The Spatial Dimensions of the Mountain of a 1000 statutes

The Spatial Dimensions of the Mountain of a 1000 statutes Dr Uday Dokras, Phd Stockholm, Sweden “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them.” – Pink View or position (Pali diṭṭhi, Sanskrit dṛṣṭi) is a central idea in Buddhism About this extraordinary monument, finally one will really never know what it would have of the being, and one does not know yet exactly what it is. The various adventures which marked out his history and its construction made it absolutely unique. No Buddhist monument around the world resembles to him, of near or by far. Glance view of Borobudur brings us to see the complexity of architectural design implemented to the temple with specific and unique appearance relative to other architectural and historical wonders, e.g.: Egyptian and Mayan Pyramid, Cambodian Angkor Wat. 1 View or position (Pali diṭṭhi, Sanskrit dṛṣṭi) is a central idea in Buddhism. In Buddhist thought, a view is not a simple, abstract collection of propositions, but a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thought, sensation, and action. Having the proper mental attitude toward views is therefore considered an integral part of the Buddhist path, as sometimes correct views need to be put into practice and incorrect views abandoned, and sometimes all views are seen as obstacles to enlightenment. Views are produced by and in turn produce mental conditioning. They are symptoms of conditioning, rather than neutral alternatives individuals can dispassionately choose. The Buddha, according to early texts, having attained the state of unconditioned mind, is said to have "passed beyond the bondage, tie, greed, obsession, acceptance, attachment, and lust of view."[ Those who wish to experience nirvana must free themselves from everything binding them to the world, including philosophical and religious doctrines. Right view as the first part of the Noble Eightfold Path leads ultimately not to the holding of correct views, but to a detached form of cognition. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.Borobudur was Built Algorithmically Hokky Situngkir, Dept. Computational Sociology, Bandung Fe Institute Center for Complexity, Surya University In describing the highly diverse intellectual landscape of his day, the Buddha is said to have referred to "the wrangling of views, the jungle of views". The Borobudur was a built in the theological tradition from 760 to 825 AD Mahayana Buddhist, located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Built as Buddhist center it is also built as a single large stupa and when viewed from above it takes the form of a giant’ tantric Buddhist Mandela, with 123m by 123m in size. It is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular levels, three circular sub-terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The whole structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha. Some detail facts and figures of CANDI BOROBUDUR is shown below:- 1) MONUMENT SIZE : 123m by 123m and 42 meter height. 2) NARRATIVE RELIEF : 1,460 panels and decorative relief: 1,212 panels. 3) BUDDHA STATUES IN OPEN NICHES : 368 (Original 432) and 72 on top terraces. 4) NUMBER OF GALLERIES : 4 (each has 2 wall panels: main wall and balustrade) 5) TOTAL LENGTA OF VISUAL PANELS : Circa 2,500 meters. 6) TOTAL VOLUME OF STONE USED : Circa 55,000 cubic meters. 7) TIME TO BUILD : perhaps 66 years, and USUAGE PERIOD: Almost 200 years. There are almost 1,300 narrative panels illustrating the life of Buddha and Buddhistic texts, the largest and most complete collection of Buddhist relief in the world. These religious illustrated texts consists of 6 different Mahayana Buddhist Doctrines: KARMAVIBHANGHA, LALITAVISTARA, JATAKA, AVADANAS, GANDAVYUHA, AND BHADRACHARI. All of these six manuscripts are carved 2,500 meters, long of stone inscriptions on 4 consecutive galleries walls the very first engraved image of the manuscripts start from east gate on gallery 1 circulating to the left, following round 1,2,3,------ 10, as shown. Table1: For every Buddhist Monks, it is devotional practice in this way to proceed on their ritual ceremony during their Buddhist holy festival Day (VESAKA DAY), and to walk around the galleries and terraces always turning to the left & keeping the edifice to the right while either chanting or meditating. In total, Borobudur temple represent the ten levels of a Boddhisattav’s life which they must develop to become a perfect and full enlightenment of a Buddha . TABLE 1: All of 1460 Relief and Manuscript. ROUND- RELIEF’S LOCATION – NO. OF PANELS- MANUSCRIPTS Hidden Basement- 160 – KARMAVIBANGGAS - Main wall of gallery o – 1212 – DECORATIVE PANELS 1. Gallery 1, upper main wall- 120- LALITAVISTARA 2. Gallery 1, lower main wall- 120- JATAKAS & AYADANAS 3. Gallery 1, Balustrade, upper wall- 372- JATAKAS & AYADANAS 4. Gallery1, Balustrade, lower wall- 128- JATAKAS & AYADANAS 5. Gallery 2, Balustrade,- 100- JATAKAS & AYADANAS 6. Gallery 2, main wall- 128- GANDAVYUHA 7. Gallery 3, main wall- 88- GANDAVYUHA 8. Gallery 3, Balustrade- 84- GANDAVYUHA 9. Gallery 4, Balustrade- 84- GANDAVYUHA 10. Gallery 4, main wall- 72- BHADRACARI On the highest terrace, arupadhatu level has no relief or decoration but has 3 Sub-terraces (balcony), circular in shape with round walls: circle without beginning or end. Here is the place of the seventy-two Vajrasattvas or Dhyani Buddha tucked into small stupas. each of the statues in the temple has a mudra (hand gesture) indicating one of the four directions: east, with the mudra of calling the earth to witness (Bhumisparca mudra); South, with the hand position symbolizing of charity and blessings (Vara mudra); west, with the gesture of meditation (Dhyana mudra); North, the mudra of fearlessness (Abhaya mudra); and the centre/ Zenith (DHARMACAKRA MUDRA) with land gesture of teaching. KARMAVIBHANGHA is the first manuscript describing the doctrine of cause and effect as well as good and evil. The pains of hell and pleasure of heaven are