will get the Zen Buddhist’s attention.  This is what Steve Jobs was seeking and what he failed to attain.

Bridge #2 is the issue of suffering.  For the Zen Buddhist, suffering encompasses all of life from birth to death.  Clinging to the pleasures of life is considered foolishness and vain to the Zen Buddhist.  The Christian worldview harmonizes with Zen Buddhism on this point.  Christianity recognizes the reality of suffering and ties it to the consequence of human sin (Genesis 3).  For that reason the book of Ecclesiastes may be the best starting point, for it declares the futility of life “under the sun” (1:1-11).  This book points out that life is unfair, futile, confusing, and transitory.  It is only belief in a Sovereign, personal God that brings sense to all of this, declares the author.  For that reason, life is seen, for the Christian, as a good gift from a good God, who ultimately makes sense even out of suffering.  Perhaps books like Phillip Yancey’s Where is God When It Hurts? or C.S. Lewis’s The Problem of Pain, both of which deal with suffering, can be of help to the Buddhist.

Bridge #3:  When the Zen Buddhist asks the question, “what is life all about?”, he turns inward and answers that it can be found within.  When the Christian asks the same question, he turns outward and upward towards God for the answer.  For that reason, the Zen Buddhist will focus so much on inward issues.  The Zen Buddhist seeks to dwell on and master self in an effort to eradicate self.  The haunting question for the Zen Buddhist is how does one achieve satori through occupation with self?  It is a paradox.   gave the solution to the paradox of Zen Buddhism:  “He who has found his life shall lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39; Mark 8:35 and Luke 9:24).  We find our true identity by losing ourselves in the One who created us, namely  Christ.

Bridge #4: Zen Buddhism claims that all humans should be treated well.  But why?  There is no absolute standard in Zen Buddhism.  Zen Buddhists practice respect and dignity for all life to gain personal peace, to live in harmony with the world.  But perhaps a person could easily do evil to get ahead and attain personal peace.  Why is that wrong?  We must press the Zen Buddhist:  “What is goodness?  How do we know what is good?”  Moral law points to a moral Lawgiver, namely the true God.

Bridge #5:  For the Zen Buddhist, ultimate reality is within the human self.  Self is the ultimate.  But for the Christian, ultimate reality is in the absolute truth of a God who is outside of man and man knows that truth through revelation.  For the Zen Buddhist, reality is thoroughly subjective and inner; for the Christian it is objective and God-centered.  Ultimate reality is knowable only through  Christ, Who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).  This is ultimately the choice the Zen Buddhist must make–is it self or is it Christ?

Reaching a Zen Buddhist, such as Steve Jobs, with the gospel of  Christ is difficult and problematic.  These suggested bridges can be used by the Holy Spirit to pierce the heart of the Zen Buddhist.   ::) ::) ::) Fundamentally, both the Zen Buddhist and the Christian focus on the metaphor of light as being the path to truth.  As the Zen Buddhist journeys into himself and as he learns to negate himself more and more, he is thereby enlightened.   :-? :-? :-? The Christian journeys into  Christ, who is the light of the world.  To find  is to find true enlightenment.  That is the message we must take to the Zen Buddhist.

==================================================================================

Bagaimana tanggapan temen2? Kalau menurutku, sekalipun dia Profesor Theologian Kristiani-pun, pemahamannya akan Buddhisme masih saja minim. =_="

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

4
Ulasan Buku, Majalah, Musik atau Film / The Philosophers (2012)
« on: 29 November 2011, 11:03:34 PM »


Ini film Hollywood yang lagi heboh2nya karena lokasi syutingnya di Indonesia feat. Cinta Laura....

Dilihat dari video di atas salah satu lokasinya di salah satu Candi Buddha yaitu Candi Sewu...

Salah satu aktrisnya, Bonnie Wright (pemeran Ginny Weasley dalam film Harry Potter) berkata bahwa mereka banyak berkeliling di candi-candi Buddha! James D'arcy aktor film ini juga bilang kalau mereka juga ke Borobudur (yang dengar2 juga jadi lokasi syuting)

Wah.. gak sabar!

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

5
Di sela-sela perdebatan panas menyoal pengikut kanesten yang keblinger, mari kita simak damainya hubungan Buddhis Khatolik di Korea Selatan:

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Korean-Catholics-and-Buddhists-on-Vesak-stress-shared-commitment-to-reconciliation-and-dialogue-21557.html
Korean Catholics and Buddhists on Vesak stress shared commitment to reconciliation and dialogue

http://www.ucanews.com/2011/05/03/archbishop-delivers-vaticans-vesak-message/

Cuplikan:
Seoul (AsiaNews) – At a time of trials and difficulties, the great religions must promote “true reconciliation and dialogue.” For this reason, it is important “to reconfirm the common mission of Christians and Buddhists who share a deep sense of respect for human life and dignity as well as respect for and responsibility towards nature,” said Mgr Huginus Kim, archbishop of Gwangju and president of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, in a message he delivered to Rev Beopman, a great Buddhist monk from Seunwun Temple. The Buddhist religious leader thanked the catholic representative, renewing his commitment to work together.

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=19563
Buddhist ritual performed at Catholic cathedral compound

Pyeonghwa Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), the cable TV station run by Seoul Archdiocese, invited Buddhists to perform the Yeongsanjae ritual at Coste Hall in the Myongdong Cathedral compound on April 19. The performance was part of a mostly musical program for an audience of about 200 Buddhists and Catholics.

http://www.ucanews.com/2010/09/27/catholic-church-most-trusted-religion/
Catholicism is Korea’s ’most trusted religion’
Menarik: Khatolik dan Buddhisme adalah dua agama yang paling dipercayai di Korea Selatan dengan perolehan suara beda tipis, yaitu sekitar 50%. Sedangkan Prostestan hanya 26,4 %. Tanya kenapa?

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/409868.html
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea announces opposition to Four Rivers project

Umat Khatolik getol memprotes proyek Lee Myung Bak yang sangat merugikan Buddhisme.

http://www.ucanews.com/2010/08/25/catholics-buddhists-in-joint-organ-donor-appeal/
Catholics, Buddhists in joint organ donor appeal

The One-body One-spirit Movement (OSOB) of the Seoul Archdiocese has joined with the Buddhist-operated Life Share Association and Vitallink, a transplantation medical experts’ group, to launch a new national organization to be known as the Korea Donate Life Network (KODONET).

Toleransi ini seperti angin yang sejuk.  _/\_

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

6
There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position. And always, of course, there are a great many people who are just confused in mind and have a lot of inconsistent beliefs all jumbled up together. Consequently, it is not much use trying to make judgments about Christians and non-Christians in the mass."
(CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)


CS Lewis


Karyanya: Narnia

Bila dilihat dari sudut pandang seorang Kristiani, pendapat CS Lewis ini sangat luar biasa!  8)

CS Lewis adalah theologian yang sangat berpengaruh terhadap dunia Kristiani di dunia. Seharusnya para pendeta yang keblinger, baca buku CS Lewis sehingga tidak seenak udel mengklaim umat agama lain masuk neraka atau umat agama lain kongkalikong dengan Iblis.

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

7
In April, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, came to
Toronto, Canada. He came to strengthen the Buddhist community, but
his visit had an effect on another spiritual community in the city.
It rallied the Christian church.

Christians in Toronto believe that God is up to something in their
city.

