Hi Eagles!
As Semester 1 comes to an end, let's take a look at some major events that happened throughout the Semester. Aside from this, we will also be talking about the subject of Religion in our school, and how it plays a significant role not only in contemporary society but also in our daily lives.
Some major events that happened during Semester 1 of the 2021-2022 academic year included the following but were not limited to: the HMI Learning System which finally allowed students to interact and study face to face. Not only did this successfully increase productivity levels but students were, and are now able to engage with one another. Another major event that occured at the start of the semester was the Teacher’s Day Celebration followed by the October Spirit Week and many more exciting events!
Apart from the recent happenings, let’s dive into the religions practiced at Sekolah Ciputra. One of them being Buddhism. Passing down Siddhārtha Gautama’s tale, Buddhism possesses the teaching of how suffering is liberated by cultivating wisdom, concentration and virtue. This is done through a cycle of meditation, services and even choosing to live in prayer and contemplation. For a clearer understanding of how Buddhism is taught here, we’ve interviewed Mr Rahula, the religion teacher for Buddhists. Centering his teachings from the Paritta, the Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures, Mr Rahula emphasized that tolerance towards other religions is fully based on one’s choices and mindset. As people differ in terms of personalities, it’s hard to really define what’s the right method to tolerate religions apart from ours. This is why Buddhism values reflection as it gives us the space and time to contemplate about our actions and to be aware of the consequences followed or in other words, the concept of Karma. Basing it upon ourselves, the teaching of Karma can be done even on school grounds in order to develop a better learning environment. Students can bring good Karma by the action of sharing. By taking the positive aspects of our lives and sharing them through knowledge, care and even through the values of one’s religion can bring good to ourselves. Other than the intention of sharing, tolerance or Karma can also be practiced by respecting religions belonging to others. At Sekolah Ciputra, events are celebrated such as Christmas and the month of Ramadan. Although Buddhism doesn’t necessarily celebrate these events, merely attending or participating in these events is more than enough.
This is a picture of religion practice for Buddhist students led by Mr. Rahula, it starts with the opening prayers & meditations and further followed by Buddhist sermons talking about the misconception and reality of Nirvana, the end suffering / the state all buddhists-aspire.
Moving onto Islam, there are 4 main factors that Allah S.W.T was trying to exhibit through Nabi Muhammad S.A.W and his teachings to influence his followers’ characteristics with the purpose of having a better relationship with God, Faith, Moral, Ritual, and History. These factors teach his followers to bring themselves closer to Allah S.W.T and become devoted to his Ritual. Considering living in virtue is a necessity in Islam, Allah S.W.T urges his followers to not repay evil with evil, and to repay it with forgiveness which contributes to an individual on having a high morality. Not only forgiveness but respect, by letting other people celebrate their own beliefs. To gain a more specific understanding of virtue, we’ve interviewed Mr. Amir, the Islam teacher. He highlighted the welfare of virtue through tolerance, as it is one of the moral standards of Islam.
Being tolerant is a very important aspect of behavior in the world, especially for us living in Indonesia. Its aim is to minimize conflict and live in peace with others. In Indonesia there are 6 recognized religions, they are Islam, Christian Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhism, and Konghucu. All 6 religions do teach religious tolerance to their believers. Without tolerance, there is a possibility that conflict may arise from the lack of respect, which can occur through religion considering religion is a very sensitive topic once it is being argued over.
This is a picture of religion practice for Muslim students, staffs and teachers conducting Friday praying in the school’s Multi Purpose Hall.
Another religion being taught in Sekolah Ciputra is Christianity. Followers of Jesus are called Christians. In building a peaceful life with others, the attitude of having tolerance is important. In addition, Christians can quote and learn from the bible that Jesus teaches us to always love one another regardless of their background, which is shown in the Bible Verse, Colossians 3:13 which says “Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you”. Not only is tolerance an important skill to nurture, Christians learn how to forgive one another despite our differences and past wrongdoings. To elaborate on the information above, the OSIS team decided to interview Christian religion teachers, Mr. Edi Catur Nugroho and Ms. Victoria Woen.
Religious tolerance is a very important aspect to have in our lives, especially living in Indonesia. As you all might know, Indonesia is a multicultural country with multiple religions, race and skin colors. A way to keep religious tolerance starts with understanding our surroundings. The next step is to acknowledge ourselves by how God created us. The final step, which is the most important step, is that collaborating and accepting one another is very important to show religious tolerance and to achieve a peaceful life where everyone can get along with one another. A message that everyone can apply in their daily lives is to not pick on who we should help. As Christians, they should be familiar with a biblical figure, named James. For those of you who don't know who James is, James is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. In the bible, James says that faith without action is death. That is why as Christians sharing the word of God is important as we should always spread positivity and kindness to everyone.
