Borobudur

* This name is listed on the World Heritage List. ª The region is classified by UNESCO.

Borobudur ( Borobudur also ) is one of the largest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia.

The colossal pyramid is located approximately 25 kilometers northwest of Yogyakarta on the island of Java in Indonesia. Borobudur was recognized in 1991 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is regarded as the most important monument of Mahayana Buddhism in Java.

The stupa was built probably 750-850 during the reign of the Sailendra dynasty. As the center of power shifted Java in the 10th and 11th centuries to the east ( perhaps also in conjunction with the eruption of Merapi in 1006 ), became the plant into oblivion and was buried by volcanic ash and grown vegetation. In 1814 it was rediscovered, but it was only in 1835 brought Europeans to light again. A restoration program in the period 1973-1984 brought great parts of the system back to its former glory.

A total of nine floors piled up on the square base of 123 m length. On the walls of the four step-like tapering galleries are bas-reliefs in the total length of over five kilometers, which describe the life and work of Buddha. In addition, there are three concentric tapered terraces with a total of 72 stupas which surround the stupa diameter of almost 11 m.

Location

The Borobudur was built on a small hill in the Kedu Basin, a rich fertile valley, which is surrounded by mountains. In the south and southwest of the Menoreh mountains, in the north and northeast of the volcanoes Merapi and Merbabu and to the northwest by the volcanoes Sumbing and Sindoro. The temple is also at the confluence of two rivers, the Elo and the Progo. These rivers are in the faith, to represent symbols for the two rivers Ganga and Yamuna, which feed the Indus Valley in India.

About the name Borobudur

The meaning of the name ' Borobudur ' remains unclear. The name is a combination of the words ' Bara ' and ' Budur '. ' Bara ' comes from the word ' Vihara ' from what identifies a complex of temples, monasteries monk or dormitories. ' Budur ' comes from the Balinese ' Beduhur ', which means something like ' about ' means. Consequently, means ' Borobudur ' a complex of temples, monasteries monk or dormitories, which are on a hill.

In fact, remnants of buildings were found in the northwest part of the yard that may act as a monastery.

JG De Caspari has made ​​a discovery based on the inscriptions of Cri Kahuluan ( 842 AD). The name ' Borobudur ' is apparently derived from the mentioned in the inscription names. Unfortunately, the name is not mentioned there, completely intact. The full name will probably have gelautet ' Bhumisambharabudhara ', which translates as ' The monks of the accumulation of virtues of the ten stages of the Bodhisattva ' means. Also there is a village near the Borobudur named ' Bumisegara ' what this thesis is based.

The date of construction

To date, the exact time of the construction of the Borobudur has remained in the dark, based on the absence of written evidence. Experts estimate an approximate completion date based on an inscription on the base of the covered Borobudur Temple. This Sanskrit inscriptions are written in the notation of the Kawi. Once these characters have been compared with other inscriptions from Indonesia, the experts estimate the creation date to the year 800

Central Java was ruled at the time of the kings of the Sailendra dynasty, the followers of Mahayana Buddhism were. Because of Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist monument, the experts concluded that it was built during the reign of these kings.

The Borobudur into oblivion

About one and a half centuries of Borobudur was the spiritual center of Buddhism in Java. With the fall of the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram in the year 919 and the change of the political and cultural activities of Central Java, East Java, according to religious buildings in Central Java such as Borobudur been neglected and left to decay. There may have been around 930 a volcanic eruption that drove the region's population. The Borobudur was henceforth exposed to the inclemency of the weather. Tropical vegetation overgrown stones. Specifically, the higher parts collapsed, while other parts were damaged. The Borobudur ran for almost 1000 years in oblivion.

Rediscovery and restoration

Since its discovery by Thomas Stamford Raffles of the Borobudur has had some restoration endure. The damage which he had suffered for centuries, were heavy. For example, a great earthquake had shaken the island of Java and possibly also severe damage to the monument, perhaps the final collapse of the upper stupas caused, in 1548.

At its first mention in modern times, in 1709, he was described as Borobudur hill. The entire monument was covered with soil and vegetation, and seemed only to be a hill.

The actual rediscovery began in 1814, after Raffles, the then British Governor of Java, had received on his trip to Semarang a report, according to which a large monument existed in the area of Bumisegoro, which was called Borobudur. Raffles had H.C. the Dutch engineer Cornellius on to make a study on the situation. The report is the first detailed evidence of the existence and condition of Borobudur. The drawing of Cornellius is an important document on the state before the onset of surgical exploration and restorations. Otherwise nothing apparently happened at that time on. In 1835 became a citizen of Kedu name Hortman the initiative and cleaned the temple area, so that eventually a part of the shrine was visible.