When the news broke that the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism¹s spiritual
leader, was planning to visit Toronto, Mission GTA kicked into gear.

Mission GTA is a network of Christian pastors and leaders
representing a variety of denominations and cultures. They saw this
event as serious cause for concern.

"The prime mission of the Dalai Lama¹s visit," recalled Rev. Richard
Long of Together Ministries, "was an 11-day Tibetan Buddhist
initiation ritual."

"This is something," he added, "many Christians feared would have a
negative impact on the spiritual climate of Toronto, as well as the
rest of Canada."

What emerged was an unprecedented 12-day, 24-hour round-the-clock
cross-denominational prayer and worship initiative called The House
of the King.

Alone, or in groups, Christians prayed as they walked the streets,
rode the public transit and visited some of Toronto¹s historic
landmarks.

As the prayer initiative gathered momentum, national as well as
international prayer groups came on board. With the help of modern
technology, literally tens of thousands of Christians around the
world rallied together to pray for Toronto.

Harry Boghossian, pastor of The Church of the Living God, and
spokesperson for The House of the King, was encouraged by the extent
of the prayer support.

He said, "Women Aglow, with 1.3 million, have been mobilized to pray
for Toronto at this time. We¹ve had intercessors in Africa that
number to the tune of about 30,000. We have prisoners in Argentina
that have come to the Lord and the entire population of the prison is
targeting Toronto."

Never in the history of Toronto had there been so much prayer for the
city. Nor had there ever been the opportunity to welcome the presence
of God through 12 days of 24-hour worship.

First Nations [American Indians], Chinese, Korean, and African-
Canadian were some of the many people groups that responded.

Pastor Bill Dyck and his congregation, the Toronto Alliance Church,
saw the visit of the Dalai Lama and his Buddhist followers as a
unique opportunity to extend Christian love and good will. He
said, "If there are Buddhist spiritual seekers who come to this city
wanting to engage spiritually with people, we want to be there."

They transformed their storefront church into a hospitality center,
so Asian as well as Western-Buddhist pedestrians were welcomed to a
Tibetan Tea Room and Art Gallery.


If that wasn¹t enough to keep the city hopping, Todd Bentley¹s
radical Fresh Fire Ministry showed up with over 300 Canadian and
foreign participants-eager to reach the city with practical
demonstrations of God¹s love. Remarkably, Fresh Fire ministry
coordinators had-unknowingly-scheduled their campaign to coincide
with the exact dates of The House of the King prayer thrust!

On the fourth day of the event, Peter Byers, the Toronto Ablaze
campaign coordinator stated: "Not only have people been accepting
 as their Savior, but a lot of people have been getting healed:
backs, necks, hearing. And a blind eye was opened today!"

The campaign reported extraordinary results. Approximately 600 people
made first time decisions to follow Christ. At least 40 miraculous
healings were reported to have taken place right on the streets of
Toronto.

Colin Mills, a resident of the city, eagerly testified about what God
had done for him. He said, "Todd Bentley called out someone who had a
kidney condition, a failing kidney. The fire of the Holy Spirit went
through the right side of my body. This morning when I woke up, I
have not physically felt like this before. I mean like totally
healthy!"

Clearly, as Christians came together to pray, worship and work
together with a common focus, the church in Toronto entered a new
level of empowerment.

Pastor Alvin Nicholson is the Chair of Mission GTA and Agape
Ministries. He suggested, "To the degree [that] our unity is intact,
that is the degree that our authority as a church is in place to do
things within the city, province and the nation."

Many felt, in the end, what initially was cause for great concern may
have been a 'divine set-up.'

According to Rev. Long, "It was an excuse, it was a catalyst - the
Dalai Lama¹s visit -for the church to rise up, to begin to pray for
the city they live in, in a way they never had before."

He added, "There were incredible moments where the worship teams
really felt the delight of the Father. At the end of it - really no
one wanted it to stop. There is a divine destiny for this nation.
We¹re going to see revival on a level we¹ve never seen it before."

Many Christians in Toronto believe that The House of the King prayer
and worship initiative was not only a small sampling of Heaven on
earth, but may be a foretaste of the great move of God that many
believe is about to come.

source: http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/CWN/061804toronto.asp

==================================================================================

 [at] atas
Contoh yang buruk dari segi toleransi beragama =_="

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

8


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http://www.htown-publishing.com/Monk%20to%20Missionary/pdf/Chapter3.pdf

Synopsis

Monk to Missionary is the biography of R. Mani Seangsuwan. Born in Chumphon province in the South of Thailand, Mani knew little of the world outside his small village. At age seventeen he left home in search of fun and adventure. He joined a group of "party animals" in Lopburi, Thailand, and thought for a time this was the life for him.
His mother convinced him that he needed to correct his behavior and suggested he become a Buddhist monk. He followed her advice he became a monk at the local monastery. At the end of three months, the typical period of service as a disciple of Buddha, he decided to continue on. After a year he moved to a Buddhist temple in Thonburi across the river from Bangkok. It was here he started to meet Christians. Taking a pamphlet from the Baptists he received a bible study kit in the mail. He studied the Bible in secret while still a Buddhist monk.
His next step was to earn money to become a school teacher. This was the vision that his mother had for him. He met more Christian missionaries and felt good about their message. He was still concerned how other Thais would view him if they knew he was studying about  Christ. The Thai people believe, "To be a good Thai, one must be a good Buddhist". How could he go against his family and the well established culture of his homeland? His decision changed the rest of his life.

Interview

BOUNTIFUL, Utah — Mani Seangsuwan learned to be patient, to sacrifice and to serve as a Buddhist monk.
As a Mormon he learned to hope.

He found deep joy.

He discovered why he's here on earth.

"For two years, I studied Buddhism in the Wats in Bangkok," Seangsuwan writes in his book "Monk to Missionary." "I learned sacred techniques towards self-mastery. I was taught to gain control over every thought, action and feeling that I ever encountered …

"As a monk, I was to teach self-mastery and show by example what true happiness was.

"However, despite the deep love that I had for the Thai people and Thai culture, I was haunted with feelings that there was still something missing in my life," Seangsuwan continued.

He actually became a monk in an effort to find the answers that were eluding him.

 Then an LDS serviceman introduced the idea of Christianity to Seanguswan and told him about young men in white shirts and ties who teach Christian beliefs.

Three months later, he came across a pair of Baptist missionaries on a Bangkok street corner handing out literature.

"I couldn't believe what they were saying about  Christ. They said he was our Savior and that we needed to repent and become like him."

Seangsuwan walked right up to the missionaries to hear more.

"I think I scared him," he writes. "Can you image how you would feel if a Buddhist monk in the orange robe came up to you, knowing that what you were doing was contradictory to Thai culture?"

He took a pamphlet and returned to the monastery where he cautiously read it. He sent for a simplified Bible and began studying it despite the dismay it caused the other monks.

His reading convinced him he was not meant to remain a monk, and he left the monastery.

Some time later, he found Mormon missionaries preaching near his bus stop.

Though he was intrigued and interested in hearing more, Seangsuwan was also acutely aware that it was too public a place to be seen talking together.

"I told the missionaries that I wanted to speak with them, but we had to walk away where others weren't staring at us … As we walked the missionaries began to tell me the most wonderful story that I had ever heard," he said. "The gospel was something that made so much sense to me that I wished that my family and friends and even the people around me could hear what I was learning."

