archaeology

by Gwen Herat

The Borobudur temple built in the 12th century. The sculptured walls extending to over six kilometeres is hailed as the most complete ensemble in Buddhism, in the world.

    Borobudur is located in anlidylie surrounding which is the heart of Java, landscaped by beautiful mountains. It is in south and southwest of Menorah Mountains and on the north and north-east of the volcanos Sumbing and Sendara.

    A delicate, peaceful atmosphere created by the rice fields in all nuances of green to gold, whispering bamboo trees, slender palm trees among the singing of birds with their arabesque colours when in flight.

    About 27 km from Yogyakrta, the splendour of this Buddhist monument rises in all its glory and rests on top of a hill to kiss the sky. At the foot of its cooling shade is the Bodhi tree that fan hundreds of its visitors on their pilgrimage.

    The name of Borobudur remains vague but Sanskrit translators have pegged it down to vihara. Accordingly, Borobudur means dormitory, monastery or a complex of temples on a hill. Undoubtedly, it is a remnant of a edifice monastery discovered in the west part of the court yard. Based on the inscription of Cri Kahulunan which is 842 A.D. along with Sanscrit inscription found, Indonesian experts suggest the date of construction to be around 800 A.D.

Dynasty

    Central Java was then ruled by the kings of the Cailendra dynasty who were the believers of Mahayana Buddhism. As the Borobudur is a Mahayana-Buddhist monument, the experts concluded that it was constructed during the reign of the kings. For a century and half the Borobudur had been the spiritual centre of Buddhism in Java.
One of the many stupas that make up Borobudur.
Pix by P. G. Punchihewa
         With the fall of the kingdom of Mataram in 919 A.D. and the shift of the political and cultural activities from Central Java to East Java, the divine monuments in Central Java including the Borobudur had been completely neglected and had begun to decay. The sanctuary was exposed to volcanic eruptions and other ravages of nature.

    Vegetation destroyed the stones which are the part the monument, especially the upper parts which collapsed while the rest were buried. People lost interest in the Borobudur and it fell into oblivion.

    However, at the beginning of the 18th century the Javanese began to take interest in Borobudur once more. This can be deduced from some manuscripts dating from that period. In the Babad Tanah Java, mention was made of Mas Dana who rebelled against Pakubuwana (1709 - 1710). He was captured at red Borobudur which is the mount of Borobudur. Fifty years later, (1757 - 1758) a noble man from Yogyakarta travelled to Borobudur to see the thousands of statues. Since the period of Sir Th St. Rafles (1814) attempts were made to remove the earth and underbrush to draw plans and make descriptions.

One of the 432 Buddha statues that adorn the stupas and set above balustrades in Borobudur.

    It should be noted that in 1896 the Government offered King Chulalangon of Siam who visited Indonesia a year later, a great number of statues. Among the statues exported to Siam were the five Dhyani-Buddha, two lions, a makara gargoyle and a lion-head from the stair-case-wings, a kalali head and many others.

    In 1956 at the request of the Indonesian Government, a Belgian expert came to Indonesia on a UNESCO mission in order to make a general investigation of the monuments. The main conclusion of his study was that the preservation of Borobudur would require the elimination of the effect of water.

    This was the main destructive element. An application for further advice was sought by the Indonesian Government to the UNESCO. Professor C. Voute was a famous geologist at that time. He and G. Groslier were assigned to Indonesia in order to make a further study on possible means of protecting the edifice.

    It soon became apparent that the gigantic restoration project would require a colossal amount of money and time and that it would also require co-operation of experts from a number of different fields. Therefore, the Indonesian Government appealed again to UNESCO and final restoration took place in 1974.

    Little is known about the people who built Borobudur. It seems however that between about 750 and 850 A.D. two dynasties ruled neighbouring areas in Central Java.