illustrated on the karma-vibhanga manuscript. There are also praiseworthy activities that include charity and pilgrimage to sanctuaries and there subsequent rewards on this relief. The complete Series of 160 panels on Karmavibhangga relief is not visible as it is hidden and surrounded by broad base of stone walls. Only parts of the southeast temple wall were dismantled for visitors, which are represented by panel numbers: 19,20,21& 22. LALITVISTARA is the second manuscript, & represent the life of Buddha Gautama from His birth until His first sermon at Banaras. The Relief story of Lalitvistara starts from the glorious descent of the Lord Buddha from the TWSHITA HEAVEN prior to Gautam’s birth & ends with his first serman is the Deer Park in Benares. The most famous relief on the Lalitvistara story is the birth of Buddha as Prince Siddharta, son of king Suddhana and Queen Maya at Lumbini Park outside the Kapilvastu city. On the full round on the first gallery (upper main gallery) was dedicated to this manuscript with total number of 120 panels. The 3rd script, Jatakamala or Garland of Jatakas is a collection of poems consisting of 34 Jatakas. Based on manuscript written by Aryacara in the 4th century these Jatakas contains stories on great deeds performed by Buddha in his former lives preparing for Buddhahood. These episodes of reincarnations serve as example of self-sacrifice. Similar to Jatakas, 4th script of AVADANAS narrative is devoted for Buddha, but the main figure is not Bodhisattva (Prince Siddharta) himself. The sainly deeds in Avadanas are attributed to other legendary persons. Both Jatakas and Avadanas are treated in one and the same series of 720 relief panels. The 5th and longest manuscript is described in Gandavyuha: gallery 2,3&4. Gandhavyuha, Sometimes referred to as a Mahayana pilgrims progress. Describes Sudhana, son of a rich merchant who meets several Bodhisattvas, in His aim to reach the highest wisdom, two of these spiritual teachers of Bodhisattvas are Maitreya (future Buddha). v) SAMANTABHADRA: The Lord of the truth in Buddhism who represents the practice and meditation of all Buddhas. A total of 388 panels present the Gandavyuha text. At last manuscript, Bhadrachari doctrine is represented in the 4th gallery. It comprises panels with the pledge of Sudhana to follow examples and teachings of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The narrative panels on Bhadrachari and with the Sudhana’s achievement of the Supreme knowledge and the Ultimate Truth. All 72 panels on main wall of gallery 4 are dedicated for the Bhadrachari. As a descendent of a noble family, Good wealth started a quest of “Kingliness without and sageliness within”. This ended up in the pinnacle of the Buddhist experience: emptiness, to be filled and overflow by the nectar of loving kindness. Apparently, This kind of seeking by affluent youngmen is an archetypical pattern in the Buddhists lore throughout Asia during those days. KARMA: The term "right view" (samyak-dṛuṣṭi / sammā-diṭṭhi) or "right understanding" is basically about having a correct attitude towards one's social and religious duties. This is explained from the perspective of the system of karma and the cycle of rebirth. Used in an ethical context, it entails that our actions have consequences, that death is not the end, that our actions and beliefs also have consequences after death, and that the Buddha followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world (heaven and underworld or hell). Originating in the pre-Buddhist Brahmanical concerns with sacrifice rituals and asceticism, in early texts the Buddha shifts the emphasis to a karmic perspective, which includes the entire religious life. The Buddha further describes such right view as beneficial, because whether these views are true or not, people acting on them (e.i. leading a good life) will be praised by the wise. They will also act in a correct way. If the views do turn out to be true, and there is a next world after death, such people will experience the good karma of what they have done when they were still alive. This is not to say that the Buddha is described as uncertain about right view: he, as well as other accomplished spiritual masters, are depicted as having "seen" these views by themselves as reality. Although devotees may not be able to see these truths for themselves yet, they are expected to develop a "pro-attitude" towards them. Moral right view is not just considered to be adopted, however. Rather, the practitioner endeavors to live following right view, such practice will reflect on the practitioner, and will eventually lead to deeper insight into and wisdom about reality. According to Indologist Tilmann Vetter, right view came to explicitly include karma and Rebirth, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths, when "insight" became central to Buddhist soteriology. This presentation of right view still plays an essential role in Theravada Buddhism. A second meaning of right view is an initial understanding of points of doctrine such as the Four Noble Truths, not-self and Dependent Origination, combined with the intention to accept those teachings and apply them to oneself. Thirdly, a "supramundane" right view is also distinguished, which refers to a more refined, intuitive understanding produced by meditative practice. Thus, a gradual path of self-development is described, in which the meaning of right view gradually develops. In the beginning, right view can only lead to a good rebirth, but at the highest level, right view can help the practitioner to attain to liberation from the cycle of existence. Buddhist Studies scholar Paul Fuller believes that although there are differences between the different levels of right view, all levels aim for emotional detachment. The wisdom of right view at the moral level leads to see the world without greed, hatred and delusion. Misunderstanding objects as self is not only seen as a form of wrong view, but also as a manifestation of desire, requiring a change in character. Morari Bapu elucidated that Buddha also gave an ‘Ashtang’ or 8 lessons. These were primarily based on the belief system that centres on taking the ‘middle-path’.   