Seangsuwan pursued a relationship with the missionaries, talking quietly on the bus and later meeting them in a park near the home where he was living with a cousin.

Six months later, he was baptized, knowing full well that he would offend his family and appear to be denying his culture and the Thai way of life.

"I thought about all of those things," he said. "It was time for me to do something right."

Seangsuwan was baptized into The Church of  Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 21, 1973, in a tub on a roof built to collect rainwater.

His mother was disappointed in his choice but did not fight him. The rest of his family were appalled.

Nevertheless, he joined the tiny Thonburi Branch at 25, and at 26 he put in papers for a mission. He was called to serve in the Bangkok Thailand Mission. He was thrilled and scared. He knew a mission in his homeland would be very hard. He would be facing people who had only known him as a monk, challenging their core beliefs.

"I knew they thought I had betrayed them," he said.

Ironically, his training as a monk helped him remain peaceful despite the insults and hateful persecution heaped upon him.

He served that mission well. Because he understood the culture, he could help educate other missionaries and save them from making simple mistakes that could greatly offend the Thai people. (In the early years, a missionary went to prison for sitting on a statue of Buddha as he posed for a picture.)

He later married in the temple and raised a family that includes two sons who've served missions. He translated General Conference speeches for 20 years, served as a temple ordinance worker in the Ogden temple and then served another Thai mission with his wife. (There were 200 members when Seangsuwan joined the church. There were 15,000 when he and his wife returned.)

Living today in Utah at 62, Seangsuwan plans to return to Thailand for a family history/proselyting senior mission as soon as their papers clear.

After that, he and Nadda will probably retire in his homeland and do what they can to grow the church.

"I came here with $25 to go to school. My Heavenly Father helped me. Now the plan for me is to go back and serve him," Seangsuwan said.

"We need to repay the Lord for our many blessings," he said.

http://www.deseretnews.com

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The Siddha Wanderer

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Ani Choying Drolma, pendiri Nun Welfare Foundation of Nepal, lahir tahun 1971 di Nepal. Pada usia 13 tahun, beliau bergabung dengan Nagi Gompa, sebuah vihara bhikhuni di Gunung Shivapuri di lereng utara Lembah Kathmandu. Pendidikan dan pelatihan spiritual Ani Choying Drolma berada di bawah pengawasan guru meditasi yang ternama, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Ani Choying Drolma terlatih dalam meditasi, chanting, ritual, dan upacara Buddhis dan dengan cepat beliau kemudian menjadi kepala chanting di vihara.
Persentuhan dengan Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, sosok yang penuh dengan kerendahan hati dan selalu memberi pada orang lain tanpa memikirkan diri beliau sendiri, memunculkan sebuah keinginan yang tulus dalam diri Ani Choying Drolma untuk menggunakan semaksimal mungkin setiap kapasitas yang dimilikinya demi manfaat semua makhluk.

Komitmen Ani adalah mempromosikan pertumbuhan bhikkhuni dengan menciptakan lebih banyak kesempatan bagi bhikkhuni untuk belajar dan mengembangkan kapasitas mereka dengan cara yang skillful dan berwelas asih, bukan hanya untuk kepentingan mereka tetapi agar para bhikkhuni kemudian dapat menyiapkan diri mereka dengan lebih baik untuk melayani dan bermanfaat bagi orang lain. Dan untuk itu beliau mendedikasikan seluruh hidupnya untuk mewujudkan salah satu visi gurunya tersebut.

Ani Choying Drolma yang memiliki reputasi internasional dalam hal menyanyikan lagu-lagu dan mantra Buddhist telah melakukan tur di Amerika Utara, Eropa dan Asia. Pada tahun 2000 beliau mendirikan Sekolah Arya Tara untuk bhikkhuni. Sekolah ini berjalan dengan bantuan dana yang terkumpul dari tur chanting Ani di Asia, Eropa, dan Amerika.



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The Siddha Wanderer

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Film yang judulnya terdiri dari empat angka, "1040" adalah sebuah film dokumenter kr****n yang diputar perdana pada Jumat, 12 Maret 2010 sebagai film pembuka di festival film 2010 City of the Angels di pusat film Hollywood, Amerika Serikat. Film ini mengulas kebangunan rohani di Asia dibintangi seorang penginjil dan musisi Jaeson Ma.

Nama Jaeson Ma, mungkin cukup asing di telinga orang Indonesia. Maklum saja karena ia adalah penginjil kelahiran AS dan aktif pelayanan di sana. Di usianya yang belum genap 30 tahun, Jaeson sudah mendirikan Campus Church Networks, memimpin gerakan penanaman gereja yang berbasis di California dan menyebar hingga ke Asia Timur. Baru-baru ini Jaeson yang aktif dalam industri hiburan juga mendirikan perusahaan multimedia Asian Digital Ventures Network (ADVN).

Selain Amerika, Jaeson juga menjelajah mengabarkan Injil ke seluruh Asia, di mana gereja telah tumbuh pada tingkat yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya dalam beberapa dekade terakhir. Selama berbulan-bulan, Jaeson mengelilingi China, Korea Selatan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapura dan Indonesia, untuk membuat film wawancara dengan para pemimpin gereja serta artis-artis di Asia, para seniman dan pengusaha yang mewakili kalangan kr****n maupun non-kr****n.

Hasil perjalanannya tersebut dirangkai dalam film dokumenter '1040' ini. Judul tersebut mengacu ke kawasan yang dikenal dengan sebutan "Jendela 10/40", yaitu daerah antara 10 derajat dan 40 derajat lintang utara yang membentang dari Afrika Utara ke Asia Timur. Sebagian besar negara di kawasan ini didominasi oleh Muslim, Buddha, dan berbagai suku-suku terabaikan yang belum terjangkau Injil.

Dalam lawatannya ke Asia, Jaeson Ma sempat datang ke Surabaya pada Mei 2009 dalam acara "Asia for " yang diadakan Gereja Mawar Sharon Surabaya. KKR selama tiga hari di bandara lama Juanda tersebut dilaporkan menuai 4.256 orang yang menerima Yesus, 1.252 orang dibaptis saat itu juga dan total dihadiri 52.000 orang.

"Saya benar-benar percaya bahwa gereja di timur sedang bangkit menjadi pemimpin global dalam tubuh Kristus pada saat ini untuk digunakan oleh Tuhan sebagai ujung tombak pengenapan Amanat Agung," kata Jaeson Ma. "Saya rasa bagi kami sangat penting bahwa orang-orang di barat diajar untuk melihat apa yang terjadi dengan mata mereka sendiri dan bergabung dalam pada apa yang Tuhan kerjakan dan untuk bermitra dengan saudara-saudara kita di dalam budaya timur yang benar-benar meletakkan kehidupan mereka bagi Injil."

Wawancara dalam film 1040 ini termasuk para pemimpin dan misiologi kr****n terkemuka seperti Mike Bickle, pendiri "International House of Prayer"; Loren Cunningham pendiri "Youth With a Mission"; Steve Douglas, Presiden "Campus Crusade for Christ"; dan pendoa Cindy Jacobs yang juga wakil pendiri "Generals International."