    One of the Mataran worshipped the Hindu God Shiva. The other which was known as Sailendra consisted of Mahayana Buddhists who may have immigrated from what is known as Cambodia today. For more than a century these rival but apparantly unfriendly houses engaged in what must have been a competition to build the most impressive structure honouring their respective deities.

Buddhist poetry

    Buddhism is based on the beliefs in successive reincarnations for every human being. Firstly, Buddhism is not a religion in the sense of belief in the existence of God or deity who is worshipped but a teaching or instructions to liberate man from the cycle of death. It is a philosophy of life as one would wish to look at from that angle. Life in all its manifestation is suffering.

    Suffering is caused by desire and lust… Suffering can be annihilated. This is the theory that Buddhism wants translated into practice.

    The last Buddha as history records, lived in 563-483 B.C.. He was Siddhartha also known as Gautama and descended from Sakya. Prior to his death as Siddhartha He had experienced many incarnations on earth and he too was not free from the laws of karma.

    He had passed through a series of incarnations even as an animal but was always wise and sensible. Before he obtained divinity, he was called Bodhisattwa which means Buddha of the future. The stories of his early incarnates are recorded in the Jataka series.

    Before Gauthama Buddha was born, there were already 24 Buddhas and each was called Dipankara Buddha and of the future was Maitrya who was in Tushita-heaven.

    Manusha-Buddha (Human-Buddha) according to Mahayana, descended from the original Buddha. There are six types of Dhayanai-Buddhas (Meditating-Buddhas). Each governs a definite point of compass.

    Zenith - Wairacomma, East - Akshobhya, North - Amogasiddha, West - Amithaba and South - Ratnaasmbhawa.

    Every Dhyani-Buddha governs certain definite periods in the world and the same time their own creator. In the position of Buddha in meditation, they cannot execute directly but via Dhanayani-Bodhisattwa which is the fruit of meditation. The Dhanyani Bodhisattwa is the executor for the Dhayani-Buddha.

Supreme Buddha

    Buddha can be easily recognised because he is always represented as a human being and never having more than the usual number of limbs. He always wears a robe consisting of three parts of which two are visible.

(A) Outer garment - This leaves his right shoulder bare when in sitting position.
(B) Outer-Garment - Visible at the legs.

The influence

    Rising from the centre of his skull is a round protuberance of hair (Ushania) twisted small curls cover the head. Between his eyebrows, is a small round lump (Urna) or ‘pottu’ Bodhisattwa has the same sign. When standing apart, Bodhisattwa never holds anything in his hands except on a relief like Sakyamuni who has a bowl in his hands. The attitude of his hands (mudra) denotes meaning and distinguish one Buddha from another.

    Its ideal has dominated the religious landscape of Java for centuries in a continuous evolution. It was found in the earlier phases and moved into later development even through ravages of time. It stands as a rich Buddhist heritage and influence the people of Indonesia from century to century. Borobudur is the oldest surviving Buddhist monument.

    Borobudur inspires and influence thousands who go to pay their respect and work through a divine knowledge to mould their emotion. It is the spirit of Borobudur that recognise and identify each religion as inextricably bound with its own culture and belief because the millions who come to venerate Borobudur belong to several religious sects.

    Borobudur is a shining symbol of the philosophy of the Buddha and coeval with Indonesian cultural history.

    The triumph of Borobudur is written all over stone and after centuries it will march along with the Indonesian civilisation into the future. In its manifold strength, Borobudur will bind together the traditions and perspectives of the Indonesians as well as the teeming millions towards a clearer vision of the great teachings of the Buddha. It also imparts the philosophy of life to those in search of perfect reality.

    ‘Transquility in whose strength is wisdom and purity and who is composed and calm whose joy is in meditation, who is free of these obstructions’.

    This is the wisdom of Buddha that reverberated as I looked upon the colossal Borobudur against the backdrop of living nature.

    Please note that in the foregoing article, Buddhism is based on early belief that originated in Indonesia and must not be confused with the existing Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Everything recorded in this article are displayed in stones at the Borobudur.