Wesak in Jakarta

I'm now in Jakarta with my wife and friends from Nandaka Vihara in Bukit Mertajam to celebrate Wesak Day. We arrived on Friday and today marks our third day at Gedung BWE in Tangerang, one of the metropolitan regions within Greater Jakarta.

It has been quite an exhilarating experience witnessing this sacred Buddhist celebration in one of the world's most populous urban centres. More than 40 monks from across Indonesia have gathered here, although a handful, including Nandaka Vihara's chief abbot, Bhante Dhammasubho, were specially invited for the occasion. As the most senior monk among those assembled, he has been accorded special reverence and had the honour of leading the procession of Buddha relics into the hall on Friday.

Yes, Buddha relics from Nandaka Vihara were brought here on loan for this special celebration. Together with relics brought by the other monks from their respective monasteries, it made for the largest collection of Buddha relics I have ever seen in one place. Definitely, I felt the closeness to the Enlightened One.

Over the past few days, I have noticed several differences between the way Wesak is observed here and the practices back home in Penang. The daily puja sessions involve much longer periods of chanting, followed by extended meditation. What fascinated me most at first, however, was a special chant of the nine qualities of the Buddha that lasted almost a full hour and rounded off the evening puja on Wesak eve.

It was certainly fascinating to hear the qualities vocalised loud for the first time, each quality being repeated 108 times in quick rapid fire, but to be perfectly frank, it became a little tedious to my untrained ears, especially after sitting through nearly three hours of the programme beforehand. Still, it was all part of experiencing a different Buddhist tradition and gaining a deeper appreciation of how the Dhamma is practised in other places.

Happy Wesak, everyone!