American Buddhist Net

* Mark Forbes, Denpasar
* July 16, 2008 - 9:24AM

INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has endorsed a truth commission report stating his country was to blame for gross human rights abuses against the Timorese in 1999.

But he has stopped short of a formal apology and rejected prosecuting those responsible.

Stating he felt the "deepest regret" for those murdered, raped and tortured in the aftermath of East Timor's 1999 independence vote, Dr Yudhoyono emphasised that the Commission of Truth and Friendship report was about institutional rather than individual responsibility.

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Indonesia's corruption watchdog says another lawmaker arrested

The Associated Press
Published: June 30, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia: The curator of a museum in central Indonesia was sentenced Monday to 18 months in jail for helping steal six ancient Buddhist statues and replacing them with replicas to cover up the crime, a judge said.

Suhadi Darmodipuro, who was among four people arrested for the 2006 theft at the Radya Pustaka Museum, said he regretted his involvement in the scam and would not appeal.

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June 30, 2008

JAKARTA - THE curator of a museum in central Indonesia was sentenced Monday to 18 months in jail for helping steal six ancient Buddhist statues and replacing them with replicas to cover up the crime, a judge said.

Suhadi Darmodipuro, who was among four people arrested for the 2006 theft at the Radya Pustaka Museum, said he regretted his involvement in the scam and would not appeal.

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June 24, 2008
Ignas Kleden, Jakarta

In a democratic state, religion belongs in the private domain, to the extent that it is beyond the jurisdiction of public authorities. This principle notwithstanding, Indonesia has a ministry of religious affairs, which might be understood in terms of its specific historical development. However, the power of this ministry is limited to political management and legal administration of religious life.

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A trip to Indonesia — home to more than 200 million Muslims — reveals a faith that hardly resembles the one Americans have come to know in the blood-soaked years since 9/11.

By Stephen Prothero

After the 9/11 attacks, Americans put out a call for moderate Islam. Many Muslims answered that call, but few Americans heard them. Early this month, I traveled to Asia to see what Islam looks like on the ground there, and to listen to what Muslims themselves have to say about their religion, terrorism and the United States. What I found surprised me.

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June 10, 2008
By PETER GELLING

MANIS LOR, Indonesia — President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree on Monday ordering members of a minority Muslim sect to stop practicing their form of Islam or face arrest.

Members of the sect, known as Ahmadiyah, do not believe that Muhammad was the last prophet, contrary to a central tenet of mainstream Islam. They have been the victims of violent attacks by extremists in recent years.

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May 22, 2008
By Sara Webb

BOROBUDUR, Indonesia (Reuters) - The Buddhist temple of Borobudur, set among volcanoes on Indonesia's Java island, stands as a testament to the Buddhist roots of the world's most populous Muslim country.
more stories like this

The temple, the world's largest Buddhist monument, was built in the eighth and ninth centuries. It is a pilgrimage site for followers from around the region and it is also the most popular tourist attraction in Indonesia.

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JAKARTA, May 22 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers have committed crimes against humanity by delaying the entry of international workers to help cyclone victims, exiled Buddhist monks said on Thursday.

The monks, who are in Jakarta as part of an international tour to rally opposition against Myanmar's generals, urged Indonesia to back a U.N. resolution on unfettered entry of aid shipments and workers.

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May 12, 2008

A fire ripped through a Buddhist temple in Indonesia's North Sumatra province at the weekend, killing seven people and injuring eight, police said.

The victims were sleeping on the second floor of the Vihara Buddhist Aloviestra temple when the fire broke out before dawn on Sunday, said Eriwan Saragih, a local police officer.

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CIARUTEUN, Indonesia (AFP) — A push by hardline Islamists for Indonesia to ban a "deviant" Muslim sect has ignited a battle for the soul of the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

Mob violence, protests and chilling threats have formed the backdrop to pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and key ministers to ban the minority Ahmadiyah sect.

A decision last month by a Suharto-era state board overseeing religion recommended the sect be broken up because it believes Mohammed was not the final prophet, contradicting a central tenet of mainstream Islam.

Liberals are aghast at calls to ban the sect, but the ever-cautious Yudhoyono is under pressure to appease a vocal Islamist minority.

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May 6, 2008
By Peter Gelling

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt beneath a canopy of jungle vegetation, Nasruddin Anshory, with his Koran open in front of him, was telling a group of visitors about their ordained responsibility to protect the environment.

"As a Muslim," he said, "you have to do something."

...The Koran, Suaedy says, contains numerous references to environmental protection, including the line: "Don't do destruction upon this earth." At one point, the Koran equates a human life with that of a tree: "Do not kill women, elders, children, civilians or trees."

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May 7th, 2008

The Wali Songo were known for their pragmatic approach to converting the Javanese to Islam, and many pre-existing Javanese practises often derived from Hindu and Buddhist sources were Islamised and incorporated into the new faith, thereby being allowed to survive.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008

The Olympic flame has landed in Indonesia amid tight security for a shortened and invitation-only relay designed to prevent protests that have embarrassed China on previous legs.

Ahead of Tuesday's run at Jakarta's national stadium, police swooped on a group of human rights activists protesting against China's recent crackdown in Tibet, with several arrests.

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Javanese beliefs (Kebatinan or Kejawen) have principles embodying a "search for inner self" but at the core is the concept of Peace Of Mind.

Although Kejawen is not a religious category, it addresses ethical and spiritual values as inspired by Javanese tradition. It is not a religion in usual sense of the word, like Islam, Judaism, or Christianity. There are no scriptures such as the Bible or the Qur'an, nor are there prophets. There is no emphasis on eschatology (ie. life after death, heaven or hell, devils or angels).