The word ‘Samyaka’ is key to the thought process and means “to see as it is”. Samayaka Drishti: To have equanimity of vision. This helps us to remove ignorance and bondage.  Samayaka Bani: Our speech must be balanced. We must speak sweet truth and lay out facts without being harsh. Samayaka Sankalpa:  Our resolution must be born out of faith. On the contrary, our resolves waiver due to the many ‘ifs and buts’ that we include in our thinking. Samayaka Karma: Karma relates to our thoughts, words and actions. Excess of anything can be counterproductive. Samayaka Ajaivika: This pertains to earning of livelihood. Earning a living is for the smooth functioning of life and should not become the central goal.  Samayaka Vyayayam: Exercise is needed to keep the body healthy but we must not become obsessive about it. Samayaka Smriti: There is merit in forgetting some chapters of life that will keep us embittered. Samayaka Samadhi: Even here, Buddha realized that extreme measures and penances are not needed. No VIEW: The Buddha of the early discourses often refers to the negative effect of attachment to speculative or fixed views, dogmatic opinions, or even correct views if not known to be true by personal verification. In describing the highly diverse intellectual landscape of his day, he is said to have referred to "the wrangling of views, the jungle of views".He assumed an unsympathetic attitude toward speculative and religious thought in general. In a set of poems in the early text Sutta Nipata, the Buddha states that he himself has no viewpoint. According to Steven Collins, these poems distill the style of teaching that was concerned less with the content of views and theories than with the psychological states of those who hold them. Buddhism is devoted primarily to liberation from suffering by breaking free of samsara,- cycle of compulsory rebirth, by attaining nirvana. All thre types of Buddhism , whether the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana (or Tantric) emphasize an individual's meditation and subsequent liberation from samsara, to become enlightened. Thus, the fundamental reason that the precise identification of these two kinds of clinging to an identity – personal and phenomenal – is considered so important is again soteriological. Through first uncovering our clinging and then working on it, we become able to finally let go of this sole cause for all our afflictions and suffering. However, the Pure Land traditions of Mahayana Buddhism generally focus on the saving nature of the Celestial Buddha Amitābha. In Buddhist eschatology, it is believed that we are currently living in the Latter Day of the Law, a period of 10,000 years where the corrupt nature of the people means the teachings of the Buddha are not listened to. Before this era, the bodhisattva Amitābha made 48 vows, including the vow to accept all sentient beings that called to him, to allow them to take refuge in his Pure land and to teach them the pure dharma. It is therefore considered ineffective to trust in personal meditational and even monastic practices, but to only trust in the primal vow of Amitābha *The Buddha of the early discourses often refers to the negative effect of attachment to speculative or fixed views, dogmatic opinions, or even correct views if not known to be true by personal verification. In describing the highly diverse intellectual landscape of his day, he is said to have referred to “the wrangling of views, the jungle of views”. In a set of poems in the early text Sutta Nipata, the Buddha states that he himself has no viewpoint. According to Steven Collins, these poems distill the style of teaching that was concerned less with the content of views and theories than with the psychological states of those who hold them. Historical monuments in the East preserve the past and are a source of inspiration. The same is true in the west, except some monuments are also believed to hold the ashes and powers of the dead. Monuments for a man once named Siddhartha are one example. Siddhartha Gautama was born to a wealthy ruler, yet he relinquished his fortune to lead a simple life of meditation in pursuit of enlightenment. He became Buddha, and his teachings on the pursuit and achievement of enlightenment are the basis for Buddhism. His words live on past his death, and Buddhists believe his physical remains still hold protective powers for mankind, imbue his living presence, and contain his energy. Though thousands of years separate Buddha’s life on earth from the present, Buddhists today travel to special monuments called stupas to experience and be affected by his lasting energy. Stupas (stoop-ahs) were originally traditional burial mounds for everyday people in ancient India. They had no religious significance; they were simply memorials that were less elaborate and conspicuous than they are today. Buddha’s death changed all that. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra, an ancient Buddhist text, details Buddha’s last days on earth. It claims that Buddha’s followers divided his remains into eight parts and distributed them among the eight kingdoms Buddha lived in during his lifetime. In keeping with traditional burial practices in India, his devotees built burial mounds, which developed architecturally into stupas, to house his remains. Stupas today are semispherical monuments that house cremated remains or belongings of Buddha or Buddhist monks or nuns. There are generally five types of stupas, each with a purpose to house relics or remains, or to commemorate Buddha’s life and teachings. It’s thought that the original eight stupas were built in northern India after Buddha’s death in 483 or 400 BC. Some sources claim that Emperor Ashoka of India’s Mauryan Empire later opened the sealed stupas and further divided Buddha’s remains into eighty-four thousand portions so more stupas could be