Borobudur Temple part 1

Mostly I just want to show off my pictures. 🙂

Borobudur is one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world. It’s a pyramid with a 150,000 square foot base and six tiers. It’s made entirely of volcanic rock. The advantage of volcanic rock is that it is relatively light weight due to the gas bubbles inside, and easier to carve than sedimentary stone. There are pieces of it as large as a small car included in the temple.

We started got off the bus near a map/sign showing the overall complex. They warned us on the bus to be careful to not look at anyone who carried any kind of merchandise until we got to the other side of the monument because the aggressive vendors would saddle us with stuff we would have to carry all the way to the top and back down again.

From the parking lot we passed through a delightful, zen-style garden. This seems to be the norm for such places as there were gardens in front of the other temples as well. Among the plants happened to be a banyan tree. Under the tree is a sign warning that it is illegal to lay or sit under the tree at night because it removes so much oxygen from the air around it that it can kill.

We stopped in front of another map/sign to discuss the shape and nature of Borobudur. It is unlike Prambanan in a couple of ways. First, it is a single structure. A big, honking one, but still just one. Second, it is intended as a teaching aide, rather than a place of worship. In a way, it reads like a bible.

All along the walk up and down are carvings. On the lowest levels the depictions show the world of desire. The middle levels show the world of forms. The pinnacle represents the world of formlessness – the realm of nirvana.

Before we got to the lowest walls, though we must climb a hill. Along the way is an area set aside for photo-ops. For a fee, we could let the vendors who set up the stands use out cameras and cell phones to take group pictures of us. As I watched, three groups took advantage of the service. I was more interested in getting their pictures than one of myself. If I really cared, I’d have gotten a selfie stick.

Then, of course, we were faced with the usual gauntlet of steps. Just like elsewhere, each step is tall enough that when you have your foot on one step, it will be level with your knee from the leg on the step below. Most of the steps come in sets of seven as that is a symbol in Buddhism for unity.

I did not find the ambulance parked at the bottom particularly re-assuring. At least we took the long way with plenty of stops for discussion so I never really got too winded.

By the way, the purple saris wrapped around some of the tourists is actually part of a touring company’s way of keeping track of their people. Though wearing a sari in such places is often considered a show of respect, Borobudur Temple does not require or expect them.

Notice the red spot on the picture above? This was taken from the base of the monument, looking at the place where the photo-op stands were set up.

A thousand years ago this land was under water. There was, of course, volcanic activity in the area. An explosion of a volcano resulted in a crater with three hills surrounding it. They built the temple to rival the hills.

From then until recently there was no more volcanic activity. In 2006 and again in 2010 there was a big explosion. 320 people died in resulting mud slides. They are expecting the next explosion any time now.

There are parts with Hindu style – Rakna – which is the combination of lingam and yoni. This shows some of the influence of the competition of Buddhism and Hinduism in the area at the time of the monument’s construction.

In 1003 the temple suffered from earthquakes. In 1010 the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms collapsed, not because of fighting, but because of volcanic eruptions. They moved from Central Java to East Java. Temple became covered in ash and looked like a hill.

Now, if you look closely in the background, you can see a Moslem broadcasting tower.