Borobudur Temple part 2

I mentioned before that the walls all tell the story of enlightenment. Did I mention that they tended to be a bit tall? Much of the time we couldn’t see just how high up we’d gotten.

The carvings tell about action and reaction, the benefits of children but also overpopulation on an island. This results in fighting. If you have more children are more resources but also more food required. The moral family will have only two children. Other carvings showing overindulgence of wine and nirvana. Also depicts Buddha reincarnated in animal form.

Carvings show Buddha and his mother. He was born from a Hindu family. The mother was in her 50’s and died. Her sister took care of him.

Stones with marks are new stones put in during the second restoration. Rain and pollution causes a lot of damage. Un-carved stones are used as place holders until the original stones are found and matched. Because of exposure, the ones found earlier show more damage. No mortar is used in either construction or re-construction.

The temple collapsed twice. In 1907 to 1911 the Dutch restored it. Then the main wall collapsed sixty years later. Sliding from water damage. The second restoration done by Indonesia through UNESCO at a cost of $30 million. From 1834 to the mid 1940’s the stones were collected. The stones tend to turn to liquid. During the second restoration they made it water proof inside.

On the fifth level the carving message is don’t worry, be happy. By sixth level the enlightened is giving lessons. Open your mind and heart to everyone. Each hand position on a Buddha statue carries a different meaning.

Because of this, when another religion would take over where there are Buddhas’ the competing religion will cut off the hands of the statues.

Our site guide was kind enough to show us a few. For instance, the first form is the turning of the wheel of life. By the way, he isn’t floating in the air. He’s sitting on a ledge.

At the top level there are no more carvings, only open lattice stupa with a Buddha insides each one. It’s not a tomb so there is no relic. Only representations of Nirvana. That, and an awful lot of people.

About this point someone said, “That’s one scary phrase, ‘Let’s go on up to the next level.’” We’d already been climbing higher and higher, circling around each level as we went.

There’s a wide path going around the very top that the pilgrim is supposed to go around three times and make a wish. Most of the people in our group wished the volcanoes would let off long enough in their eruptions for us to catch our next flight. I’m not sure if the wishes worked. Our next flight was delayed by ash fall, but not as long as it might have been.

Then it was time to head back down.

This time we made a straight run from the toe-tingling top to the bottom where our chariots awaited. Literally.