- The Monument of Mankind
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Built between
778 AD and 842 AD by the Çailendra dynasty, this great
Buddhist monument is the precursor of those at Angkor
Wat in Cambodia by at least two centuries. Located in
Borobudur village, Magelang, Borobudur represents a high
expression of the artistic genius of the time and is a
major cultural and tourist attraction. To read this
Buddhist textbook in stone requires a walk of more than
two miles. The walls of the galleries are adorned with
impressive reliefs illustrating the life of Buddha Çakyamuni
and principles of his teaching.
The facts behind the deserting of this magnificent
monument still remains an unsolved mystery. Some
scholars believe that famine caused by Mount Merapi
eruption once swept out the fertile land of Central
Java, forcing the inhabitants to leave their lands and
monuments behind in their search for a new place to
live. When people once again inhabited this area, the
glory of Borobudur had already been buried by soil
erupted from Mount Merapi. It was rediscovered in 1814
by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles who, during his visit in
Semarang, received a report indicating the discovery of
a hill full of many carved stones. The hill was believed
by the local site of an ancient monument called budur.
Raffles then commissioned a team led by Cornelius to
investigate the hill. Some efforts were made to restore
and preserve the colossal monument since then.
Unfortunately, in 1896 the Dutch Colonial Government
gave away eight containers of Borobudur stones, 30
stones with relief, 5 Buddha s tatues,
2 lion statues, several kala stones, stair and gate of
Borobudur, as presents for the King of Siam who visit
Indonesia back then.
Representing the
existence of the universe, Borobudur perfectly reflects
the Buddhist cosmology, which divides the universe into
three intermingled separate levels. The three levels are
Kamadhatu (world of desire), Rupadhatu (world of forms),
and Arupadhatu (world of formlessness). The hidden base
of Borobudur is originally the first level, which
contains the gallery of Kamadhatu level.
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Perhaps during the
construction Borobudur experienced a landfall that
threatened the entire building. To prevent the whole
monument from collapsing, the Kamadhatu level was closed
and made into a new base that hold Borobudur steady.
This level of Kamadhatu pictures the world of passion
and the inevitable laws of karma. The first 117 frames
show various actions leading to one and the same result,
while the other remaining 43 panels demonstrate the many
results that follow one single effect. At least 160
frames of reliefs were carved around this level, based
on the manuscript Karmawibhangga. What was left of these
frames can be seen in the Southeast corner of this
level.
The reliefs of Rupadhatu levels show the stories based
on the manuscript of Lalitavistara, Jataka-Awadana and
Gandavyuha. Lalitavistara reliefs, consisting of 120
frames, tell us about the life of Sidharta Gautama
Buddha. It starts with a glorious descending of Buddha
from the Tushita heaven. Born as Prince Siddharta,
Buddha's childhood was isolated from the outside world's
misery. Accidentally witnessing the misery of sickness,
decrepitude and death, young Prince Siddharta decided to
escape from the worldly life and commencing his search
of freedom from suffering. Siddharta's long and painful
search finally led him to the highest level of
enlightenment and made him Buddha, the Enlightened One.
This story ends with Buddha's sermon in the Deer Park
near Benares.
The Jataka is a
collection of stories about Buddha's previous
reincarnation chains and virtues. According to the
Jataka, Buddha has been born five hundred and four times
before being born as Prince Sidharta either in the forms
of god, kings, princes, learned men, thieves, slaves, or
a gambler. Many times he was born in the forms of
animals such as a lion, deer, monkeys, swan, big turtle,
quail, horse, bird and many others. But the Boddhisatvas
(title of living-beings prepared to be Buddha) were
distinguished from all other kings, slaves, or animals
among whom he lived. The Boddhisatva is always superior
to and wiser than any other of his kinds.
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As to the reliefs of
Awadana, the main figure is not the Buddha himself. All
the saintly deeds pictured in this part are attributed
to other legendary characters. The stories are compiled
in the Dvijavadana (Glorious Heavenly Acts) and the
Awadana Sataka (The Hundred Awadana). The first 20
frames in the lower series of stories on the first
gallery depict the Sudhanakumaravana.
The series of reliefs covering the wall of second
gallery is dedicated to Sudhana's tireless wandering
during his search of the highest wisdom. The story is
continued on the walls and balustrades of the third and
fourth galleries. Most of the 460 frames depicting the
scenes based on the Mahayana holy text Gandavyuha. While
the concluding scenes are derived from the text of Badraçari.
On the last three circular uppermost terraces, 72 stupas
are circling the huge main stupa on the top of this
monument. The circular formation represents eternity,
without beginning and without end; a superlative,
tranquil, and a pure state of the formlessness. No
relief can be found in these three circular terraces.
The following diagram
might also help you seeing another dimension of
Borobudur. Seen from above, the whole monument makes the
world's biggest mandala.
The whole volume of this
massive andhesite monument reaches the number of
56.000m3 and consists of at least 2.000.000 stone
blocks. One cannot help but admiring the determination
and effort of those dedicated people who built such a
great monument. This is Borobudur, the world's greatest
Buddhist monument, the masterpiece of art and faith, the
biggest Buddhist text-book, the vehicle to
enlightenment, the legacy of humanity, the monument of
mankind.
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