Borobudur Temple
Borobudur is a legacy of the Sailendra dynasty. The Sailendra dynasty made up the greatest Buddhist legacy in the world between 780-840 AD.
The Sailendra dynasty was the ruling dynasty at that time. This legacy was made as a place of Buddhist worship as well as a place of pilgrimage.
Borobudur contains guidelines so that humans avoid the world’s passions and towards enlightenment and wisdom according to Buddhism.
Bodobudur was discovered by British troops in 1814 under the leadership of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles. Borobudur was successfully cleaned all in 1835.
Borobudur is made in Mandala style which depicts the universe in Buddhist belief.
The structure of this building is a box with 4 entrances and a center point in the form of a circle.
When viewed from the outside to the inside it consists of 2 sides, namely the realm of the world which consists of 3 zones on the outside, and the realm of Nirvana in the center.
Zone 1 Borobudur: Kamadhatu
The realm of the world that humans seem and are feeling today.
Kamadhatu is divided into 160 reliefs that explain the Karmawibhangga Sutra, namely the law of cause and effect.
Visualizing regarding human character and passions, such as stealing, killing, rape, persecution, and slander.
The cover on the runway has been permanently opened so visitors can see the hidden reliefs at the bottom.
A photo collection of all 160 photo reliefs can be seen at the Borobudur Temple Museum in Borobudur Archaeological Park.
Zone 2 Borobudur: Rupadhatu
The realm of diversion, where humans have been freed from the interests of the world.
Rapadhatu is divided into galleries of stone relief carvings and buddha statues.
In all there are 328 Buddha statues that have relief decorations for their carvings.
According to the Sanskrit manuscripts in this section, they are divided into 1300 reliefs in the form of Gandhawyuha, Lalitawistara, Jataka and Awadana.
All of them stretch 2.5 km long with 1212 panels.
Zone 3 Borobudur: Arupadhatu
The highest realm, the house of God.
There are 3 porches in the form of a circle towards the central dome or stupa which visualizes the awakening of the world.
In this section there are no ornaments or decorations, which means to visualize the highest purity.
The porch in this section is divided into a stupa in the form of a perforated circle, the bell is reversed, containing a Buddha statue towards the outside of the temple.
There are 72 stupas in total.
The largest stupa in the middle is not as high as the original which has a height of 42m above the ground with a diameter of 9.9m.
In contrast to the stupa that surrounds it, the central stupa is empty and raises conversation if there is actually content, but there are also those who have an opinion if the stupa is completely empty.
Relief Borobudur
In total there are 504 Buddhas with a meditative attitude as well as 6 other hand states as far as the temple.
Borobudur Temple Corridor
During the restoration at the beginning of the 20th era, 2 smaller temples were found around Borobudur, namely Pawon Temple and Mendut Temple which are in line with Borobudur Temple.
Pawon Temple is at + – 1.15 km from Borobudur, while Mendut Temple is around + – 3 km from Borobudur Temple.
There is a belief that there is a religious relationship between the 3 temples but they still do not know the exact process of the ritual process.
The 3 temples make a path for the Vesak Day Festival which is held annually during the full moon for April or May.
The festival is a memorial of his birth and death, and the enlightenment given by Buddha Gautama.
Borobudur Temple is a very magnificent Buddhist temple, built between 750 and 850 AD.
Borobudur was restored in 1815 under the supervision of Rafles, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Java during British rule.
The total reconstruction of thousands of stones and reliefs was carried out by the Indonesian government with the assistance of UNESCO.
Completed through a 10 year restoration project in 1984.
Currently, Borobudur is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site which has 7 levels and 1460 carved stone reliefs.
Stone carvings that tell about Buddhist stories and reflect the steps of life from worldliness to reaching heaven.
Located 42 km from the city of Jogja . Open: Sunday Monday (06.00 am-17.15pm)
Relief at the Foot of Borobudur
If we look further back.
We can see that the reliefs at the foot of Borobudur Temple have a relationship with the main points of the Buddha’s guidance.
The reliefs that decorate the foot of the temple visualize guidance regarding human misery and the results of human actions in the next life.
By comparing the relief sculpture with the Buddhist scriptures or the Sutra, it can be seen that the temple reliefs are both connected to tell a narrative that translates more meaning into the Mahakarmavibhanga Sutra, or the law of karma. About misery is the result of action. Or the law of cause and effect.
There are 160 panels that contain episodes for relief telling stories about everyday life.
Actions that result from a good and a bad.
The risks involved in every action, and heaven and hell.
There are 23 of them all are excerpts from the Mahakarmavibhanga Sutra. As shown by the word karma, this relief visualizes various human actions and their effects.
Some of the episodes can be interpreted as the symbol of pratitya samutpada, which refers to the Bhacavakra mandala from Tibet.
In this mandala there are:
(1) avidya (indifference)
Avidya (indifference) is symbolized by a blind woman.
(2) samskara (track boost)
The samskara (anvil thrust) is symbolized by the pottery being made by craftsmen.
(3) vijnana (consciousness)
Vijnana (consciousness) is described as a monkey reaping fruit,
(4) namarupa (personality)
Namarupa (personality) is described as a boat in one journey,
(5) all (to the six sense organs)
Sadayatana (the six sense organs) is in the form of a house with several windows,
(6) sparsa (braid)
Sparsa (braid) is depicted with a kiss,
(7) vedana (hati)
Vedana (heart) depicted by a man with an arrow in his eye,
(8) trsna (desire)
Trsna (desire) is described through the drinking episode,
(9) upadana (derma)
Upadana (charity) is described through the activity of reaping fruit from trees,
(10) bhava (event process)
Bhava (event process) is depicted with a pregnant woman,
(11) jati (birth)
Jati (birth) is drawn with birth episodes, as well
(12) jaramaranam
Jaramaranam (old age and death) is depicted with a corpse brought to the place of execution.
The meaning of the entire series of reliefs illustrates the idea of ??karma.
Here a pratitya samutpada framework is made which is divided into 12 links that visualize human suffering.
Now, a series of reliefs are at the foot of the Borobudur temple.
Thus, the foot of the Borobudur Temple contains one principal Buddhist guidance that prioritizes 2 Truths.
The first truth; life is misery, and misery has a cause.
These are the reasons we learn together so as not to fall into misery.
The Secret Behind the Name of Borobudur Temple
Borobudur Temple is very mystical which raises questions for some people who witness it.
Researchers, archaeologists, and visitors are immersed in the mystique and the various questions that come with it when climbing this temple.
A simple question that has not been answered so far is: What’s behind the name Borobudur?
Borobudur is the real name or maybe not.
It seems that the name Borobudur is really his real name, but this admission has no solid evidence to support it.
Many efforts have been made to research this question, but not a single interpretation can be proved.
So far, the steps to recognize the real name of Borobudur are by looking at the 2 sides that made his name, Boro and Budur.
This theory was initiated by Poerbatjaraka. He said that “boro” can be concluded as a monastery, which today can be seen as a monastery.
The moment “budur” is the name of a place.
That way, Borobudur can be concluded as “Vihara di Budur”.
A little legacy from one monastery was discovered in 1952 when excavations were made in the western courtyard of Borobudur.
An ancient manuscript was found named Nagarakrtagama from 1365 which contained the name Budur in it.
In the manuscript, budur is the sanctuary of Mahayana Buddhism.
Another Approach The Name of Borobudur
Another approach is mentioned by de Casparis who successfully visualizes the expiration side of the stone charter discovered in 842.
Through text reconstruction, he reads the side of the stone as “bhumisambharabhudura”, which means “Mountain of Wisdom from the Ten Levels of Bodhisattva”.
The word “Bharabhudura” was taken and changed to Borobudur. The reform used is a summary that takes place because of the vocalization of the lisa language.
On the other hand, the first side of the word sounds similar to “Bumisegoro”, which is called the name of the southern hamlet of Borobudur.
It is interesting to note that before the word was found, another word was found, namely “kamulan”.
This word means “Sacred Place of the Ancestors”. Therefore, it is clear that the intertwining of Borobudur and the temple for ancestor worship is clear.
Another simple but difficult question to answer is: how long has Borobudur temple been actively used? When did it stop as a monument to glorify a powerful dynasty, or as a center of Buddhist pilgrimage?
The general assumption is that this temple began to fall into disuse when some people converted to Islam in the 15th century era.
Borobudur Temple may have been left behind when the center of political and cultural activity moved to East Java for the tenth century era.