Borobudur - The Microcosm Of The Universe

Borobudur is a ninth century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.






Microcosm of the Universe - Borobudur

It was built to resemble a microcosm of the universe and its purpose was to provide a visual image of the teachings of the Buddha and show, in a practical manner, the steps through life that each person must follow to achieve enlightenment. The pilgrim to this shrine would first have been led around the base and shown the friezes, which illustrate the consequences of living in the World of Desire. In this realm ruled by Greed, Envy, and Ignorance, man is a slave to earthly desires and suffers from the illusions that are caused by these unfulfilled yearnings, a state regarded as hell by Buddhists.

After completing this circuit, the pilgrim was then led in a clockwise fashion through five levels in a gradual ascension of the pyramid. Here he was shown how to conquer desire and attachment by viewing 1300 panelled friezes that illustrate the life of the Buddha and his previous incarnations. These levels were called the World of Form and correspond to the earthly realm in Buddhist symbology. The passages of both of these realms followed the square shape of the pyramid but above these two lay the World of Formlessness where the right-angled, heavily decorated passages gave way to a round unadorned summit where meditating Buddhas and saints sit in supreme bliss contemplating a view of exquisite beauty. In the centre a bell shaped tower, or stupa, points to heaven, a blissful realm beyond form and concept, known as Nirvana.

Encompassing the totality of existence with its representations of heaven, earth, and hell in this metaphor of stone, the monument was abandoned after a severe earthquake and a large eruption of the volcano Merapi in 1006 AD until it was rediscovered by the West during colonial times. One of the miracles, perhaps equalling the miracle of its construction and craftsmanship, is that the monument still exists and can be seen to this day. This area of Java is one of the most earthquake prone regions in the world as well as one of the most volcanic. From the top of the temple, the volcano Merapi is easily visible, still smoking to this day, having erupted on more than a few occasions during the last millennia.





This is a great place to visit. You can also visit Jogjakarta, Solo,Semarang and even climb the Mount Merapi.....

This is a remarkable Buddhist treasure found in the world's most populated Muslim country.....


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what is the message embedded in all these architectural story of the life of buddha ? why was it built? what message to humankind?

This is a MUST place to visit for those who are keen to know about Buddhism....see for yourself the levels of spiritual development and what did you achieve when you reach the TOP level...the Highest Stupa....all the stupas contain a buddha...only THE TOP STUPA CONTAINS NO BUDDHA.....

From Borubodur, you can take a bus or a cab to Solo - the important and notorious city of Indonesia. Well known for its batik handicraft....and also well known for other activities. A breeding ground for many prominent people....









Nice,Peaceful and Clean,Solo

These narrow lanes are lined by nice and simple houses, very close together like those houses found in Kyoto,Japan. Perhaps Solo is greatly influenced by many cultures - Javanese,Chinese, Dutch and Japanese cultures. But this neat row of houses is very classical and iconic of Solo.You don't find them anywhere else in Indonesia. And it's very clean and well kept too. This place is small and cute - very neat and very clean.

Don't forget to visit The Taman Sari.....









...underground secret prayer house....this place is full of deadly traps....



The Tunnel Of Death - Taman Sari Water Castle

Taman Sari means beautiful park. It is about ten minutes walk from the Sultan's Palace south-west ward. Sultan Hamengku Buwono I in 1757 built this park. He created a new style that was a combination and a mixture of Javanese and Portuguese architecture. Taman sari was once a beautiful and sophisticated water-park. The area around the park eastward to the city quarters called "Kampung Segaran" was once full of water. This place is now called Suryoputran. Segaran is a Javanese word means a man-made ocean or an artificial sea. Every time the Sultan visited the park, he went there by rowing a private canoe through the suspension bridge called "Kreteg Gantung" which lay in front of the Palace gate, southward or northward of Kemandungan. The remained building that was once connected by the suspension bridge can still be seen nowadays. Besides water transportation, there was also an underground passage or alley from the Sultan Palace leading to one of the park buildings which called Pasarean Ledok Sari. The castle once has a place for relaxation and entertainment as well, a unique mechanism of defence.

Because the water which flows within Taman Sari was not only to beautify the castle, but it also functioned as a secret weapon for avoiding dangers. Whenever the enemies attacked, Sultan and his family would flee away through the underground passage. When all the Sultan's family were already in a safe place, the Watergate would be opened and the water would overflow the passages and flood the place thus drowning the enemies. A very ingenious trap to protect the royal family.

One part of the place was called Pulau Kenanga because in the front yard of the building grown Kenanga trees (Canangium Odoratum). The flowers spread out the sweet fragrance through all parts of the park. The lofty buildings such as the pond were built especially for the Sultan and his family as a bath-place. Recent restoration has been done on the underground passage leading to the west area, the bulwark that is encircled the area of the Palace, and another path, which lead southward to a small village, called Krapyak.

This interesting part of this water castle are some of the building such as Kenanga or Cemeti Island (forming Island), Sumur Gemuling and underground tunnels.This artificial island is a high building used as resting room and watch-tower. This will be the only building surfaced when the canals opened and the water flooded this area. From the higher place it like lotus floating in the middle of big pool.

Sumur Gemuling is a special building constructed in a circle like a well (Javanese: sumur) where some of the rooms were formerly used as praying room and as safety rooms. The Sultan was known to pray in this secret chamber.

The tunnels in this area were underground passageways to the Sultan palace. Legend depicts stories about secret tunnels connecting to the south sea (Indian Ocean) where Nyai Roro Kidul or the Queen of the South has her palace. The supernatural Queen became the wife of Yogyakarta Sultan for many generations. This secret tunnel was the gateway to the world where the Sultan met his supernatural wife. However the building also functioned as a hiding place for the royal family against the enemy attack.

The Wayang Kulit Show ....

Wayang Kulit, is a type of puppet shadow play performed around the Indomalayan archipelago, tracing its origins to India. It is derived from a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist tradition, where hand-crafted leather puppets depict epic stories of the gods in shadow play. A traditional Gamelan orchestra would accompany the story-telling.

Wayang, in modern Indonesian language, is loosely translated to mean "show" or "performance". Kulit means "skin", a reference to the leather material that the figures are carved out of. Some attribute the word wayang to the Indonesian word bayang which means "shadow". It is also believed that the word wayang has its roots in two earlier words: waya which means "ancestors" and ang which means "a symbol". The term wayang kulit is also used as an idiom to refer to the behind-the-scenes manouverings in the political arena.

The puppets come in all sizes, ranging from 25 cm to 75 cm. A basic village set has over a hundred puppets and there are as many as 500 puppets in a palace set. The important characters are usually represented by several versions in a set. The puppets are usually made out of buffalo and goat hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. The best puppets are made from young female water buffalo parchment and the curing can take up to ten years.

In a shadow puppet play, the puppets are moved behind a cotton or linen screen by a Dalang, or a "Puppetmaster". The Dalang tells the story, interprets characters and voices for each character, producing sound effects with speech and movement. He manipulates all the figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life.

Most shadow play is based on two epic stories from India - the Mahabarata and it's sister work, the Ramayana. The Balinese and Javanese have combined the Hindu stories with Buddhist and Muslim ideas mixed with their own folklore.

Shadow play is accompanied by a Gamelan orchestra, an Indonesian orchestra. Many styles of Gamelan instruments exist throughout Indonesia. Each area has a slightly different approach to accompaniment, though most share the same root traditions. Gamelan players respond to the spontaneous timing and direction of the Dalang. The repertoire typically consists of an overture, music for travelling, character pieces, and battle music.

Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

How did buddhism come to South east Asia and why did it not persisted?