Hinduism and Buddhism have various worship and rituals obligatory for their followers.

In
this paper, I have some questions regarding worship and ritual in Hinduism and Buddhism.
The worship and rituals of both Hinduism and Buddhism are different in every region
because they have been influenced by the culture.
 
I will start the discussion of worship and rituals from Hinduism. My explanation here is based
on-site visit to Jaganata Temple, the headquarter of the Yogyakarta province Hindu temple.
We have many discussions with Prof. Wayan Artama, the Chief of the Temple. Temple is the
sacred space for Hindus doing worship and ritual. In Hindu worship, there are three main
components; water, flower, and fire. Before the worship, they will do mecaru, giving offerings
for other existing beings that live apart from the human realm. From the Indonesian Hindus'
perspective, Hindu temples are divided into three parts of the mandala. The first mandala is
the sacred space for chosen people that can enter the place. The second mandala, also
called the madya mandala used for congregation worship. The third mandala, the nista
mandala, is the outer part of the temple used for the preparation of worship and rituals. The
explanation from Prof. Wayan was so insightful. Unfortunately, we do not have much time to
discuss this further, and it remains an unanswered question that I will tell in this paper. I
have a question regarding the sacred space in Hinduism. Is there any place or building
deemed sacred by Hindu people worldwide? Do they go on pilgrimage there as Abrahamic
religions do? Furthermore, the explanation above does not represent all Hindu people
because Hare Krishna also has several distinctions from common Hindus in Indonesia. 
 
Meanwhile, talking about Buddhism worship cannot be separated from two large groups of
Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana. In Theravada Buddhism, there are festivals
celebrated annually around forty holy days. However, several days are celebrated the most,
such as the new year, Buddha's birthday, the festival of souls, and the robe offering. They
celebrate the holy day by making offerings, washing the statue of Buddha, and others.
However, the ritual I wonder about in Buddhism is the relic tour. The veneration of relics
becomes an important part of fostering their religiosity. The worship of Buddha in the
Abrahamic religion is like worshipping Buddha's statue. Nevertheless, what they do is more
about following the teaching of Buddha by doing those rituals since they did not have the
doctrine of an impersonal God. Regarding worship and rituals in Buddhism, I want to make
sure. Is Buddhism, at first established, considered a religion or just philosophy? I wonder
about that because the teaching of Buddha seems similar to Greek philosophy.
 
To summarize, the worship and rituals in Hinduism and Buddhism have some similarities.
Hindus and Buddhists have the same sacred space, namely the temple and the rituals such
as meditation, uttering mantras, chanting, and others. Somehow, the worship and rituals in
Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced differently depending on the denomination or region
in which the people live.

Muhammad Ikhsan Attaftazani

22/502077/PMU/11266
Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies