Indonesian Buddhist Youth Association and Kertarajasa Buddhist College Hold Interfaith Mindfulness Festival

The Indonesian Buddhist Youth Association and Kertarajasa Buddhist College, a private university in Batu City, East Java, organized a mindfulness festival on April 20 attended by some 300 multi-faith ascetics and residents from the Indonesian province of East Java.

The event, held at XXI Lounge Ciputra World Surabaya, was an interfaith gathering aimed at raising awareness of mindfulness practices and Buddhist teachings among local communities.

The Young Buddhist Association (YBA) is the leading Buddhist youth organization in Indonesia. Through a deep belief in the Buddha's message of compassion, growth and liberation, the association promotes a positive lifestyle among young people in order to cultivate a society based on wisdom, compassion and gratitude. The association is involved in the creation of nationwide Buddhist organizations, the propagation of Dharma study among young people, and leadership training.

“The inspiring one-day seminar brought together six speakers who have extensive experience in mindfulness practices,” YBA explained. “The six speakers were: Andrie Wongso, motivational speaker and founder of Senam AW, who presented on the theme “Mindfulness in Daily Life”; Steve Sudjatmiko, organizational change and behavior coach, who gave a presentation on the theme “Implementing conscious leadership in businesses”; Jasmine Jawie, intuitive animal communicator and meditation facilitator, who spoke on the theme “Love, Compassion for Animals”; Samanera Abhisarano, mindfulness practitioner and founder of GoMindful ID, who presented materials on “Simplified Methods of Vipassana Meditation for Beginners”; Gobind Vashdev, Certified Tension and Trauma Release (TRE) Exercise Provider and Lead Instructor of the Buteyko Method, who spoke on the topic “Mindfulness for Health”; and Ardy Wong, Buddhist musician and founder of the Kalyana Project.

“The speakers presented various topics sharing different perspectives and knowledge, but always geared towards mindfulness and conscious living so that participants could easily apply them in their daily lives. » YBA daily added President Anthony Orodiputro. He noted that the event was organized under the concept that all citizens – not just Buddhists – could learn the practice of mindful living with input from diverse practitioners and perspectives, including kindness through music, intuitive training with animals through compassion and awareness, business practice with awareness, practicing awareness in daily life for Gen Z and learning meditation for beginners.

“This new concept can finally help young Buddhists and non-Buddhists learn something good, especially the practice of mindful living taken up by Gautama Buddha over 2 years ago and how we can escape suffering as human beings,” Orodiputro emphasized.

Meanwhile, Samanera Abhisarano, a novice Buddhist monk from Kertarajasa Buddhist College and YBA Advisory Council, emphasized the importance of having a creative mind in teaching, especially regarding Buddhist teaching of consciousness, so that it can be accepted by all groups, including the uninitiated. -Buddhists.

Samanera Abhisarano said he often shares mindful concepts on social media platforms and interacts with Buddhist and non-Buddhist netizens. “This event is part of a series of events preceding the Vesak Festival, which will take place at the end of May,” he concluded.

Although officially a secular state, Indonesia is home to a diversity of religious and spiritual communities and traditions. Islam is the most widespread religion, observed by 87 percent of the population, according to 2022 national data. Christian traditions make up a total of 10,5 percent, Hinduism 1,7 percent, and the Confucianism, folklore and other traditions make up a combined total. 0,07 percent.

Buddhism, practiced by 0,73% of the population, or approximately two million people, is Indonesia's second oldest spiritual tradition after Hinduism. According to historical accounts, Buddhism first flourished on the archipelago around the XNUMXth century, followed by the rise and decline of a number of powerful Buddhist empires, including the Shailendra dynasty (around the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries). centuries), the Srivijaya empire (c. XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries) and the Mataram empire (c. XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries). Today, the majority of Indonesian Buddhists are affiliated with Mahayana schools of Buddhism, although there are also communities of Theravada and Vajrayana practitioners.

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Indonesian Buddhist Youth Association
Young Buddhist Association (YBA) of Indonesia (Instagram)
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