built around the world. Original 8 Stupas: The original eight stupas housing Buddha’s remains are in India. The Sanchi stupa, located in central India, is referred to as “Stupa 1” because it may have been the first commissioned by Emperor Ashoka. Tourists from as far west as America and Buddhists from East Asia visit Sanchi to pay respects to Buddha and admire the stupa as one of the oldest stone buildings in India. Monks carrying out Ashoka’s orders to spread the message of Buddha set out from his kingdom, splitting company from one another and traveling far and wide to Asian nations. Carrying Buddha’s ashes, monks likely set sail to Indonesia, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Others hiked over the Himalayas to Nepal, Tibet, and Korea. Still others navigated the jungles and rice paddies of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and Nepal are home to frequently visited stupas, though they’re known by different names, and the sites draw pilgrims from near and far. Pha That Luang in Vientiane, Laos, was thought to originally be a Hindu temple, but messengers from Emperor Ashoka are believed to have brought Buddha’s breastbone to the stupa, transforming it into a Buddhist holy site. Photo by Victor Xingh. Many Buddhists make pilgrimages to stupas to meditate, venerate the relics stupas house, and make merit and atone for their sins. People often seek the protective power of the relics to guard against misfortune and ill-willed spirits. The stupa itself is also revered since it houses the relics. Some stupas draw repeat visitors, like Kathmandu’s Boudhanath Stupa, which is situated in the heart of several communities. Every day, weathered and wizened Tibetan Buddhist men and women circumambulate the Boudhanath stupa. They chant mantras as their fingers slide over individual prayer beads. Worshipers at this stupa also spin prayer wheels to make merit. The mantra Om Mani Padme Hum (listen here) is inscribed on the prayer wheels at Boudhanath stupa and is designed to move Buddhists closer to enlightenment. Spinning the wheels is thought to have the same effect as saying the mantra verbally. Some worshipers will prostrate themselves as they circle the stupa. They rise to a standing position, then prostrate themselves, repeating the process all the way around the stupa. . In other stupa locations, worshipers may light incense, leave offerings, or meditate. Lighting incense is believed to be symbolic of burning away negative energy and undesirable qualities within an individual. Buddhists believe it purifies the mind and thoughts and shows honor to the object of their worship. Some sources estimate there are 1.2 million Buddhists in the US. Forty percent live in Southern California. However, there are Buddhist temples, societies, or monasteries in all fifty states. Stupas exist in the US as well, including Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. So while stupas venerating Buddha may seem far removed from the West, the reality is that they and other Buddhist buildings are important to people in our communities. ORIGINS of the NAME BOROBUDUR Many theories attempt to explain the name of this temple.This name itself gives the introductory idea of what the Complex stands for as far as the spatial aspects are concerned. One of them states that the name is probably derived from the word Sambharabhudhara, which means "mountain" (bhudara) where the slopes are located ( terraces). Folk etymology points towards the fact that the word borobudur could be derived from the words "the Buddha" - due to shift the sound to Borobudur. The name is derived from two words "coal" and "beduhur".The word bara is said to have originated from the word monastery, while there are also other explanations where the coal comes from Sanskrit which means temple or monastery complex and beduhur meaning is "high", or to remind the Balinese language means "above".So the point is a monastery or hostel located on high ground. Historian J.G. de Casparis in his dissertation for a doctorate in 1950 found that Borobudur is a place of worship.Based on the inscriptions Karangtengah and Kahulunan, he estimated Borobudur to have been founded bynthe dynasty of king of Mataram dynasty named Samaratungga- around 824 AD. The giant new building was completed at the time of her daughter, Queen Pramudawardhani’s wedding. The development of the site is expected to have taken half a century.In Karangtengah inscriptions it is also mentioned that the bestowal of land sima (tax-free land) by Cri Kahulunan (Pramudawardhani) to maintain Kamulan called Bhūmisambhāra. This term Kamulan is from the word meaning first place origin, the ancestral shrine to glorify,possible ancestors of the dynasty Sailendra. Casparis estimates that Sambhāra Bhudhāra Bhumi in Sanskrit means "Hill set ten levels of boddhisattwa virtues", was the original name of Borobudur. In ethnic Chinese, this temple is also called 婆罗 浮屠 (In Hanyu Pinyin: po luo fú TU) in Mandarin. Which loosely translated means the attachment of Brahma.So why would it be called by a nexus to Brahma? Or do they mean that BRAHMA is BUDDHA. Some have integrated Hinduism and Buddhism reflecting the competition between Buddhism and the Brahmanical traditions. Is this what the Chinese have in mind? Finally the title of Borubudur MOUNTAIN OF 1,000 BUDDHAS screams out loud as to what a gigantic building it must be( is) to house 1000 statutes!   