ABSTRACT
When the bomb exploded in the Sari Club in Legian Street, Kuta, Bali on 12 October 2002, a wave of anguish swept through Balinese life. Although, over the centuries, Bali had not been immune to great pain, violence and suffering, recent times had been peaceful and relatively prosperous within economically struggling Indonesia. The development of tourism through the 1980s and 1990s had generally established a peaceful life for most inhabitants. The bombing by Muslim extremists shattered that peace in many ways that are not all evident to the outsider. The bombing affected various levels of Balinese society, from the financial and political to the religious, cultural and philosophical. It was to the people of Bali as though the delicate and harmonious balance between good and evil had been destroyed. In the Balinese way of seeing the universe, good and evil always coexist. Throughout Balinese art, religion and philosophy there is constant reference to this idea of a balanced universe that recognises the existence of both forces, rwa bhineda. Unlike the dominant, simplistic Western concept of the need to defeat evil and divide the world between the good guys and the villains, the Balinese view is that evil spirits exist and that you need to deal with them, appease them, pacify them, distract them or transform them into good spirits, but you never defeat them. When an imbalance occurs and evil is strong in the world, you must create more good to regain the balance, and so goodness, temple ceremonies and religious duty to the community must all be increased as a response.
