Borobudur Temple Golden Tales of the Buddhas

Who does not know Borobudur?
The glorious ninth-century Buddhist stupa of Borobudur – a gigantic central stupa rests on a massive lotus-shaped base half a meter thick, making this the largest Buddhist stupa in the world stands in the midst of the lush Kedu plain of Central Java in Indonesia, where it is visited annually by over a million people. Borobudur contains more than a thousand exquisitely carved relief panel exceeding along its many terraces for a total distance of more than a kilometer. There are arranged so as to take the visitors on spiritual journey to enlightenment, an one ascends the monument past scenes depicting the world of desire, the life story of Buddha, and the heroic deeds of other enlightened beings – finally arriving at the great circular terrace at the top of the structure that symbolize the formless world of pure knowledge and perfection

It contains of a series of concentric terrace of decreasing size that rise like steps to a central peak. It has no roof, no vault, no chamber; its masonry was laid without mortar. This basic simplicity of form is counterbalanced by extraordinary rich and complex decoration. Borobudur houses a staggering 2,672 relief panels, covering a total area of about 1900 square meter, with another 600 square meters of decorative carving surroundings, as well as 504 Buddha statues.

Borobudur was built by King Samaratungga, one of the kings of Old Mataram Kingdom, the descendant of Sailendra dynasty. Based on Kayumwungan inscription, an Indonesian named Hudaya Kandahjaya revealed that Borobudur was a place for praying that was completed to be built on 26 May 824, almost one hundred years from the time the construction was begun. The name of Borobudur, as some people say, means a mountain having terraces (budhara), while other says that Borobudur means monastery on the high place.

Borobudur is constructed as a ten-terraces building. The height before being renovated was 42 meters and 34.5 meters after the renovation because the lowest level was used as supporting base. The first six terraces are in square form, two upper terraces are in circular form, and on top of them is the terrace where Buddha statue is located facing westward. Each terrace symbolizes the stage of human life. In line with of Buddha Mahayana, anyone who intends to reach the level of Buddha's must go through each of those life stages.

The base of Borobudur, called Kamadhatu, symbolizes human being that are still bound by lust. The upper four stories are called Rupadhatu symbolizing human beings that have set themselves free from lust but are still bound to appearance and shape. On this terrace, Buddha effigies are placed in open space; while the other upper three terraces where Buddha effigies are confined in domes with wholes are called Arupadhatu, symbolizing human beings that have been free from lust, appearance and shape. The top part that is called Arupa symbolizes nirvana, where Buddha is residing.

Each terrace has beautiful relief panels showing how skillful the sculptors were. In order to understand the sequence of the stories on the relief panels, you have to walk clockwise from the entrance of the temple. The relief panels tell the legendary story of Ramayana. Besides, there are relief panels describing the condition of the society by that time; for example, relief of farmers' activity reflecting the advance of agriculture system and relief of sailing boat representing the advance of navigation in Bergotta (Semarang).

All relief panels in Borobudur temple reflect Buddha's teachings. For the reason, this temple functions as educating medium for those who want to learn Buddhism.I suggests that you walk through each narrow passage in Borobudur in order for you to know the philosophy of Buddhism. Atisha, a Buddhist from India in the tenth century once visited this temple that was built 3 centuries before Angkor Wat in Cambodia and 4 centuries before the Grand Cathedrals in Europe.

Borobudur is a place of pilgrimage for those of the Buddhist faith. Its passages were designed for monks to circumambulate the edifice in silent prayer. Along the lower square terraces, they would be flanked by carvings such as the biography of the Lord Buddha, from his descent from heaven until his enlightenment, which is depicted on the main wall of the first gallery.

As they ascended to the higher circular terraces, they would be surrounded by unembellished stone walls, representing Buddhism’s Sphere of Formlessness. Above them, the main stupa – which is empty, signifying Nirvana – would soar into the sky.

Thanks to visiting Borobudur and having supply of Buddha teaching script from Serlingpa (King of Sriwijaya), Atisha was able to improve Buddha's teachings after his return to India and he built a religion institution, Vikramasila Buddhism. Later he became the leader of Vikramasila monastery and taught Tibetans of practicing Dharma. Six scripts from Serlingpa were then summarized as the core of the teaching called "The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment" or well known as Bodhipathapradipa.

