Buddhism in Indonesia

Buddhism has a long history in Indonesia, and it is one of the six recognized religions in the country, along with Islam, Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), Hinduism and Confucianism. According to 2023 estimates roughly 0.71% of the total citizens of Indonesia were Buddhists, numbering around 2 million. Most Buddhists are concentrated in Jakarta, Riau, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, and West Kalimantan. These totals, however, are probably inflated, as practitioners of Taoism and Chinese folk religion, which are not considered official religions of Indonesia, likely declared themselves as Buddhists on the most recent census. Today, the majority of Buddhists in Indonesia are Chinese and other East Asians, but small communities of native Buddhists (such as Javanese and Sasak) also exist.
Buddhism is the second oldest outside religion in Indonesia after Hinduism, which arrived from India around the second century. The history of Buddhism in Indonesia is closely related to the history of Hinduism, as a number of empires influenced by Indian culture were established around the same period. The arrival of Buddhism in the Indonesian archipelago began with trading activity, from the early 1st century, by way of the maritime Silk Road between Indonesia and India. The oldest Buddhist archaeological site in Indonesia is arguably the Batujaya stupas complex in Karawang, West Java. The oldest relic in Batujaya was estimated to originate from the 2nd century, while the latest dated from the 12th century. Subsequently, significant numbers of Buddhist sites were found in Jambi, Palembang, and Riau provinces in Sumatra, as well as in Central and East Java. The Indonesian archipelago has, over the centuries, witnessed the rise and fall of powerful Buddhist empires, such as the Sailendra dynasty and the Mataram and Srivijaya empires.
According to some Chinese sources, the Chinese Buddhist monk I-tsing, while on his pilgrim journey to India, witnessed the powerful maritime empire of Srivijaya based on Sumatra in the 7th century. The empire served as a Buddhist learning center in the region. A notable Srivijayan revered Buddhist scholar is Dharmakīrtiśrī, a Srivijayan prince of the Sailendra dynasty, born around the turn of the 7th century in Sumatra. He became a revered scholar-monk in Srivijaya and moved to India to become a teacher at the famed Nalanda University, as well as a poet. He built on and reinterpreted the work of Dignaga, the pioneer of Buddhist logic, and was very influential among Brahman logicians as well as Buddhists. His theories became normative in Tibet and are studied to this day as a part of the basic monastic curriculum. Other Buddhist monks who visited Indonesia were Atisha, Dharmapala, a professor of Nalanda, and the South Indian Buddhist Vajrabodhi. Srivijaya was the largest Buddhist empire ever formed in Indonesian history. Indian empires such as the Pala Empire helped fund Buddhism in Indonesia; specifically funding a monastery for Sumatran monks.
A number of Buddhist sites and artifacts related to Indonesia's historical heritage can be found in Indonesia, including the 8th century Borobudur mandala monument and Sewu temple in Central Java, Batujaya in West Java, Muaro Jambi, Muara Takus and Bahal temple in Sumatra, and numerous statues or inscriptions from the earlier history of Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms. During the eras of the Kediri, Singhasari and Majapahit empires, Buddhism — identified as Dharma ri Kasogatan — was acknowledged as one of the kingdom's official religions along with Hinduism. Although some of the kings may have favored Hinduism, harmony, toleration, and even syncretism were promoted as a manifestation of the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which was coined from the Kakawin Sutasoma, written by Mpu Tantular to promote tolerance and coexistence between Hindus (Shivaites) and Buddhists. The classical era of ancient Java has also produced some of the most exquisite examples of Buddhist art; such as the statue of Prajnaparamita and the statue of Buddha Vairochana and Boddhisttva Padmapani and Vajrapani located in the Mendut temple.
In the 13th century, Islam entered the archipelago, and began gaining a foothold in coastal port towns. The fall of the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit empire in the late 15th or early 16th century marked the end of Dharmic civilization in Indonesia. By the end of the 16th century, Islam had supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion of Java and Sumatra. For 450 years after that, there was no significant Buddhist practice in Indonesia. Many Buddhist sites, stupas, temples, and manuscripts were lost or forgotten as the region became predominantly Muslim. During this era of decline, few people practiced Buddhism; most of them were Chinese immigrants who settled in Indonesia when migration accelerated in the 17th century. Many klenteng (Chinese temples) in Indonesia are in fact a tridharma temple that houses three faiths, namely Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
In 1934, Narada Thera, a missionary monk from Sri Lanka, visited the Dutch East Indies for the first time as part of his journey to spread the Dharma in Southeast Asia. This opportunity was seized by local Buddhists to revive Buddhism in Indonesia. A Bodhi tree planting ceremony was held on the southeastern side of Borobudur on March 10, 1934, under the blessing of Narada Thera, and some Upasakas were ordained as monks.
Following the downfall of President Sukarno in the mid-1960s, Pancasila was reasserted as the official Indonesian policy on religion to only recognise monotheism. As a result, the founder of Perbuddhi (Indonesian Buddhists Organisation), Bhikku Ashin Jinarakkhita, proposed that there was a single supreme Buddhist deity, Sanghyang Adi Buddha (although this interpretation of the Buddha is controversial and not widely accepted by the Theravada school of Buddhism). His interpretations are said to be backed up with the history behind the Indonesian version of Buddhism in ancient Javanese texts, and the shape of the Borobudur Temple.
During the New Order era, Buddhism was recognized as one of the five official religions of Indonesia. The national leader of the time, Suharto, had considered Buddhism and Hinduism as Indonesian classical religions.
During Suharto’s reign, the expression and practice of Chinese cultural identity were virtually suppressed. As a result, many Chinese traditional beliefs such as Confucianism and Taoism were incorporated into the Buddhist practices of Chinese Indonesian Buddhists who are mostly of the Mahayana School. The combination of the three teachings is known as Tri-dharma.