1885, the public interest was re- awakened when JW Ijzerman, a Dutch army engineer, found the hidden reliefs of Mahakarmawibangga at the foot of the temple. Some of them were only preserved in outline - by a different opinion they have never been completed because the plan was changed and the foot was closed with another retaining wall. Experts made ​​their first proposals to restore the shrine. One of the proposals was to ensure the reliefs in a special museum. The interest took off, however, and the Borobudur was to be in danger again, forget it.

1896 presented the Dutch colonial authorities, the monument to the Thai King Chulalongkorn. He received, as was quite common at that time, as a gift five Buddha statues, two lions, a Makara (gargoyle ), some ornaments of the entrance, parts of staircases and an unusual, large Gopala Statue which by the Dagi Hill in near the Borobudur originated.

In 1900 the Dutch authorities called a committee for the restoration of Borobudur in life. A member of the committee proposed to build a large zinc roof on iron columns 400 to the temple to protect him from the natural weathering. This proposal was rejected.

In 1905, finally, a plan for the most important measurements for the restoration and protection of Borobudur was adopted. Under the direction of archaeologist Dr. Theodor van Erp restoration work began. 1911 was the Borobudur in better condition, numerous stupas were restored, straightened the walls and floor slabs. However, it is not excluded that the large-scale excavation of the monument without concomitant safeguards hurt him in the long run has more than used.

In 1955, the Indonesian government presented a new plan to save the Borobudur temple and other places of UNESCO ( United Nations Educational and Scientific Commission). The Government of Indonesia brought himself to a portion of the required capital. In 1971, UNESCO held its first meeting in Yogyakarta, to discuss the plans. 1973 launched the Indonesian President officially the restoration measures. In 1983, finally, exactly ten years later, the work of the public were completed and Borobudur accessible again.

In November 2010, a large action was launched to clean up the temple complex of acidic ash after an eruption of Merapi volcano.

The structure of the Borobudur

The shape

The Borobudur was built as a hill with an inner stone filling and has the shape of a stepped pyramid. If people wanted to fulfill their religious duties, so this was done in the open air on the handling of the monument. On the four sides of steps and stairways lead escapes to the top of the Step Pyramid.

From the outside, reminiscent of the Borobudur to a masonry hill. Its structure consists of six square planes, three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the tip. The Borobudur is full of Buddhist symbols and is the replica of the universe dar.

According to the Buddhist cosmology, the universe is divided into three worlds: Ārūpyadhātu (Sanskrit, Pāli: Arūpaloka; Tib. Gzugs.med.pa ' i khams ) Rupadhatu ( Pāli: Rūpaloka; Tib: gzugs.kyi khams ) and Kamadhatu ( Pāli: Kamaloka; Tib: ' dod.pa ' i khams ). Kamadhatu, the "bottom " world is the world of people who are " sensible world ". Rupadhatu is the transition world in which the people of their physical form and worldly affairs be redeemed, the " fine-material world." Arupyadhatu finally, the world of the gods, is the world of perfection and enlightenment, the " incorporeal world."

The architecture of Borobudur was designed in accordance with this cosmology. Each part of the monument is dedicated to a different world. The Kamadhatu is a large rectangular wall outside at the foot of the monument. About this basis rises the Rupadhatu, which consists of four rectangular patios with procession routes, which are decorated with numerous statues and scenic in 1300 and 1200 figurative reliefs. Above it rises the Arupadhatu consisting of three circular terraces, in whose center stands a large bell-shaped dome. Matter from which perspective you look at the building - it is always difficult to recognize these Tripartite structure.

The rectangular base is hidden on the Step Pyramid appears with an edge length of about 110 meters. The temple resembles a massive, round dome ( Hall? ) With the way up executing stupa on the top. The monument appears as an unordered collection of endless terraces, statues and niches. The architecture of the temple nevertheless impresses through incredible precision and evidence of immense human labor. 55,000 cubic meters of stone from andesite or more than two million stone blocks were taken from the river Progo to Baustätte. The rocks were first roughly trimmed on the river before they were drawn by elephants and horses to the monument.

Kamadhatu

The reliefs on the base plane, the Kamadhatu were covered with an extra wall before they were completely finished. There are two theories for this additional wall:

1 The entire structure began to slip and needed a rest.

2 may have been depicted scenes felt later as too permissive.

Two arguments in favor of Theory 1: The imposing thickness of the broadened base ( a mere covering the reliefs would be no five -meter thick layer of stones have been necessary ) and the fact that as a late consequence of the Restoration of 1911, the stability of the whole system was also compromised.

During the Japanese occupation of parts of the wall were removed, which contained reliefs from the Karmavibhanga, an ancient Sanskrit treatise on good and bad deeds and their consequences. These parts of the reliefs are located on the southeast side. The major restoration 1973-1983 all reliefs were temporarily uncovered and documented. Photos of the reliefs are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of the complex.