Ancient Javanese came to Borobudur as pilgrim – to climb this holy man-made mountain and attain spiritual merit. Borobudur provides a place where Buddhists could physically and spiritually pass through the ten stages of development that would transform them into enlightened bodhisattvas. This transformation was the monument’s main purpose, and both the overall design as well as the stories portrayed on Borobudur’s relief is all connected with this theme.

Pilgrim standing before the monument for the first time would undoubtedly have felt awed and somewhat daunted by its looming mass, just as we do today. Borobudur has a purposeful air, as though it is prepared to do something to us should we venture into its maze of stair way, galleries, terraces, and sculptures. Nothing in our past experiences prepare us for what it to come when se tour the monument and surrender to its power.

On top of this, Borobudur lies amid great natural beauty. As I stood atop the candi’s highest tier, I was almost eye to eye with Mount Merapi, the still-active volcano that soars 2,911 meters in the northeast. It was wrapped in fluffy clouds, while on the ground, green rice paddies stretched for miles. On the western and southern edges, the Menoreh hills rose and fell. This is the geographical center of Java. Called the Kedu Plain, it is also known as the Garden of Java as it has been made unusually fertile and lush by volcanic earth and the intersection of two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

Once a year during the full moon in May, the Buddhists hold the Waicak ceremony commemorating the birth of Buddha, the delivery of his first sermon and his death. The ceremony is held at the Candi Mendut and is attended by thousands of Buddhists coming from all over Indonesia.The following morning the Buddhists walk in a procession from Candi Mendut passing the small Candi Pawon and finally to Candi Borobudur where another ceremony is staged. This sequence, Mendut - Pawon - Borobudur symbolizes the stages of becoming a true Buddhist. To gain a deeper understanding of the history of Buddhism, visitors are advised to follow the above sequence when visiting the temples.

A question about Borobudur that is still unanswered by far is how the condition around the temple was at the beginning of its foundation and why at the time of it's finding the temple was buried. Some hypotheses claim that Borobudur in its initial foundation was surrounded by swamps and it was buried because of Merapi explosion. It was based on Kalkutta inscription with the writing 'Amawa' that means sea of milk. The Sanskrit word was used to describe the occurrence of disaster. The sea of milk was then translated into Merapi lava. Some others say that Borobudur was buried by cold lava of Merapi Mountain.

Borobudur at the crossroads

According to the authorities, Borobudur gets about 2.5 million visitors a year, the bulk of whom are Indonesians. When I went, schools were on their year-end break so a high proportion of the visitors that day were large groups of excited students on school outings. The rest were mostly families from neighboring provinces who had come on holiday, and a handful of foreign tourists accompanied by their guides (or guidebooks).

On a Sunday, the entrance at the foot of the monument was already buzzing with people eager to set foot on the monument and across the length of Borobudur Park, I could see a never-ending stream of people making their way toward the entrance. On the top, several visitors, mostly teenagers or children, were seated on top of the stupas, despite signs forbidding visitors to do so. Strewn across the floors of Borobudur’s many terraces was litter – cigarette butts, empty bottles of mineral water, plastic bags. The few dustbins that were available were already full to the brim. It was not a pretty sight.

It is comforting to know that so many people make the effort to visit Borobudur. After all, the monument is a present-day window to Indonesia’s glorious past. It is also an enduring memento of the advanced level of craftsmanship that prevailed in Java at a time when Western Europe was struggling through its Dark Ages.

Little wonder, then, that so many are drawn to Borobudur, which is already under threat, even without the crowds. According to the Borobudur Heritage Conservation Institute, acid rain has damaged some of the carvings, while global warming could cause more fissures and cracks in the monument’s stones.

The growing number of tourists to Borobudur, which is managed by PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko, add further strain. Litter is not just unsightly; the remnants of cigarettes or sugary drinks could damage the porous surfaces of the monument’s stones. Overcrowding along the steep stairs holds the risk of accidents, should a child or elderly person slip and fall.

Poorly supervised youngsters mean unnecessary touching of carvings, or worse, climbing onto statues and stupas, contributing to erosion of its more fragile surfaces. Painstakingly restored in the ‘70s and ‘80s with help from UNESCO, the Borobudur temple is a grand inheritance that every Indonesian should be proud of, regardless of religion. It would be a shame to let it succumb today to modern-day tourism.