The Discourse of Religious Moderation Values in the Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian Manuscript: A Hermeneutic Study of Ancient Sundanese Wisdom

The study explores the discourse of religious moderation values contained in the Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian (SSKK) manuscript through a Gadamerian hermeneutic approach. The background of this study arises from the awareness that the concept of religious moderation in Indonesia is often understood normatively and detached from local cultural roots, even though values such as tolerance, nonviolence, national commitment, and acceptance of local traditions have long been embedded in the cultural heritage of the archipelago. The SSKK manuscript, as an intellectual legacy of the sixteenth century Old Sundanese civilization, contains moral and spiritual teachings that emphasize harmony among humans, nature, and Hyang as the source of sacredness. This study employs a qualitative design using hermeneutic analysis of two primary manuscript versions, Kropak 630 and Kropak 624, preserved in the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia. The analysis process follows three hermeneutic stages: preunderstanding, fusion of horizons, and contextual interpretation, with theoretical and source triangulation applied to ensure the validity of interpretations. The findings reveal that the SSKK manuscript embodies four core values of religious moderation: national commitment, reflected in teachings on loyalty to leaders and social responsibility; tolerance, manifested in openness to criticism and differences of opinion; nonviolence, expressed through prohibitions against destructive acts and the promotion of peace; and acceptance of local traditions, illustrated by the integration of Hindu teachings with local Sundanese theology in the concept of Hyang. These four values affirm that religious moderation is not a modern construct but an integral part of Old Sundanese spirituality that nurtured social and religious harmony, which remains highly relevant today in strengthening national identity, humanity, and interreligious harmony in contemporary Indonesia.