Rupadhatu

The Rupadhatu begins with the first terrace. When we left turn down the corridor, we see on the 120 main reliefs depicted the life of the Buddha, as it is in the Lalitavistara, a font from Sanskrit, survived. In the same gallery is another cycle that continues on the second and third gallery and in 720 reliefs illustrating the stories of the Buddha's previous existences 500 starts. The reliefs of the second to fourth gallery show in parallel the search Sudhanas for wisdom and enlightenment ( Gandhavyuha ).

Arupadhatu

If we ascend the monument, reading the stories and the terraces cresting, we will pass six goals. Before the final, top-level, the Arupadhatu, we have to go through the double doors between the third and the fourth terrace level. These are called the double gates of Nirwikala. After passing through those gates, our body leaves the physical form that the Rupadhatu, and goes into the disembodied spirit, the Arupadhatu. The Nirwikala is the last gate that leads to the highest final stage of Buddhism. The best preserved gate was found on the side of the building. As soon as we enter the Arupadhatu, we have a liberated and open feel, unlike in the confined, rectangular extending corridors of the terraces below. In front of us are three circular terraces.

On the terraces are 72 stupas built with pavers positioned geometrically (small stupenförmige buildings ), each containing statues of Buddha Vajrasatwa. The philosophy behind these caged Buddhas, is complex and not fully understood. Perhaps the grid-like structures represent a sieve-like border that separates the world of the objectivity of the world of abstraction. It should be noted that the holes on the first two terraces are diamond-shaped, but the top terrace square.

Buddha statues

In Rupadhatu the Buddha statues in the niches of the balustrades on the four terraces. On the first terrace there are 104 niches on the second also 104 on the third terrace 88, on the fourth 72 and the fifth 64 so that it has originally traded by a total of 432 statues.

On the three upper circular terraces, the Arupadhatu to Dhyani Buddhas or meditating Buddhas are built with pavers, apparently perforated stupas, arranged in three concentric circles on either circular terrace in a total of 72. On the first round terrace there are 32 stupas on the second 24 and the third 16 statues.

So it was originally on the entire complex a total of 504 Buddha statues exist, which are now about 300 mutilated - usually they lack the head - and 43 missing entirely.

At first glance, all the Buddha statues appear to look the same, but the statues are different on closer inspection, mainly by the attitude of their hands ( mudra) of each other. The statues in the niches on the first four balustrades show various mudras, on each side of the monument are statues with the same hand position. All statues at the fifth balustrades but all have the same hand posture, as well as the 72 statues on the circular terraces.

So there are at Borobudur buddha statues with five different mudras, according to the Mahayana concept of the five Dhyani Buddhas. The five cardinal points of the compass ( east, north, west, south and Zenit ) find their counterpart, while every direction is protected by a Buddha: Vairocana in the zenith, Aksobhya in the east, Amoghasiddhi in the north, Amitabha in the west and Ratnasambhava in the south. Each Buddha is associated with a mudra:

• " Bhumisparsa Mudrā " the Buddha Akshobhya ( Aksobhya ) in the eastern quadrant: his left hand rests palm upward in the lap, with its downwardly facing right palm he calls the spirit of the earth to his victory over the evil spirits as well as its to testify inner strength.
• " Abhaya Mudrā " the Buddha Amoghasiddhi in the northern quadrant: his right uplifted hand pointing with the palm outward gesture of fearlessness.
• " Dhyāna Mudrā " of the Buddha Amitabha in the western quadrant: both hands are together, palms up in her lap, and thus show the gesture of meditation.
• " Varada Mudrā " the Buddha Ratnasambhava in the southern quadrant: his right hand resting on the right knee, the open palm up, and so shows the gesture of wish granting.
• " Vitarka Mudrā " of the Buddha Vairocana on the fifth terrace: the gesture of the circular curved fingers of the right hand shows that He forgives teachings with an honest and pure heart ( gesture of teaching ).

Pilgrimage

On previous pilgrimage to Borobudur are two other small Buddhist Temple: The temple of Mendut (about 4 km before Borobudur ) and the Temple of Pawon (about 2 km before Borobudur ). The Temple of Mendut, also restored in 1904, probably an unusual Buddha statue Buddha in a sitting position of European dates from the 8th century and preserved in the interior on a throne with his hands in the gesture ( mudra) of teaching is flanked by two also seated Bodhisattvas. It is the most important historical Buddha Java.

Importance

Borobudur is not only a unique religious monument but also an important source for information about Javanese history. The people depicted, their clothes, houses, cars, boats, equipment, instruments, dances, etc. show the courtly and peasant life in Java of the 9th century, as it is documented anywhere.

The on the premises of the complex Archaeological Museum houses numerous exchanged in the restoration 1973-1983 original stones and Buddha. It also details the restoration measures.