"Apa yang terjadi di Asia sekarang adalah benar-benar kegerakan terbesar Allah dalam sejarah manusia dan banyak gereja di barat tidak benar-benar sadar betapa dinamis gereja di Asia sekarang," kata Mike Bickle. "Ada sebuah kegerakan akar rumput bahwa Alkitab dengan jelas berbicara tentang hal itu akan sangat kuat pengaruhnya, dan saya pikir sebagian besar pada orang muda."

"Mereka akan bergerak dengan kekuatan seperti yang para rasul lakukan dalam kitab Kisah Para Rasul, dan mereka akan sangat mempengaruhi kebudayaan dan bahkan pemerintah di Asia yang akan menciptakan pengaruh yang menyebabkan Asia secara keseluruhan untuk menolak godaan dan ancaman Antikristus. Dan itu sedang terjadi secara besar-besaran," ujar Bickle.

Film ini juga menampilkan Vanness Wu, penyanyi asal Taiwan kelahiran Amerika Serikat. Di Indonesia Vanness pernah populer sebagai anggota kelompok vokal F4 yang juga bermain dalam serial TV Meteor Garden. Tak ketinggalan penyanyi hip-hop MC Hammer juga ikut menyampaikan pandangannya tentang kebangunan rohani di Asia. (Hartono Tj) — dari berbagai sumber

Pemain: Jaeson Ma, Jin MC, Van Ness Wu, Mike Bickle, Elim Chew, MC Hammer, Sean "Jinusean", Steven Douglas, Cindy Jacobs
Produksi: Adventures TV dan Arowana Films
Sutradara: Evan Jackson Leong
Eksekutif Produser: Carl Choi

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Barusan baca diskusi tentang sebuah kasus yang menimpa sebuah kelenteng di Pekalongan sampai ke ranah pengadilan segala. Intinya ada pertentangan di antara TITD (Tridharma) / WALUBI dan MAKIN (Konghucu). Saya sih merasa konyol saja ya. Intinya kelenteng dijadikan rebutan. Umat Khonghucu bilang kelenteng punya Khonghucu, orang Tridharma bilang kelenteng itu sinkretis Tridharma dan tampaknya lbh berpihak pada agama Buddha?. Ada juga berbagai pengalaman lain yang saya dapet:

1. Satu orang bhiksu Vajrayana dulu lewat Buddhist Festival di Surabaya pernah bilang... setelah kelenteng diakui pemerintah, eh agama Buddhanya "didepak" keluar dari kelenteng. Ya memang benar juga, beberapa kesannya begitu.

Saya pernah pergi ke Tay Kak Sie Semarang yang notabene merupakan kelenteng Buddhis yang dulunya vihara Tionghoa, di sana malah kegiatan Khonghucu-nya yang menonjol. Nah lho? Ya saya kurang tahu tp kegiatan organisasinya gimana. Lalu juga Eng An Kiong Malang, sangat banyak unsur Buddhis-nya di sana.... altar utama kedua bersifat Buddhis, juga terdapat dua Dharmasala Buddha, tetapi kok malah Khonghucu juga yang menonjol di sana? (kalau diliat" lagi altar"nya kebanyakan Dewa Tao dan Bodhisattva Buddhis).

2. Dari pihak temen" Taois dalam forumnya menyatakan bahwa kelenteng adalah tempat ibadah umat Tao. Ya memang benar, la dewa dewi seperti Ma Zu dan Guangze Zunwang adalah dewa Tao, tapi beberapa tempat ibadah mereka malah dijadikan pusat agama Khonghucu?

Sejujur-jujurnya, sebagian besar kelenteng di Indonesia adalah Taoist Temple alias Kuil Agama Tao. Orang-orang di Singapore aja melabeli semua kelenteng yang berlatar utama dewa Taois sebagai "Taoist Temple" Kok di Indonesia saja yang bisa jadi tempat ibadah umat Khonghucu? Aneh.

Bagaimana tanggapan teman-teman terhadap hal ini?

Kalau menurut saya aperlu ada kalsifikasi jelas dan objektif mana kelenteng Buddha, mana kelenteng Tao dan mana yang bener" Wen Miao alias kelenteng Konghucu. Selain itu perlu ditata ulang konsep Tridharma yang sudah salah kaprah dipahami sebagai suatu sinkretisme.

Bhiksu Daoyuan (Dogen Zenji) saja pada zaman dahulu mengatakan bahwa sinkretisme Tridharma adalah hal yang sangat tolol, suatu sinkretisme seperti itu menunjukkan ketidakhormatan pada ajaran Buddha, Laozi, dan Khonghucu sendiri.

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The Siddha Wanderer

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http://whyimcatholic.com/index.php/conversion-stories/buddhist-converts/item/65-buddhist-convert-paul-williams

On converting from Buddhism to Catholicism – One convert's story
©Paul Williams, OP
Professor of Indian and Tibetan Philosophy



University of Bristol, UK

I am a Catholic, a convert. Indeed I am now a lay member of the Dominican Order. But I was a Buddhist for over twenty years, and what I want to concentrate on here is Buddhism and rebirth. In talking about Buddhism and rebirth, I shall really be telling you a little about my own conversion story, a conversion story that is of course one of change, wonderful welcome change, and I shall argue it was a change from very real hope-lessness to hope.

My journey to Buddhism

I wasn't always a Buddhist. As far as I recall our immediate family was not particularly religious, although on our father's side there were practising Anglicans and relatives had been Anglican vicars. On our mother's side I do not remember any especial interest in religion. I heard once that our maternal grandmother had said she would be a Buddhist if she were anything at all. I discovered fairly recently that in fact our maternal grandfather's family was traditionally Catholic, although he had abandoned the faith. I am not sure now why, but for some reason when I was really quite young I joined the local Anglican church choir. I loved singing church music. Unfortunately my voice broke rather early and, since I was thought to be too young to be a bass, as far as I recall I spent my entire time as Head Chorister miming. This perhaps gave me an early taste of the bluff necessary for an academic career.

At the appropriate age early in the 1960s I was confirmed in the Anglican Church by the Bishop of Dover. I became a server at Holy Communion. As the 60s wore on I became involved in the lifestyle and all the normal things that teenage boys get up to. As public examinations loomed larger, I left the choir, ceased to be a server, and lost contact with the Church. I grew long hair, and dressed strangely.

I went to the University of Sussex to read Philosophy. By that time, in common with many in the late 1960s, I had developed an interest in meditation and things Indian. I channelled this interest particularly into Indian philosophy. I subsequently took my doctorate in Buddhist philosophy at the University of Oxford.

By about 1973-ish I was already beginning to think of myself as a Buddhist. I finally 'Took Refuge', formally becoming a Buddhist, in the Dalai Lama's tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. When I found myself teaching at the University of Bristol in the early 1980s I set up with others a group in Bristol that also now has its own Buddhist Centre. I became involved in occasional teaching within the context of practising Buddhism at Buddhist Centres. As well as my academic work in Buddhist philosophy I wrote and spoke as a Tibetan Buddhist on television, the radio, and at conferences. I took part in public and private dialogue with Christians, including Hans Küng and Raimundo Pannikkar.