DESCRIPTION of the BOROBUDUR building:   This famous Buddhist temple was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa.Built from nearly two million stone blocks of andesite, a bluish-gray volcanic stone, Borobudur is shaped like a stepped pyramid, the base of which is 402 feet long from north to south and 383 feet long from east to west; the height is now 95 feet above ground level. Sand Terraces Punden Lulumpang ( Picture to the RIGHT) are relics of megalithic tradition of punden equipped with staircase.This is one model punden that has not previously been encountered. Mortar- stones seemed to be a substitute for a common complement menhir buildings such as terraces -Lebak Cibedug staircase, which seems to be the symbolic artefacts in the context of megalithic religious system. The terraces are thought to have a function in terms of worship organized by communities of supporters. The purpose of worship by using a stone mortar or stone as a medium is to conduct ceremonies associated with rites of fertility / agriculture to the success of Panan later or as an expression of gratitude for the harvest. Such ceremonies are usually held by the traditional peasant communities in the West Java area, commonly called the ceremony of the Earth's intent called ngalaksa; serentaun. Another example is Archaeological Parks in the area Pugung Raharjo that contain 13 pieces punden terraces, the large size and small in size. Originally punden this staircase looks like thatch-covered mound, but after cleaning it in the form of a terraced patio. There are staircases having a two-and three-level, which is said to be according to social status at that time. Stone bodies found in the Archaeological Park Pugung Raharjo has a length of 205 cm and 40 cm diameter. Stone bodies embedded in the middle of another stone circle in a square shape. The stones that encircle it, among others, the altar stone, menhir menhir-small, and only scratched the slab shaped like the letter "T" on both sides. The temple building is a pyramid-shaped staircase - stairs arising in all - four sides (north, south, east and west). This type of design of the building without room and terraced structure is believed to be the development of a form punden terraces, which is a form of original architecture from prehistoric Indonesia.Borobudur structure when viewed from above form the structure of the Mandala.Borobudur structure does not use cement at all, but the Interlock system is like Lego blocks that can be attached without glue. There is no room where people can get in but can only walk to the top. The width is 123 M, length 123 M and at the turning point of 113 M with a height of 30.5 M. As mentioned this is a basic punden terrace structure with a six-yard square, three round circular courtyard and a main stupa as a peak.Also scattered in all the court was several stupas. Borobudur is like a book, describing ten levels of Bodhisattva to us- WE who must pass to reach the perfection of the Buddha.The foot of Borobudur represents Kamadhatu, the world is still dominated by kama or "low desire".This section is mostly covered by a pile of stone that are allegedly put to strengthen the construction of the temple.In addition to the closed structure there are 120 panels Kammawibhangga story. A small portion was set aside additional structure so that people can still see the relief in this section. But as ststed earlier it is also built as a single large stupa and, when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. The original foundation is a square, approximately 118 metres (387 ft) on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform contains seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures. The design of Borobudur took the form of a step pyramid. Previously, the prehistoric Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia had constructed several earth mounds and stone step pyramid structures called punden berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan site near Cisolok and in Cipari near Kuningan. The construction of stone pyramids is based on native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode of ancestral spirits or hyangs. The punden berundak step pyramid is the basic design in Borobudur, believed to be the continuation of older megalithic tradition incorporated with Mahayana Buddhist ideas and symbolism. Aerial view of Borobudur, it took the form of a step pyramid and mandala plan The monument's three divisions symbolize the three "realms" of Buddhist cosmology, Kamadhatu (the world of desires),  Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and finally  Arupadhatu (the formless world). Rupadhatu is a world that has been able to break free. The fourth floors is is rectangular.with walls full of relief on it which the the experts called Rupadhatu.This level represents the nature of man and are arranged  bottom up.In part this is the Rupadhatu Buddha statues found in the recesses of the wall above ballustrade or breezeway. Perforated prison? Arupadhatu Starts from the fifth to the seventh floor walls are not having any reliefs.This level Is.called Arupadhatu (which means no tangible form or not). The floor plan here is circular.This level represents the nature of, where people are free from all desires and bond forms and shapes, but have not reached nirvana. Statues of Buddha are placed in a stupa covered with holes as in a prison or in captivity.From outside the statues are still vaguely visible. The highest level that describes the lack of form is represented in the form of the largest and highest stupa.Stupa described plain without the holes.In the largest stupa a Buddha statue has been found in an unfinished condition- who is  disalahsangkakan as Adibuddha statue. Ordinary sentient beings live out their lives on the lowest level, the realm of desire. Those who have burnt out all desire for continued existence leave the world of desire and live in the world on the level of form alone: they see forms but are not drawn to them. Finally, full Buddhas go beyond even form and experience reality at its purest, most fundamental level, the formless ocean of nirvana. The liberation from the cycle of Saṃsāra where the enlightened soul had no longer attached to worldly form corresponds to the concept of Śūnyatā, the complete voidness or the nonexistence of the self. Kāmadhātu is represented by the base, Rupadhatu by the five square platforms (the body), and Arupadhatu by the three circular platforms and the large topmost stupa. The architectural features between the three stages have metaphorical differences. For instance, square and detailed decorations in the Rupadhatu