Revisiting the Cult of ‘‘Śiva-Buddha’’ in Java and Bali
Résumé
A widespread scholarly opinion has sanctioned the view that ‘Hinduism’ in Java and Bali was fundamentally syncretic in character, forming a blend of Śaiva and Bauddha elements. What has been generally termed the ‘religion of Śiva-Buddha’ or ‘Hindu-Buddhist religion’ (in Indonesian ‘Agama Siwa-Buda’ or ‘Agama Hindu-Buda’), and ascribed to the Hindu-Buddhist era (jaman Hindu-Buda) of Javanese history, has been characterized in terms of ‘identity’, ‘syncretism’, ‘parallelism’ or ‘coalition’. The basic idea that my chapter tries to convey is that the nature of the equation of the paramount principles of Śaivism and Buddhism as expressed by a number of Old Javanese sources from the Singhasari-Majapahit period has not always been correctly grasped, and that alleged instances of “Javanese syncretism” should now be challenged.