I was interested in philosophy, but also I was interested in meditation and the exotic East. Many of us found Buddhism attractive originally because among other things it seemed so much more rational than the alternatives (but also much, much more exotic). In particular Buddhism seemed much more sensible (and exotic) than a theistic religion like Christianity. Buddhists do not believe in God. Well, (we thought) there seemed no reason to believe in God, and the existence of evil presented for us a positive argument against the existence of God. Those of us who were brought up as Christians were fed up with defending the existence of God in an unsympathetic world against its detractors. When we stood back and tried to be as objective as possible God looked less and less likely. In Buddhism one has an immensely sophisticated (and exotic) system of morality, spirituality and philosophy which does not require God at all. At a stroke difficulties involved in accepting the existence of God were bypassed. Instead, in becoming a Buddhist, (we thought) one could be a meditator with Buddhists, the ones who really know about meditation.

Rebirth

However, over many, many years as a Buddhist I became more and more uneasy about my Buddhism. Absolutely central to my growing unease with Buddhist affiliation were worries about rebirth and associated worries about the doctrine of karma. Buddhists believe in rebirth, that is, as it is broadly understood, reincarnation. And, Buddhists claim, there is no chronological first beginning to the series of past lives. We have all of us been reborn an infinite number of times. No God is needed to start the series off – for there simply was no first beginning. Things have been around (somewhere) for all eternity.

Now, belief in rebirth (and indeed karma – I'll come that) seems to be quite common nowadays even among those who would not claim to be Buddhists or Hindus. One even finds Christians who say they believe in rebirth. But rebirth was well-known in ancient Greece and Rome, and it has never been part of Christian orthodoxy. And there are good reasons for this. Rebirth is incompatible with certain absolutely central Christian doctrines, including the inestimable value of each and every individual person, and the justice of God. If rebirth is true, realistically we really have no hope. It is a hope-less doctrine. As a Buddhist, it dawned on me that I had no hope. Let me explain.

Hands up who wants to be reborn as a cockroach?

I want you to imagine that you are told you are to be painlessly executed at dawn. You are terrified. You are not terrified because it will hurt, since it will be painless. So why are you terrified? Perhaps your fear lies in it being the end of all your projects for the future – the story is over. Or maybe you do not want to leave forever your friends and family. Or perhaps you fear just a great empty void, a nothingness. What is it, exactly, that frightens you?

Now I want you to imagine that your executioner gently puts his arm round you and tells you not to worry. It really isn't so bad. Although you are to be executed, it has been discovered without a shadow of a doubt that the Buddhists and Hindus were right after all. You are to be instantly reborn. In fact, you are to be reborn as a cockroach in South America.

Well - I suggest that you would still be terrified. Indeed you might be even more frightened. But why would you be so frightened? Being a cockroach answers all, or most, of the fears that first sprang to mind when you heard of your imminent execution. Cockroaches surely have projects for the future, to get enough food, poison humans, or whatever it is cockroaches happily spend their lives doing. It'll be fun, once you get used to it. Of course, being a cockroach still means you must leave your friends and family, but then in life we often leave our friends and family. Our family and friends may be separated from us by exile, war, quarrels or whatever. Or if they die, instead of you, it has the same effect. So why in this respect should we be more terrified of our own death, than of the deaths of our loved ones? Moreover as a cockroach you will have lots and lots of new friends and family, many, many cockroach friends and cockroach family to replace the ones you have lost. You'll get used to it. It's not so bad, not half as bad as you thought. And being a cockroach is not nothingness. It's not like a great empty void. It is a life, too. You will still live.

So why are we not consoled by all this? Why do we still not relish the idea of execution at dawn, followed by all the fun of being a cockroach in South America? Well, you might say, cockroaches are horrible, ugly, verminous creatures. Who wants to be one? But is that fair? Perhaps cockroaches are not horrible and ugly to themselves. After all, I expect their mummies love them.

Can you imagine being a cockroach? Can you imagine living that cockroachy life? Surely you cannot. We are not asking can you imagine waking up inside a cockroach's body (as Kafka tells us, in his story Metamorphosis). We are not asking you to imagine being you, somehow having to come to terms with being crammed inside a cockroach's body. That would not be much fun. You would have problems with all those legs, at least for a while, and you would hate your cockroach mummy getting anywhere near you. She is so creepy! But it wouldn't be like that, would it? You would love your cockroach mummy, because (I expect) cockroaches do love their mummies. For you would be a cockroach too. You cannot imagine what it would be like to be a cockroach, because you would not be you inside a cockroach body. You would be a cockroach. And who knows what the imaginations, the dreams, of a cockroach might be.

Rebirth means the end of me

What is my point here? My point is this: What is so terrifying about my being executed at dawn and reborn as a cockroach is that it is simply, quite straightforwardly, the end of me. I cannot imagine being reborn as a cockroach because there is nothing to imagine. I quite simply would not be there at all. If rebirth is true, neither I nor any of my loved ones survive death. With rebirth, for me – the actual person I am – the story really is over. There may be another being living its life in some sort of causal connection with the life that was me (influenced by my karma), but for me there is no more. That is it – end of it. There is no more to be said about me.

None of this in itself means the Buddhist position is wrong. But what it does mean is that, if the Buddhist position is correct, our death in this life is actually, really, the death of us. Death will be the end for us. Traditionally, at least on the day to day level, Buddhists and others who accept rebirth tend to obscure this fact in their choice of language by referring to 'my rebirth', and 'concern for one's future lives'. But actually any rebirth (say, as a cockroach in South America) would not be oneself, and there is a serious question therefore as to why one should care at all about 'one's' future rebirths.

I began to see that if Buddhism were correct then unless I attained enlightenment (nirvana) or something like it in this life, where the whole cycle of rebirth would finally come to a complete end, I would have no hope. Clearly, I was not going to attain enlightenment in this life. All Buddhists would be inclined to accept that as true concerning just about everyone. Enlightenment is a supreme and extremely rare achievement for spiritual heroes, not the likes of us – certainly not the likes of me. So I (and all my friends and family) have in themselves no hope. Not only that. Actually from a Buddhist perspective in the scale of infinite time the significance of each of us as such, as the person we are, converges on nothing. For each of us lives our life and perishes. Each one of us – the person we are - is lost forever. Buddhism for me was hope-less. But was I absolutely sure Buddhism was true? As St Paul knew so well, Christianity at least offers hope.

Karma

Let me say something now about the theory that usually goes along with that of rebirth, the theory of karma. This is the theory, broadly, that our virtuous and vicious actions have respectively pleasant and painful results for us. Thus if I stub and break my little toe, that painful experience is as such the result of a vicious deed done by me in the past. If what I have said so far is correct then the principles of karma when applied over lifetimes must mean that some persons escape altogether at least some of the results of their vicious deeds, and others receive unpleasant experiences that result from vicious deeds they did not do.

For consider the following: Supposing a horrible dictator gives orders on his deathbed for painfully executing a thousand people. That dictator dies, so that person – the dictator – never receives the nasty results due to him through karma. There no doubt will be another being, 'his rebirth' who will receive those horrible results. But, first, what is that to our dictator? And, second, clearly that other being (the rebirth) will be horribly hurt as a result of something he, she, or it, did not do. The idea that a baby, for example, suffers from a painful illness because of something another person did, even if the baby is in some sense a rebirth of that person, can scarcely be portrayed as satisfactory or just. It could certainly not be, as some have claimed, the most acceptable answer to the problem of evil. The baby simply is not that person who did the wicked deed, no more than a baby cockroach is me after my execution.

Buddhists do not hold that God exists, but if there were a God certainly the theory of karma would be quite incompatible with His justice. So, too, would be the throwing away of persons on the rubbish heap of history, that is entailed by rebirth.

The Christian has hope

It seems to me patently obvious that if I am reborn the person I am now in this life ceases to exist. This is blindingly obvious if I am reborn as a cockroach in South America. We could not say that I am the same person as a cockroach in South America. Could we anymore say I would be the same person if my rebirth involved a human embryo in Africa? Or in Bristol, in my own family? And the standard Buddhist position (correctly) explicitly denies that the rebirth is the same person as the one who died. Thus rebirth is incompatible with the infinite value of the person.

But Christianity is the religion of the infinite value of the person. The person we are, or can become, is not accidental to us, and is not unimportant. Each person is an individual creation of God, as such infinitely loved and valued by God. On this is based the whole of Christian morality, from the value of the family to the altruism and self-denial of the saints. Because we are infinitely valuable to God  died to save each one of us. He did not die to save chains of rebirths, or reincarnating Selves. He died to save us. And we are the persons we are, as embodied individuals with our stories, families and friends. Contrary to the myth of the Christian hatred of the physical and the body, actually Christianity is also the religion of embodiment and the essential goodness of all physical creation.

It follows from all this that rebirth would be diametrically opposed to the whole direction of Christianity. If there is survival of death - and the faith of the Christian, originating in Christ's own resurrection, is based on that - it cannot be in terms of rebirth. Rebirth and the infinite value of the person are incompatible. The Christian view of death is one of hope, indeed of triumph, for (apart from anything else) it sees death not as an empty void, a nothingness. The story is not over for the persons we are, and we can hope that we do not part forever from our friends and family. But much, much more, our faith is that in God our deaths will be meaningful for each and every one of us – each individual person – in ways that exceed our imaginations but that even now excite our hope and draw-on our lives.

Conclusion

Well – it was thoughts like this that gradually led me away from Buddhism. Buddhism was for me hope-less. Christians have hope. I so wanted to be able to be a Christian. I returned, to look again at the things that I had rejected in my earlier Christian faith. I detail the stages of my journey in my book The Unexpected Way (T&T Clark/Continuum: 2002). Through grace I came again to God. I convinced myself that it was rational to believe in God, as rational – indeed I now think more rational – than to believe with the Buddhists that there is no God. Coming to believe in God, I could no longer be a Buddhist. I had to be a theist. I looked carefully at the evidence and was astonished to find that the literal resurrection of Our Lord from the dead after His crucifixion was the most rational explanation of what must have happened. That, I felt, made Christianity the most rational option out of theistic religions. And, as a Christian, I argued that priority has to be given to the Roman Catholic Church. I needed a good reason not to be received into the Catholic Church. In my book I examine various arguments that were given to me against becoming a Catholic, and I argue that as a reason for rejecting the Catholic Church they fail to convince. So I was received into the Catholic Church.

I now live in gratitude and hope. And I have never, ever, for one moment regretted my decision.

ADENDUM

If what I have argued here is correct, then it seems to me we are entitled theologically to say that we know rebirth is false. What I mean by this is:

i) Rebirth is incompatible with Christian belief.
ii) As Christian believers we are entitled to say that we know theologically that Christian belief is true.
iii) Whatever is incompatible with a truth is false.
iv) Hence we are entitled to say as Christian believers that we know theologically that rebirth is false.

Some further reading on Buddhism and Catholicism by Paul Williams:
The Unexpected Way, Continuum, 2002

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

13
Talk Show
"PENDIDIKAN TRADISIONAL TIONGHOA"

Maha Bhiksu Chin Kung dan Prof. Zhong Mao Sen



Jumat, 14 Januari 2011
18.00 WIB
Ballroom Grand City Lt.4
Jl. Walikota Mustajab, Surabaya

*Disediakan konsumsi untuk 1000 pengunjung pertama

Diselenggarakan oleh:
Buddhist Education Center (BEC) Surabaya
Keluarga Buddhayana Surabaya
Majelis Agama Konghucu Indonesia (Makin) Boen Bio
Paguyuban Umat Tao Indonesia (PUTI)
Ikatan Alumni Zhong Zhong
Ikatan Alumni Xin Zhong
PERMIT Jatim
DPD INTI Jawa Timur
Rotary Club Surabaya Jembatan Merah
Ikatan Alumni Ma Zhong
LKIC Jawa Timur
Vihara Chi Kung Dang
PPIT Jawa Timur

*. Berdasarkan info, siang sebelum Talk Show Master Chin Kung akan berkunjung ke makam Alm. Gus Dur.
Master Chin Kung adalah sesepuh Buddhisme Tanah Suci Tiongkok, aktif dalam dialog antar agama.

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

14
Master Xuyun, sesepuh Chan terkemuka di Tiongkok, yang snagat legendaris, pun juga menguasai silsilah Mahayana yang lain pernah bercakap-cakap dengan Chiang kai-shek dan Sun Yat Sen (dua"nya seorang Kristiani) tentang Yesus dan agama Kristiani.

Beliau mengatakan pada Chiang Kai Shek kurang lebih: "Ajaran Kristiani dan Tanah Murni hampir mirip, Sang Buddha lahir sebelum Yesus, tidak mungkin ajaran Tanah Murni berasal dari Kristiani. Raja Ashoka mengutus para bhiksu sampai ke Syria, Mesir dsb...Timur Tengah. Para sarjana barat menemukan sebuah buku karya Petrus (salah satu 12 rasul murid Yesus) yang berjuful Kronologis Rasul Aquarian (beda dengan Injil Aquarian), Yesus pernah belajar agama Buddha di India dan membawa kembali ajarannya. Kisha ini awalnya ada di Injil namun dihapus oleh gereja Vatikan Roma. Jika teori ini benar, maka Yesus mungkin saja mendapat pengaruh dari agama Buddha, di mana beliau mendapatkan Amitabha Sutra dan kembali ke tanah kelahirannya mendirikan agama baru."

Dalam "Kronologis Rasul aquarian" yang ditulis Rasul Petrus dikisahkan bahwa Yesus saat itu berdiam di Galilea, seorang Farisi menanyainya sipakah gurunya? Yesus berkata bahwa Sang Buddha adalah gurunya. Beliau berkata bila dia mengajarkan Buddha Dharma, orang" Yahudi itu tidak akan mengerti, sehingga ia hanya menjabarkan Dharma yang sederhana (paham Kristiani). Yesus mengatakan bahwa dia harus mengasihi Buddha, baru beliau dan Bapa (Allah) mengakuinya sebagai murid. Yesus berjanji menghantarkan mereka yang percaya pada Tanah Suci Sukhavati Amitabha Buddha.

