Borobudur, the great Buddhist stupa on Java, Indonesia. The Borobudur Temple is considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. Constructed out of an estimated 1,600,000 blocks of volcanic stone, dredged from the river and assembled solely by human labor. Following in the footsteps of various discoverers, let us visit this unique and magnificent monument. Built and decorated perhaps before 800ad, should be on any body’s list of the ten greatest art - complexes in the world for its size, quality, sophistication and excellent state of preservation.
The Borobodur Temple complex is one of the greatest monuments in the world. The structure, composed of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular storeys, three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 sq. m. The whole structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha. Besides being the highest symbol of Buddhism, the Borobodur stupa is also a replica of the universe.
The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels namely Kamadhatu, Rupadhatu and Arupadhatu. The 1300 bas-reliefs along the balustrades corridors of the square galleries forming the next five levels of terraces.Upon the upper three terraces are 72 small stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. It symbolises the micro-cosmos in which man’s world of desire is influenced by negative impulses, the middle level, the world in which man has control of his negative impulses and uses his positive impulses. The peak of the structure is a central stupa. The two chambers inside the stupa are empty and it is unclear whether they were empty from the beginning as a representation of nirvana.
The excavation of the monument, known as Borobudur has been ordered by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1814. He found the temple in wined condition and ordered that the site be cleared of undergrowth and thoroughly surveyed. The massive restoration project began from 1905. It’s takes eight years of labor and unprecedented international cooperation to complete. The second restoration to rescue Borobudur was carried out from August 1968 to 1983 with the help of UNESCO.
Souvenir hunters decapitate many of the Buddhas and ship them to mansions and museums throughout the world. For the weary tourist, a tea house is built high on the crumbling central stupa. Representing Nirvana.
