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Tip No. 1:  Money. Don’t leave home without it.

As usual, I was in a state of panic before my trip to Indonesia.  I barely had time to pack my clothes.  I did remember to bring a camera but forgot to bring my money for the trip.

On our second day in Jakarta, Tita D suggested that we take a trip to one of the outlets in Bandung.  As I was getting ready for the trip, I discovered that I left behind the envelop containing the money to pay for our hotels, food and shopping.  I was in a state of shock when I called my dad to tell him what happened.  Of course I got an earful from him before he and Tito L remedied the situation.  I was lucky that Tito L and Tita D were with us in Jakarta and that they loaned me money for the trip.  I am eternally grateful to them and extremely embarassed by this whole thing.

So, to avoid getting an earful from parents or having to unexpectedly borrow money from someone, don’t forget to bring money for the trip. (more…)

An introduction to Balinism

While in Bali, LS coerced me into going to Pura Tanah Lot with her.  When I asked her what Pura Tanah Lot was, she said that it was a temple by the sea.  When I asked her whether it was a Hindu temple, LS told me that it was a Balinese temple and the Balinese people have their own religion, which was something of a mix of Hinduism and animism. 

I was intrigued.  I never knew there was such a religion as Balinism.   Thus, when I came across a book called Bali Chronicles by Willard A. Hanna, I immediately bought it.  In one of the chapters, Hanna tries to describe Balinism and he said this about it:

“In Bali, there is no creed, no dogma, no scripture, no conviction about salvation or damnation by reason of any metaphysical doctrine.  But there is an immense deposit of mystical and spiritual manifestations which the villagers constantly re-experience in daily life, always aware of the living presence in nature of the ancestral and divine spirits.  Under the guidance of the priests who plan the temples and conduct the temple ceremonies, these manifestations assume substance and names and significance.  This arrangement proves philosophically gratifying to the learned and symbolically satisfying to the unlettered.  And there is a rigid code of conduct which conditions every contact between human beings or between men and immortals.”  (Hanna, Bali Chronicles, p. 241 (c 2004).)

While Hanna’s description of Balinism is all the information I have about it, I do know that this system of belief has had a profound impact on the Balinese people who are gentle folk with a peaceful (almost spiritual) demeanor and who show great respect for life, people and  the world around them.

An unorthodox retreat

I asked my friend, Fr. Bill, to prepare for me some spiritual exercises I could do while I was in Indonesia. I felt the need to connect with God.  Although I was only able to accomplish one out of seven spiritual exercises, I had somehow achieved my goal of connecting with God in the strangest and most unorthodox of retreats.  I gained a connection with God through the eyes and practices of persons who, unlike me, are not Catholics. For, while I had not gone to Indonesia to learn about religious beliefs other than my own, I received an unexpected crash course in Islam, Buddhism and Balinism and learned more about Hinduism while I was there. My crash course did not, by any means, provide me with a comprehensive understanding of other religious beliefs.  If at all, it would probably take me several lifetimes to understand those beliefs.  I did, however, come away with the simple realization that a connection to God may be made through Islam, Buddhism, Balinism and Hinduism.  And to me, this is really what matters.