Dengan Sun Yat Sen, Xuyun pertama ditanya oleh Dr. Sun: "Takhayulisme dari tradisi seharusnya dihapuskan, seperti kepercayaan pada penyembuhan magis menggunakan "hu", membakar dupa dan lilin sebnayak-banyaknya untuk emndapatkan apa yangdiinginkan, membakar kertas."
Xu Yun kemudian menimpali: "Itu bukanlah Buddha Dharma. Buddha Dharma tidak mengajarkan takhayulisme semacam itu. Masyarakat biasa secara membuta memuja dewa Buddha dan Bodhisattva sehingga mereka mengacaukan ajaran Buddha yang murni.
Dr. Sun berkata: "Ini sama dengan Yesus yang mengajarkan cinta kasih universal, namun para pengikutnya saling bertengkar. Saya merasa bahwa jiwa Kristiani dan buddhis sangatlah dekat, sama" mengajarkan cinta kasih universal bagi semua ornag tanpa mebdea-bedakan serta mengajarkan kerelaan. Di hatiku, aku merasa Kristianitas dan Buddhisme itu selaras. Maka saya mengkritisi para penganut Kristiani yang menyerang Buddhisme."
Xu Yun menjawab: "Ya, Buddhisme dan kristianitas itu selaras. Setelah Yesus berumur belasan tahun ia pergi ke India belajar agama Buddha. Yesus belajar bertahun-tahun di Ibndia dan kembali ke Israel untuk mewartakan karya misionaris." Murid dekat yesus yaitu Petrus menulis Kronologis Rasul Aquarian, mencatat kejadian tersebut namun skerang disembunyikan oleh Vatikan, sehingga tidak menyebar.
Dr. Sun berkata: kalau ada buku seperti ini tentu harus dipelajari! Di manakah dapat ditemukan buku ini?
Xu Yun menjawab: "Aku mendengar dari seorang asing bahwa buku ini masih secara minim dipublikasikan di perpustakaan Vatikan dan perpustakaan British."

Xu Yun suatu kali juga pernah mengatakan bahwa Kristianitas terlahir dari Amitabha Sutra. Buddha menjabarkan tentang Sukhavati. Yesus menjabarkan tentang Kerajaan Surga. Sembilan jenis kelahiran di Sukhavati dapat diperbandingkan dengan 9 kelas malaikat dalam paham Katholik. Kemudian juga menjabarkan persamaan lainnya.

Master Hsuan Hua, murid Xu Yun mengatakan bahwa: "Avalokitesvara menjelma menjadi Bunda Maria untuk secara upaya kausalya membimbing para makhluk ke alam surga [deva]." " Yesus adalah Bodhisattva bhumi ketujuh.

Sedangkan Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche mengatakan bahwa Yesus adalah Bodhisattva bhumi keenam. Dalai Lama juga menyebut Yesus sebagai seorang Bodhisattva.

Sesso, seorang master Zen abad pertengahan di Jepang, mengatakan bahwa "Yesus adalah murid Shakyamuni Buddha", namun di akhirnya ajarannya menyimpang dari Buddha Dharma yang sebenarnya.

Kesimpulan: Mungkinkah Yesus adalah Bodhisattva dan murid Buddha, yang sedang melakukan upaya kausalya, mengajarkan paham kristiani bagi mereka yang batinnya belum matang sepenuhnya tuk menerima Buddha Dharma?

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

15
Mahayana / Sunyata, Alaya
« on: 28 December 2010, 02:08:09 PM »
Sekalian scr tidak lgsg menjawab pertanyaan sdr, Thema, mgkn bsia disimpulkan sendiri,

Pada dasarnya semua fenomena di dunia ini adalah Shunyata dan Anatman (kosong dan tanpa diri yang berdiri sendiri). Namun Shunyata itu bukanlah kosong song melompong tetapi Shunyata justru adalah suatu konsep yang sangat sangat positif, Thich Nhat Hanh pernah berkata:

If we are not empty, we become a block of matter.
We cannot breathe, we cannot think.
To be empty means to be alive, to breathe in and to breathe out.
We cannot be alive if we are not empty.
Emptiness is impermanence, it is change.
We should not complain about impermanence,
because without impermanence, nothing is possible.

(Komentar Prajnaparamita Sutra)

Ya Shunyata bukanlah pengertian yang nihilistik, tetapi merupakan suatu "proses" yang kreatif, yang dapat memunculkan banyak potensi. Shunyata membuat kita dapat hidup dan berubah, kalau semuanya permanen dan tidak berubah, maka manusia tidak akan ada bedanya dengan benda mati yang konstan / membatu.

Thich Nhat Hanh mengisahkan sebuah cerita. Ada seorang ayah yang terus mengeluh tentang konsep kekosongan (shunyata) dalam agama Buddha. Lalu kemudian anak perempuannya berkata, “Ayah, tolong berhenti mengeluh! Kalau bukan karena shunyata, aku tidak akan tumbuh menjadi sebesar ini.” Ya shunyata mengandung arti anitya juga. Bukankah melihat anak tumbuh besara adalah sesuatu yg indah?? Maka dari itu shunyata bukanlah konsep yang negatif. Bahkan Tsem Tulku Rinpoche mengatakan oleh karena ketidakkekalan maka kita dapat merubah diri kita menjadi lebih baik, bahkan dalam organisasi Soka Gakkai, karena shunyatalah maka seseorang dapat menggapai cita-cita dan mengembangkan talenta yang dimiliki. Semua ini karena shunyata. Seandainya semua itu punya aku yang berdiri sendiri dan permanen, maka dunia akan menjadi hambar dan kaku.

Thich Nhat Hanh mengaitkan Shunyata dengan Inter-being (ketersalinggantungan - karma dan Pratityasamutpada). Shunyata berarti kosong akan Diri (Aku) yang berdiri sendiri, tetapi PENUH akan semua hal di dunia ini (Inter-Being). Seseorang tidak mungkin terpisah dari yang lain atau dengan dunia, semua saling berkaitan, semua saling bergantungan dan satu hal muncul karena hal yang lain muncul, sebab akibat.

Nah sesuatu yang kreatif ini merupakan basis dari semua maka dari itu Shunyata memiliki istilah lain yaitu Buddha-Nature atau Tathagatagarbha atau alaya –vijnana atau amala vijnana.

Arsitek dunia Kisho Kurokawa yang mendasarkan konsep arsitekturnya pada pandangan Madhyamika (yang sering dituduh nihilistik) mengatakan bahwa sebenarnya Shunyata bukanlah nihilisme, tetapi merupakan suatu yang kreatif, dinamis, dan bergerak maka dari itu konsep arsitektur "Symbiosis dan Metabolism" muncul dari Kisho Kurokawa. Ini semua dijelaskan dalam buku tulisannya sendiri. Kisho Kurokawa mengambil konsep Madhyamika yang terintegrasi dengan konsep co-existnya Shioo Benkyo.

Buddhism provides an ideological basis for the coexistence of all things. Each living thing contributes to the harmony of the grand concert of symbiosis. The Buddhist term "dependent origination" describes such symbiotic relationships, as nothing and no one exists in isolation.  Each individual being is destined to function to create an environment that sustains all other existences. Symbiosis, needless to say, fundamentally means mutualism. However, a symbiotic relationship is not a predetermined harmony. It respects mutual independence and individuality.


Konsep Co-exitnya Shiio Benkyo (seorang pandita Jodo Shinshu) dan konsep Inter-Being-nya Thich Nhat Hanh bisa dibilang mirip sekali, akrena sama-sama menekankan harmoni mengingat semuanya saling berkaitan.

Alaya / Tathagatagarbha

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche mengatakan bahwa shunyata absolut dan alaya absolut sebenarnya tidaklah terpisahkan satu sama lain. Sutra Lankavatara mengatakan Tathagatagarbha adalah alaya-vijnana, Ratnagotravibhanga mengatakan Tathagatagarbha adalah Shunyata dan Sutra Mahaparinirvana mengatakan Tathagatagarbha adalah Pratitya-samutpada dan Karma (Inter-Being nya Thich Nhat Hanh). Ditambah lagi Dogen Zenji mengatakan: “ketidakkekalan adalah Tathagatagarbha”.

