SEMARANG - The Indonesian Buddhist Representative Management (Walubi) met with the Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo to discuss preparations for the 2023 Vesak Day which will be centered in the Borobudur Temple and Mendut Temple area, Magelang Regency.
Chairman of the Central Java Walubi DPD, Tanto Harsono, said the purpose of his arrival with his entourage was to convey a series of commemorations of the 2023 Vesak Day with the theme "Actualize Dharma Buddhist Teachings in Daily Life" with the sub-them "Momentum Waisak Strengthens National Unity and Peace".
According to him, the 2023 Vesak or 2567 BE commemoration at Borobudur Temple is slightly different from before because this year a group will attend from Thailand.
This group consists of monks from various countries who gather in Thailand to walk to Borobudur Temple.
"We will have guests from Thailand. Biksu will walk from Thailand to Borobudur. It started (departing) on April 23 yesterday. Now it's up to Singapore. Later on the 9th it will enter Batam, from Batam they will fly to Jakarta, then from Jakarta on foot until June 1st into Borobudur. Later, on the 27th, they will stay at Pekalongan, where Habib Lutfi was last night," he said after a meeting at the Central Java Governor's Office House in Semarang, Antara, Thursday, May 4.
He explained that the series of commemorations of this year's Vesak Day began on May 21, 2023, with the agenda of Karya Bakti at the Giri Tunggal Heroes Cemetery, Semarang, followed by social services for treatment with a target of 8,000 patients on 30-31 May 2023.
On June 2, 2023, the Mrapen Eternal Fire was taken to be buried in the Mendut Temple and continued on June 3, 2023, with the procession of taking the Holy Water Jumprit and then resting it at the Mendut Temple.
"On June 4, starting at 06.00 WIB, a carnival will be carried out from the Mendut Temple to Borobudur Temple. The seconds of Waisak will be held at 10.41.19, later connected with predaksina or three rounds of the temple. The night, the peak event with the release of the lanterns at the Main Marga," he said.
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said the commemoration committee had prepared the 2023 Vesak Day commemoration carefully and it was predicted that it would be crowded so that he asked the organizers to prepare all permits carefully, especially when there would be a number of guests from Thailand who would also come.
"Later, the activities will be as before, there will be social, religious, and they will explain the existing readiness," he said.
Ganjar hopes that the entire procession for this year's Vesak commemoration will run smoothly, especially since the procession is carried out for quite a long time, starting from taking the Fire Mrapen and the Holy Water Jumprit to the peak celebration at Borobudur Temple.
"Hopefully it can run smoothly later because the procession is quite long, approximately two weeks. Starting from taking the fire in Mrapen, holy water in Jumprit, then their social service, to the celebration of the peak later in Waisak," he said.
At the meeting, Walubi also conveyed to Ganjar regarding the plan to create religious tourist destinations for Buddhists in Indonesia and around the world.
Responding to this, Ganjar asked for the plan to make the tourist destination to be reviewed, including coordinating with the manager of the Borobudur Temple area because the location of the new destination plan is not far from Borobudur Temple.
"Including requests for permits, they want to make a kind of destination. I ask for it to be reviewed first so that existing permits are integrated around the existing Borobudur area. This was conveyed earlier," he said.
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