disappear into plain circular platforms in the Arupadhatu to represent how the world of forms—where men are still attached with forms and names—changes into the world of the formless. Congregational worship in Borobudur is performed in a walking pilgrimage. Pilgrims are guided by the system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform. Each platform represents one stage of enlightenment. The path that guides pilgrims was designed to symbolize Buddhist cosmology. However some say that there never was a statue at the main stupa. In ancient times there was a  belief that one statue in the manufacturing process was not to be tampered with. Archaeological excavations carried out in the courtyard of this temple have found many statues like this. In the past, several Buddha statues along with 30 stones with reliefs, two stone lions, some kala-shaped stone, stairs and gates were sent to the King of Thailand, Chulalongkorn who visited the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1896 as a gift from the Dutch Government. Borobudur was never a worship spaces like other temples. It has long hallways which is a narrow road.The hallways surround the walled temple level by level.In the halls are expected to conduct Buddhist ceremonies walk around the temple to the right. EMBODIED EXPERIENCES OF BUDDHIST STRUCTURES OF BOROBUDUR STUPA What is meant by embodied knowledge? Embodied knowing has been defined as not only knowledge that resides in the body, but also knowledge that is gained through the body (Nagatomo, 1992). Hanna (1980) described embodied knowing as a constant flow of senses and actions that occur within the experiences of each individual.  The endeavor towards an embodied state of consciousness has been historically present in the context of all Buddhist and specifically Zen Buddhist philosophy, wherein true embodiment is considered an enlightened state of being, wherein one's consciousness transcends the barriers of mind versus body, self versus other and human versus non-human; it is thought that, in this state, we experience a visceral enlightenment towards our inherent connection to (or interrelation with) the spiritual and physical world around us, and that this state is a form of 'purified' -or even optimal - being. Phenomenological aspects underpinning this paradigm will be unpacked through representative cases of eastern movement practices whose founding philosophies align with Buddhist thought. The role of the body in advanced meditation was presented in the early Buddhist Pāli discourses, showing that certain theorizations of liberation held that it contained a marked corporeal element. There was an understanding of the Buddha’s body in this textual corpus, that demonstrates that for important strands of the early tradition, the Buddha’s liberation was thought to manifest in his body, so that liberation impacted his physical presence and the quality of his movement. 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Embodied Transcendence: The Buddha’s Body in the Pāli Nikāyas, Eviatar Shulman, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349940305_Embodied_Transcendence_The_Buddha's_Body_in_the_Pali_Nikayas There are also marked metaphysical dimensions to the Buddha’s body, so that its nature transcends the material. Common approaches that take liberation to be a purely psychological transformation thus ignore important aspects of the traditional understanding, which also directs us to think of a plurality of approaches to liberation. Now coming to spatial structures It will have an impact or your experience in seeing, climbing, being inside, looking, experiencing, unraveling the aim of the structure- (its cognitive impact on the person who does the above ).Borobudur’s design( if I may say so) and the architecture emanating from this design were planned to effect the beholder of this building and the participant in its inherent challenge to the visitor Participation Hindu and Buddhist religions are built on the dogma of Participation in the rituals. Whether circumambulation, spinning the wheels, clanging the bells and many other abulations AlsoTime: See below What does the term spatial describe? Definition of spatial:  relating to, occupying, or having the character of space. of, relating to, or involved in the perception of relationships (as of objects) in space tests of spatial ability spatial memory What are spatial dimensions?-  A measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length.. Time makes the space spatial. In other words, space, time and embodied experience are the complementary dimensions of each other. In the context of architectural design, not only the design representations and their locations in the space but also the bodily dimensions of experience become important. The term dimension in architecture is related to the measure of things, this is their size and shape as we perceive them visually. In geometry, the dimension is the area of a surface, its volume and length or width Today Spatial Design is a newly evolving design concept and methodology that integrates and surpasses the established concepts of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, landscape design, public art, etc. keeping them at the nucleus of the design, it focuses on the flow of space between interior and exterior. Which is an example of a spatial organization? Let me use an example given in http://webpage.pace.edu/bmorris/will/spatial.htm My child's daycare center uses a developmental game in which they put a pile of differently colored lego blocks and set of cannisters with the names of colors on them in front of the child. The child then has to separate the blocks into the proper cannisters. It doesn't matter how the child gets the job done, as long as at the end all of the blues are together, reds are together, etc. This is not only a good developmental exercise, it is a good example of Spatial Organization. Spatial organization focuses on the placement of sites or objects relative to one another. It is a way