Kisho Kurokawa mengatakan alaya adalah basis kesadaran, alaya bukanlah semacam pikiran tetapi lebih bagaikan “energi kehidupan” atau “DNA”. Dari alaya muncul berbagai macam potensi, demikian juga dari shunyata muncul semua fenomena di dunia ini. Symbiosis dan Metabolisme semuanya merupakan kegiatan yang dinamis dari alaya.

Thich Nhat Hanh memberikan gambaran ketika ditanya apakah setiap orang memiliki alaya vijnana sendiri-sendiri? TNH menjawab: “Ini bagaikan samudra, oleh berbagai sebab dan akibat, muncullah ombak, dan ombak yang satu menimbulkan ombak yang kedua. Namun ombak yang satu berbeda dengan ombak yang kedua. Demikian juga ketika di laut ada banyak ombak, satu ombak yang satu berbeda dengan ombak yang lain, namun sebenarnya hakekat mereka saling berkaitan yaitu dalam satu samudra. Dan untuk satu ombak menjadi muncul butuh penyebab angin serta ombak yg lain.

Ketika disepadankan dengan manusia:
Ombak 1 = Manusia A
Ombak 2 = Manusia B
Sebab Akibat = Karma
Samudra = alaya vijnana / shunyata

Jadi sesuai dalam Avatamsaka Sutra yaitu ”Semua dalam Satu, Satu dalam Semua”, bukan satu juga bukan semua. Ini berbeda dengan Manunggaling Kawula Gusti yang mana ketika anak sungai melebur ke dalam samudra Brahman / Tuhan maka identitas dirinya melebur, bukan seperti itu. Konsep dalam Buddhis adalah bagaikan samudra dengan ombaknya, yaitu seseorang tetap mempertahankan identitasnya, namun bukan sebagai identitas yang berdiri sendiri, melainkan identitas yang selalu bergantungan dengan yang lain.

This does not mean, however, a fusion of the self and others in a relationship in which the self is annihilated. The symbiotic viewpoint within the law of dependent origination is the overcoming of our closed-off egotism and is an attempt to create communality from the autonomy of individuals. (Konsep Symbiotic dari Rev. Shiio Benkyo)

Maka dari itu dalam Mahayana dikenal istilah Jala Indra, yaitu satu fenomena berkaitan dengan fenomena yang lain, satu hal berakibat dan berkaitan satu sama lainnya, semuanya tak terpisahkan, tidak ada Ego yang berdiri sendiri, semua bagaikan DNA yang bersifat anitya, anatman

Be Yourself

Shunyata dalam Mahayana dikatakan memiliki 2 aspek utama yaitu Prajna dan Maitri Karuna. Jadi bukan kosong song. Baik Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche maupun para sesepuh mahayana lainnya sering mengartikan Shunyata sebagai ”keterbukaan:” bukan ”kekosongan” karena dapat membawa pada pengertian yang salah.

Seseorang yang merealisasi Shunyata, akan terbuka dan bebas dari egonya, dan ketidaktahuan (avidya) yang ada dalam batinnya berakhir, digantikan dengan sifat-sifat mulia seperti Prajna (kebijaksanaan), Maitri Karuna (welas asih) dan Chanda (keinginan luhur) dan bukan kosong melompong. Setelah tercerahkan, alaya vijnana yang kotor menjadi amala vijnanan yang bersih bersinar dan cemerlang. Pada awalnya kita menatap alayavijanan secara salah sehingga muncul Ego, tetapi setelah tercerahkan dan merealisasi Inter-Being dan Tanpa Aku, maka alayavijnana berubah menjadi amala vijnana.

Kobun Chinno, guru Steve Jobs (Apple), mengatakan bahwa pikiran yang dapat merefleksikan welas asih satu sama lain adalah amala-vijnana. Ya amala vijnana adalah Ke-Buddhaan yang memiliki sifat Prajna dan Maitri karuna.

Mahayana tidak hanya mengajarkan Maitri Karuna tetapi juga Prajna yang mampu berpikir kritis. Maka dari itu di vihara" Tibetan yang mengikuti tradisi India, dilakukan debat" sesuai anjuran Nagarjuna, untuk menguji setiap Dharma bagaikan menguji keaslian sebongkah emas.

Ketika Diri yang penuh Avidya padam (Ego- Si Aku), maka seseorang akan masuk ke dalam satu diri yang diberi nama Diri Sejati atau Tathagatagarbha atau Muga no Taiga (Diri Yang Tanpa Diri). Di sini seperti ditekankan sebelumnya, bukan berarti setelah tercerahkan seseorang semuanya jadi sama, batinnya jadi sama semua sehingga tampak seperti robot yang sudah diatur batinnya. Integritas seseorang tetap bertahan.

Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ven. Kalu Rinpoche sering mengatakan, ”Be Yourself!”. Nah kalau ndak ada Ego untuk apa jadi Be Yourself?? Pertama Be Yourself memiliki 2 arti:

1.   Menerima diri apa adanya sehingga bisa mengasihi dirinya sendiri, menerima kondisis ekarang. Rasa tidak terima hanya membawa pada penderitaan. Jangan mencoba jadi orang lain.
2.   Be Yourself juga berarti ”Menjadi Diri Sendiri Yang Sejati”. Apa itu? Buddha. Sifat-sifat Buddha ada dalam diri kita sendiri, semuanya sudah ada dalam diri kita, so be yourself!

Para Arhat dan Bodhisattva saja memiliki talenta masing-masing ada yang unggul dalam keyakinan, ada yang unggul dalam welas asih dsb... semuanya adalah diri mereka sendiri. Namun kerika tercerahkan, diri mereka itu bukanlah diri yang penuh dengan ego, tetapi diri mereka berubah menjadi Nirmanakaya (tubuh) dan Sambhogakaya (batin). Batin sambhogakaya merefleksikan pencapaian Dharmakaya seseorang, namun walaupun begitu, Sambhogakaya bsia bermacam-macam sesuai kecenderungan dan talenta seseorang. Maka dari itu kita bsia melihat banyak sekali perwujudan Buddha Bodhisattva dalam Thangka Tibetan. Masing-masing Sambhogakaya menyimbolkan transformasi klesha menjadi aspekaspek pencerahan.

Jadi, ”personality” seseorang yang sebelumnya dibentuk oleh klesha, yang mana satu ornag berbeda dengan yang lain, ditransformasi menajdi sebuah Nirmanakaya dan Sambhogakaya, yang memiliki ciri khas satu sama lain, tiap orang tidak sama namun satu hakekat yaitu telah tercerahkan (Dharmakaya).

Thich Nhat Hanh mengatakan seorang Bodhisattva menjadi tercerahkan itu bukan berarti beliau sudah tidak bisa menjadi senang ataupun sedih. Beliau tetap bisa merasakan senang dan sedih, tetapi mereka menyadaris enang sebagai sennag, sedih sebagai sedih dan mereka mampu mentransformasikan kesedihan mereka menjadi welas asih agung. Misla ketika Bodhisattva sedih melihat para makhluk menderita, beliau menyadari rasa sedihnya itu dan memutuskan untuk mengambil tekad welas asih agung dan bertindak bagi kebaikan semua.

Nah kita bsia mulai diskusi.

 _/\_
The Siddha Wanderer

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