Initially, Confucianism was recognized as one of the six official religions of Indonesia in 1965, when Soekarno launched the Presidential Decree No. 1/1965 on the Prevention of Blasphemy. After Soeharto came into power, Confucianism was initially tolerated and still recognized, but in 1977 he issued a policy degrading Confucianism as a sect (aliran kepercayaan) and revoked its recognition by the government. It was only after the fall of Suharto and the repeal of decree No. 14/1967 on the Prohibition of Practicing Chinese Rituals and Beliefs by President Abdurrahman Wahid was Confucianism re-classified as an officially recognized religion by the Indonesian government.
The first Theravada ordination of bhikkhunis in Indonesia after more than a thousand years occurred in 2015 at Wisma Kusalayani in Lembang, Bandung, West Java
Today, in reference to the principle of Pancasila, a Buddhist monk representing the Buddhist Sangha, along with a priest, Brahmin, clergy or representative of other recognized religions, would participate in nearly all state-sponsored ceremonies. The ceremony would always include a prayer (led by a Muslim imam with representatives of other faiths standing in a row behind him). Although the majority of Indonesian Buddhists are of the Chinese Mahayana school, more often than not the representative of Buddhism as selected by the Government would happen to be a Theravada monk.
Once a year, thousands of Buddhists from Indonesia and neighboring countries flock to Borobudur to commemorate the national Waisak Day.
The oldest extant esoteric Buddhist Mantranaya (largely a synonym of Mantrayana, Vajrayana and Buddhist Tantra) literature in Old Javanese, a language significantly influenced by Sanskrit, is enshrined in the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya.
The Lalitavistara Sutra was known to the Mantranaya stonemasons of Borobudur, refer: The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara). 'Mantranaya' is not a corruption or misspelling of 'mantrayana' even though it is largely synonymous. Mantranaya is the term for the esoteric tradition on mantra, a particular lineage of Vajrayana and Tantra, in Indonesia. The clearly Sanskrit sounding 'Mantranaya' is evident in Old Javanese tantric literature, particularly as documented in the oldest esoteric Buddhist tantric text in Old Javanese, the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya refer Kazuko Ishii (1992).
In Indonesia, Buddhism is mainly followed by the Chinese community and some small indigenous groups of Indonesia, with 0.8% (including Taoism and Confucianism) of Indonesia's population being Buddhists. Most Chinese Indonesians reside in urban areas, thus Indonesian Buddhist also mostly living in urban areas. Top ten Indonesian provinces with significant Buddhist populations are; Jakarta, North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Banten, Riau, Riau Islands, West Java, East Java, South Sumatra, and Central Java.
A small minority of Sasaks called the "Bodha" are mainly found in the village of Bentek and on the slopes of Gunung Rinjani, Lombok. They had managed to avoid any Islamic influence and worship deities like Dewi Sri with Esoteric Buddhist and Hindu influences in their rituals due to their secluded geographical location. This group of Sasak, due in part to the name of their tribe, are recognized as Buddhists by the Indonesian government. At present, there are more than 10,000 Buddhists in their community and belonging to the Theravadin tradition.
Pockets of Javanese Buddhists also exist and are to be found mainly in villages and cities in Central and East Java. The regencies of Temanggung, Blitar and Jepara count about 30,000 Buddhists, mostly of Javanese ethnicity. For example, native Javanese Buddhists population formed as the majority in mountainous villages of Kaloran subdistrict in Temanggung Regency, Central Java.
According to the 2018 civil registration, there were 2,062,150 Buddhists in Indonesia. The percentages of Buddhism in Indonesia increased from 0.7% in 2010 to 0.77% in 2018.
There are numerous Buddhist schools established in Indonesia. The earliest school that was established in Indonesia was Vajrayana Buddhism, which developed from Mahayana Buddhism, and which had some similarities with later Tibetan Buddhism. Various temples of ancient Java and Sumatra are Vajrayana. Chinese Buddhism (the main branch of Mahayana Buddhism) has gained followers from Chinese Indonesian populations that began to migrate into the archipelago during the 17th to 18th century. Other notable schools are Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Indonesia's most notable Buddhist organization is Perwakilan Umat Buddha Indonesia (Walubi) which serves as the vehicle of all Buddhist schools in Indonesia. Other Buddhist organizations include Majelis Buddhayana Indonesia, Sangha Agung Indonesia (SAGIN), Sangha Theravada Indonesia (STI), Sangha Mahayana Indonesia, and the Taiwan-originated Tzu-Chi.
The most important Buddhist religious event in Indonesia is Vesak (Indonesian: Waisak). Once a year, during the full moon in May or June, Buddhists in Indonesia observe Vesak day commemorating the birth, death, and the time when Siddhārtha Gautama attained the highest wisdom to become the Buddha Shakyamuni. Vesak is an official national holiday in Indonesia and the ceremony is centered at the three Buddhist temples by walking from Mendut to Pawon and ending at Borobudur. Vesak also is often celebrated in Sewu temple and numerous Buddhist temples in Indonesia.
The Chinese Indonesian community in Tanjung Balai municipality in North Sumatra has protested against the administration's plan to dismantle a statue of Buddha on top of the Tri Ratna Temple.
On July 29, 2016, several Buddhist vihāras were plundered and burnt down in Tanjung Balai of North Sumatra. On 26 November 2016, a homemade bomb was discovered in front of Vihara Buddha Tirta, a Buddhist temple in Lhok Seumawe of Aceh.
Media related to Buddhism in Indonesia at Wikimedia Commons