This is a picture of Christian religious activity on the 26th of November 2021. The main sermon revolves around the verse Matthew 5:13-16 which talks about Christians being the salt and light of the world. Salt and light in Christian’s perspective means being a positive impactful person towards others.
Similar to Christianity, Catholic closely shares several beliefs and values that branch from the same roots. In Catholicism, the Bible and Jesus Christ himself teaches and reminds people to be tolerant and respectful towards each other, no matter their differences. Mark 12:31 in the Holy Bible states that “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” This bible verse encourages us to cherish and respect people around us as to love ourselves. Another bible verse encouraging respect and tolerance towards everyone can be found in 1 John 4:7, which states that “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.” This verse reinforces that must love, for God is present in each of us; if an individual loves God but not a human, therefore it is the same as not loving God.
The OSIS team has interviewed Mr. Angelus Li and Mr. Thomas Armadi, Catholic religion teachers to help us understand Catholicism and tolerance further. As religion is an important thing for many people, Catholic teachings allow us to grow better as people and build a stronger connection with God. On the basis, every religion teaches its followers morals and teachings, which Catholics should use in the right way to correct and apply into our lives. Though society may have people of many differences, no matter what, every individual should always come back to themselves, back to their true self. Catholics shouldn’t allow negativity to influence our souls; instead, Catholics must always reflect, pray, apologize to God, and ask for guidance so Catholics don’t repeat the same mistakes again. Religion classes provided in Sekolah Ciputra teaches students important skills and morals that are needed in the real world. For example, they teach students why and how to respect people through the boundaries of different religions. Though there may be differences amongst people as Catholics, believers are all the same in God’s eyes - all believers are His creation.
Image of Catholic religious activity on the 26th of November 2021. Mr. Angelus Li and Mr. Thomas Armadi are leading the activity, starting it with an opening greeting and quote from Lucas 21:31 which translates into ‘Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.’ in English.
Hinduism is another religion taught in Sekolah Ciputra. This religion shares a lot of beliefs with the other religions; among them are common terms with Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Hindu is a diverse way of life that is marked with a wide variety of philosophies, rituals, pilgrimage sites and shared concepts. Reincarnation is a key aspect when it comes to Hinduism, a rebirth of an individual that moves on even after bodily death, be it through the consciousness, the soul, the mind, and or any other entities. One aspect Hinduism shares with Buddhism is the existence of Karma. Karma is the belief that our soul will bear the mark of every sin, deeds, good or bad we have performed whilst still alive. As an example, if someone has a good sum of positive karma during their previous lives they will be reborn and or reincarnated into something better than their previous status quo. OSIS has recently interviewed the resident Hindu teacher Ms Tutik in Ciputra on the topic of religious tolerance. When asked about her opinions on religious tolerance, Ms. Tutik has expressed that Indonesia is a cultured and diverse country. She believes that most people have to step out of the mindset of “My religion is the only correct one” and that Hindus have to be more open minded instead. She has also observed that us Indonesian citizens should be proud of our country for having a good base concept in maintaining respect despite our different religious backgrounds. Said base concepts stem from our national motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika '' and from our first Sila in Pancasila, in daily life one easy method to pay your respects to other religions other than your own is to give well wishes when a person of different beliefs celebrates a religious festivity. Asking further on how Hindus can be tolerant, Ms. Tutik advises that you fill your inner self with care and kindness, meditate, and clear your mind so that you can become a person with love towards all of God’s creations. If Hindus are filled with love they can in turn give love to others, only then can you be able to accept others as who they are, from there seeds of tolerance will be planted. Ms. Tutik also goes on to say that we need to be reflective of ourselves, especially when dealing with beliefs outside of our own religion. We as Sekolah Ciputra students need to understand that in a learning enviroment we are different but we do not need to be the same, try understanding and communicating with others without being discriminatory. Proper communication and mutual respect is something undeniably important when it comes to religious tolerance.
Image of Hindu religious activity, discussing the history of Hindu in India and Indonesia. This picture was taken before the pandemic. As of now in Hindu religious activities, safety/pandemic regulations have been taken. To conclude, the OSIS team hopes that all Sekolah Ciputra students can always be tolerant and respect one another. We all shouldn’t judge other people's backgrounds or even their religion as we all must implement open mindedness through for example not choosing friends. Moreover, the OSIS team would like to say Thank You for the biggest support you have all given to us in our first semester of the 2021-2022 Academic Year. We would also like to say Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you and adios 2021, see you all in 2022!
This article was written by the OSIS Public Relations Team (Michael Sean Gunawan 11DP, Zidane Julio Junior 11UDP, Yumiko Giselle Suryadi 11DP, Felice Agnes 10C, Anastasia Lilananda 8C & Bianca Purwadi 10B), Edited by the OSIS Team (Wenny Wibisono 11DP) & Supervised by Mr. Rizal Rakhmat Dwianto.
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