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BOOK REVIEW |  EASTERN HORIZON     63








           He spent well over 30 years building a Buddhist    Unlike Venerable Chuk Mor and Venerable Yen Pei
           community in post-colonial Singapore; first as abbot   who were both born in China, Ashin Jinarakkhita was
           of Leng Foong Bodhi Institute (1964-1979), and as a   born in Indonesia. He is best depicted as an ethnic
           social activist and founding chairman of the Singapore   Chinese monk, dressed in a Theravada saffron robe and
           Buddhist Welfare Services (1980-1996). His monastic   wearing a beard in the Chinese Mahayana style. He was
           education, which he acquired from several prominent   instrumental in the revival of Buddhism in Indonesia.
           Buddhist learning centers in China greatly influenced
           his subsequent religious ministry in Singapore where   He realized that Buddhism had to adapt to Indonesian
           he migrated in 1964. He played a pivotal role in the   culture to survive, otherwise it would remain a foreign
           development of Chinese Buddhism in Singapore.      religion. In 1965, after a coup attempt, Buddhist
                                                              organizations had to comply with the first principle
           Yen Pei’s approach to Buddhism was heavily influenced   of the Indonesian state ideology - Pancasila- the belief
           by Master Yin Shun who promoted Humanistic         in one supreme God. All organizations that doubted
           Buddhism. He believed that one should strive to follow   or denied the existence of God were outlawed. As this
           the example set by Sakyamuni Buddha, by practicing the   posed a problem for Buddhism which doesn’t have God
           Dharma and achieving Buddhahood in the human realm.    as its central belief, Jinarakkhita presented Nibbana
                                                              as the Theravada “God”, and Adi-Buddha, the primeval
           Although most Singaporeans claim to be Buddhists,   Buddha of the region’s previous Mantrayana Buddhism,
           Venerable Yen Pei realized that they had little    as the Mahayana “God”. According to Jinarakkhita, the
                                                                                                  th
           knowledge and understanding of basic Buddhist      concept of Adi Buddha was found in the 10  century
           teachings. He encountered the same problem as      Javanese Buddhist text Sang Hyang Kamhayanikan.
           Venerable Chuk Mor in Malaysia. Most Singaporeans
           who consider themselves Buddhists only knew the    Besides forming the first Indonesian Buddhist lay
           ritualistic aspects of Buddhism such as lighting of   organisation, Persaudaraan Upasaka Upasika Indonesia
           joss sticks or chanting. He realized that the temples   (PUUI), he also initiated Perbudi where both Theravada
           needed to be restructured so that Buddhism could be   and Mahayana monastics were united. Subsequently, he
           taught properly. Among his many initiatives, he invited   formed the Sangha Agung Indonesia, a community of
           prominent Buddhist monks from all over the world to   monastics from the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana
           deliver lectures on Buddhism, especially on Humanistic   traditions. His movement came to be called Buddhayana.
           Buddhism and how local people could relate to the   It promoted non-sectarian doctrines and practices to be
           Buddha’s teachings in their daily lives.           in line with the national discourse of the Government’s
                                                              “unity in diversity”. In this way, he tried to make
           Besides educating Singaporeans on Buddhist teachings,   Buddhism in Indonesia less Chinese to ensure its survival
           Venerable Yen Pei also realized that the country’s rapid   as a minority religion in a predominant Muslim nation.
           economic growth had led to inequalities in society. As
           such, he began to promote welfare services to help   In his Conclusion, the author explained that Buddhist
           those of lower socioeconomic status. It was easy for him   modernism, as exemplified by the three monks in this
           to be both a scholar monk as well as a social activist.   study, was shaped by a combination of transnational
           This is also an aspect of Humanistic Buddhism which   circulations and local circumstance. He explained
           emphasizes kindness and compassion for others.  Other   how Buddhist modernism in these three countries
           areas he was remembered for were his social welfare   incorporated notions of orthodoxy from the ideas of the
           programs on filial responsibility, organ donation, and   Buddhist reform movement in China and Taiwan and
           drug abuse rehabilitation. His welfare and community   from the concerns of modern nation states. All three
           programs were well endorsed by the Government.     monks in this study played a stabilizing role in a rapidly
                                                              changing socio-political environment.  EH
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