Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia by Nina Mariani Noor

From Barth’s writing, it is clear that Balinese Hinduism is diverse in fact, particularly between southern and eastern part of Bali. Furthermore, Hefner also notices that Hindhuism in Tengger is also different from those in Bali. These facts show that Hinduism which develops in Indonesia is not a single Hinduism. It seems to me that, Hinduism, just like other religion which came and grow in Indonesia, experience adaptation with the origin culture believed by indigenous people.
Moreover, Hinduism’s nature of inclusivity, tolerance, and flexibility make it easy to acculturate with other cultures, even with other religion such as Islam practices in Java which is strongly influenced by Hinduism culture. No wonder if in Java, although most Javanese people already converted to Islam, they still practice Hinduism belief and practices.
The other interesting thing that I can conclude from the readings is that seeing Hinduism from different point of views will result in different kind of Hinduism found.
In talking about Buddhism, Lien Shen Siddhi Hu and Dhammasubo Thera point out that Buddhism has been existed in Indonesia centuries ago. It also had reached its golden era in which many kingdoms embraced Buddhism shown by many temples that spread out in Java. I am interested in their views on the reasons why Buddhism seemed to be extinct for some ages. They admitted that the coming of Islam really made Buddhism almost disappears, but the reasons are not only in hand of Islam expanses but also in the hand of Buddhism itself in which they failed to train their young generation with their belief. We can see the example from Raden Patah’s case which is the son’s of Brawijaya, erected Islamic Kingdom for the first time in Java.
Readings:
Fredrik Barth, Balinese Worlds
Robert W. Hefner, Hindu Javanese: Tengger Tradition and Islam
Lien Shen Siddhi Hu, Sejarah Agama Budha di Indonesia
Dhammasubo Thera, Kebangkitan Agama Budha di Indonesia setelah Jaman Majapahit