of organizing the three-dimensional world for an audience. The kids are given "directions," but they are not chronological. The kid makes sense of the experience by relating things according to WHERE, not what, when or how. It wasn't that hard to get you from anywhere in the world to the Chrysler Building using Chronological Organization for two reasons: New York has a fairly well-organized system of public transportation, and Midtown Manhattan is, for the most part, laid out in nice, straight square streets and avenues. We also know the point of origin (LaGuardia Airport) of the process. But what if our mythical tourist can't go straight to the Chrysler Building? What if she has to check into her hotel first, and you don't know where that hotel is? Or what if the Chrysler Building--a relatively easy landmark to spot--isn't her destination? What if it is in the middle of Central Park? Or Yosemite? Or down a river? Bottom of Form How is going? Wouldn't it be easier to find a few obvious landmarks and place the location within view of them? If you tried to write the outline above, you have probably done so anyway--"Go about two miles. You'll go over a railroad bridge." To locate an object in this way is an example of spatial organization. When employing Spatial Development, keep these things in mind: Keep it Simple. We have all gotten directions like this: "Go down this road past the Dairy Queen and the Drug Store. You'll see a white house at the second light. Go past it to the one with the big bush in front of it that looks like Kennedy. It's right around there." Any particular drug store? Kennedy the President or Kennedy the VJ? Pick a few obvious features of the surrounding context and rely on them. Develop a few in detail, instead of developing a lot in lieu of detail. Be visual. Places and things are real, they are not abstractions. So use language that makes them real--specific, physical terms. Don't say "The big white house." Say "The white house with the green swingset in the yard." Don't say "It's down by the generator." Say "It's the red cannister with writing on it, that is down by the generator." Consider the familiarity of the audience with the subject, before you pick your references. If your audience member doesn't know what the generator looks like, "down by the generator" will be a pointless waste of time. If I send someone into Central Park's "Sheep Meadow" and he or she spends all day looking for sheep, I have done more harm than good. You might as well send me past the framus next to the doodad as tell me (as one enterprising survivalist once did), " go into the patch of red maples and keep Virgo on your right. You can't miss it." YOU CAN MISS IT. No matter how clearly a given physical relationship is defined, it will be possible in real time and space to mess it up. So if you have time locate the goal against more than one reference. I have been saved from geographical doom on many occasions by such information as "If you see the St. Mary's Catholic Church on the left, you've gone too far." or "On some models, they call it auxiliary. You will do no harm to the unit if you plug it in the wrong outlet, so if you can't find it just try a few." Sample Outline for Spatial Organization. Topic: How to Get to the stupa Building. General Purpose: To Inform. Specific Speech Purpose: The audience member will be able to find the stupa Building. Central Idea: The unique characteristics of the Borobudur stupa building are visible from many locations from both the plains confronting it as well as the 2 mountains between which it lies In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it – for example, the point at 5 on a number line. A surface such as a plane or the surface of a cylinder or sphere has a dimension of two (2D) because two coordinates are needed to specify a point on it – for example, both a latitude and longitude are required to locate a point on the surface of a sphere. The inside of a cube, a cylinder or a sphere is three-dimensional (3D) because three coordinates are needed to locate a point within these spaces. In classical mechanics, space and time are different categories and refer to absolute space and time. That conception of the world is a four-dimensional space but not the one that was found necessary to describe electromagnetism. The four dimensions (4D) of spacetime consist of events that are not absolutely defined spatially and temporally, but rather are known relative to the motion of an observer. Minkowski space first approximates the universe without gravity; the pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of general relativity describe spacetime with matter and gravity. 10 dimensions are used to describe superstring theory (6D hyperspace + 4D), 11 dimensions can describe supergravity and M-theory (7D hyperspace + 4D), and the state-space of quantum mechanics is an infinite-dimensional function space. The concept of dimension is not restricted to physical objects. High-dimensional spaces frequently occur in mathematics and the sciences. They may be parameter spaces or configuration spaces such as in Lagrangian or Hamiltonian mechanics; these are abstract spaces, independent of the physical space in which we live. Spatial dimensions Classical physics theories describe three physical dimensions: from a particular point in space, the basic directions in which we can move are up/down, left/right, and forward/backward. Movement in any other direction can be expressed in terms of just these three. Moving down is the same as moving up a negative distance. Moving diagonally upward and forward is just as the name of the direction implies; i.e., moving in a linear combination of up and forward. In its simplest form: a line describes one dimension, a plane describes two dimensions, and a cube describes three dimension. Number of dimensions Example co-ordinate systems 1 Number line Angle 2 Cartesian (two-dimensional) Polar Latitude and longitude 3 Cartesian (three-dimensional) Cylindrical Spherical