..."God is within you. God is everywhere. But do not think you are God."

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2008-03-31

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: Around 200 people rallied outside the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia on Monday (31 Mar) to protest Beijing's policies in Tibet.

Some called for Tibetan independence, while others demanded Beijing stop its crackdown in the territory following bloody anti-government riots earlier this month.

The protest was the first in Indonesia since the riots, which embarrassed Beijing ahead of the Olympic Games later this summer.

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The article linked below is a couple of years old, but gives a good general explanation of the Balinese "Day of Silence." This year, Nyepi falls on Friday, March 7. Robyn
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SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2006
Thomas Hogue

Nyepi, the "Day of Silence" that marks Bali's Lunar New Year, is a holiday any contemporary Luddite could love.

The evening before is all noise and celebration. People start late in the afternoon, banging pots, pans and empty water containers. Young men and teens, fueled on arak - Bali's dangerous moonshine - shoot off "toy" bamboo cannons that belch flame and smoke.

The fun is in firing the cannon just as an unwary motorcyclist or pedestrian passes. The point - besides startling road users - is to make as much noise as possible, to rouse demons and monsters and run them out of town.

...peace comes at midnight with the advent of Nyepi. People return home after the noise and ruckus to turn off lights and electric appliances. The next morning all is silent. No motorcycles or cars take to the roads; no morning fires boil water for coffee; no lights cut early gloom.

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January 26, 2008
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several thousand people who believe they were the victims of an investment scam worth a total Rp 3.5 trillion (about US$375 million) have hired Singapore-based lawyers and international forensic specialists to help them get their money back.

... Mahendra Handaya, a spokesman for the crisis center, said in a release the organization demanded that the WBG's director, Krisno Abiyanto Soekarno, disclose the truth behind the fraud and return the money.

Krisno, a politician and Buddhist monk, fled Indonesia last year and is reportedly hiding in Singapore.

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AP
Published: January 25, 2008, 00:04

Jakarta, Indonesia: Former Indonesian dictator Suharto ate half a biscuit yesterday as his health improved marginally but he remained in critical condition and attached to a ventilator, doctors said.

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JAKARTA (AFP) — The predatory crown of thorns starfish is threatening Indonesia's portion of the "coral triangle," the richest area of coral reef biodiversity on the planet, scientists warned Tuesday.

The starfish have been discovered in large numbers by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Australian-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, who surveyed reefs around Halmahera in Indonesia's Maluku Islands, a press release said.

The triangle lies between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and contains more than half the world's reefs, considered building blocks for marine life.

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AP
Posted: 2007-12-17 11:42:15

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Dec. 17) - Researchers in a remote jungle in Indonesia have discovered a giant rat and a tiny possum that are apparently new to science, underscoring the stunning biodiversity of the Southeast Asian nation, scientists said Monday.

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December 8, 2007

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): While you are in Bali experience non-touristy activities by tracing the island’s richest archaeological zones of Bedulu in Gianyar regency, around 65 kilometers northeast of Nusa Dua.

Located between parallel rivers — the Pakerisan or River of the Short Dagger and the Petanu or River of the Curse, Bedulu village is rich in ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples, pre-historic relics, and the ruins of stone-carved “palaces,”. The area was once known as Bali’s “valley of kings”

Here you find fragments of Bali’s monumental kingdoms. Evidence, dating back to the Bronze age, of the island’s first human habitation is believed to have been unearthed here. And this is where Bali’s rich culture and traditions were born.

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The Associated Press
Published: November 22, 2007

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Police arrested an Indonesian museum curator for allegedly stealing five ancient Buddhist statues and using replicas to cover up the theft, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Three other staff members at the museum in Surakarta city on Java island are also suspects in the alleged scam, said Col. Syahroni, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name. The statues were sold to a local business man, Syahroni said.

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Unorthodox sects face prosecution in Indonesia

11/20/2007

JAKARTA — Indonesian human rights lawyers are again questioning the country's commitment to religious freedom after the recent arrests of several unorthodox Islamic leaders and the banning of their organizations.

On Nov. 9, the Indonesian Supreme Court sentenced Abdul Rachman, who is the No. 2 leader of a religious group known as Lia Eden and who claims to be the reincarnation of the Prophet Muhammad, to three years in prison for blasphemy.

Although Indonesia's Constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion, the government extends this protection to only six officially recognized faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

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By Peter Gelling
Published: November 15, 2007

JAKARTA: Indonesian human rights lawyers are again questioning the country's commitment to religious freedom after the recent arrests of several unorthodox Islamic leaders and the banning of their organizations.

On Nov. 9, the Indonesian Supreme Court sentenced Abdul Rachman, who is the No. 2 leader of a religious group known as Lia Eden and who claims to be the reincarnation of the Prophet Muhammad, to three years in prison for blasphemy.

Although Indonesia's Constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion, the government extends this protection to only six officially recognized faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

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Here is an example from Indonesia of the Chinese Buddhist practice "fang sheng" (releasing to life), sometimes rendered as "fang si" (releasing to death), as the animals have little chance of surviving and if they do may only harm the environment as they are usually non-native species. There was some news about this in the US a couple of months ago. ABN
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The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of people, mostly of Chinese descent, headed one by one to the Cisadane River on Saturday morning.

Three bhikkus (Buddhist monks) led the procession. The monks were followed by several men holding medium-sized plastic buckets.

As the procession reached the river, some of them including the three monks, buckets in hand, boarded sampans.

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