Stein, B. (1960). The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple. The Journal of Asian Studies, 19(2), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.2307/2943547 The spatial dimensions and the architecture of the temple are awe-inspiring enough for one to imagine that it was built by the celestials. The main themes of spatial organization are learning outcomes. Bitner (1992) indicated that spatial layout “symbolises the ways in which furnishings, equipment and machineries are organized, the shape and size of those items, and the spatial relations among them, with functionality establishing the ability of those items to facilitate performance and the attainment of goals.The size of Angkor Wat is 163 hectares. As the largest religious structure in the form of a temple complex in the world by land area, measures 162.6 hectares (4013⁄4 acres). STUPA Design Elements How can the eye see itself without a mirror? How can you clap with one hand? If we have attained this birth due to our karma (deeds) in our previous births, then how did we get our first birth? T -he Buddha Gautama Buddha was born in India in the 6th century. At the age of twenty-nine, he renounced riches to become a monk and lead a life of meditation. Originally, Buddhism was not a religion, but a doctrine that explained the steps to reaching Nirvana, a release from life's misery. The ultimate goal is to avoid rebirth and a continuation of life, cycle after cycle. When the Buddha gained Enlightenment, he taught his followers. In his famous sermon at Deer Park in what is now Benares, he established the principles of a faith that brings inner tranquility. Hear me, gracious ones, for I offer you knowledge of the path to Enlightenment. This is the first noble truth: life is suffering. The second noble truth: suffering is caused by human fears and desires. Third: suffering can be eliminated. And the fourth noble truth is that the elimination of suffering can be achieved by following the Noble Eight-fold path. The Eight-fold path shows the way to extinguish desire: correct view, correct intention, correct speech, correct conduct, correct livelihood, correct zeal, correct remembrance (which retains what is true and excludes the false) and correct meditation. On the island of Java stands a mountain of a thousand statues... surrounded by volcanoes, shrouded in mystery. In 1814, two hundred men cross the lush Kedu plains of Central Java to search out this legendary mountain near the small village of Boro. For six weeks, they slash and burn the choking vegetation. They clear away tons of volcanic ash. Hidden beneath the debris, they find strange figures carved in stone – thousands of them. Borobudur stands in the geographical center of the island of Java, fifteen miles from Yogyakarta, on a plateau that is the caldera of an ancient volcano ringed by the Menoreh mountains. Two sets of twin volcanoes – Merapi and Merbabu to the northeast, Sumbing and Sindoro to the northwest – stand sentinel across the plains. Merapi, the "fire mountain," is active. A legend is told of a heavenly architect who built Borobudur in a single day and laid a curse on anyone who dared ascend his holy shrine. According to Asian art historian, Jan Fontein: "There is a mountain south of Borobudur that when viewed from the monument looks very much like the profile of a man; the nose, lips and chin are clearly delineated. The story goes that the ridge depicts Gunadharma, the architect of Borobudur, who is believed to keep watch over his creation through the ages." In 1885, this accidental discovery rekindles interest in preserving this ancient treasure. J. W. Ijzerman, a Dutch architect involved in a restoration project, walks along the high processional path that surrounds the base of Borobudur. "And he noticed that the moldings of the wall continued underneath a crack that he saw in the floor," says Fontein. "This meant that all these stones must have been added at a time when part of the building was already finished." Ijzerman excitedly calls for a section of the path to be removed. When sixteen layers of stone have been pulled away, Ijzerman discovers another tier of panels quite unlike those of the upper galleries. These are portrayals of hellish tortures mixed with scenes of sweet pleasure. In all, one hundred sixty panels are uncovered. A few scenes had been left unfinished, with instructions to the stone carver inscribed in Sanskrit, and the style of lettering is so distinctive that it can be dated specifically to the middle of the 9th century. Experts conclude that Borobudur must have been built by the Sailendra kings who ruled in Central Java at that time Borobudur could be regarded as a Vajradhatu–mandala and is, in turn, related to Mendut Temple, which is identified as a Garbhadhatu-mandala. The pair of mandalas( temples) is called Dharmadhatu-mandala. It was built as a nine-stepped structure to served as a place of worship- as a monument crowned with a great stupa. However, because the large stupa structure could not withstand the huge weight, it was disassembled to attain the present-day structure of Borobudur. Now built as a place of pilgrimage where ancient Javanese Buddhists could gain knowledge established only for a Yogin. But today it has a special place in the southwest area for the commoners and priests to accumulate a virtue. The profile originally intended was taller and sharper than what we see today. The shape of the stupa - like a badly-risen cake, results from a mix of climate and ambition. The first building campaign began with a basement covered in 160 relief panels but, when the substantial weight of the first terrace was added, the land slipped, no doubt because the core of the structure (part natural hill, part infill) soaked up water like a sponge. A decision was taken to abandon the basement by girdling it with a terrace - a corset to ensure against future landslips. The figures for Borobudur are stupendous: stone embankment covering the basement: 11,600 cubic metres 1,460 narrative panels covering 1,900 square metres 1,212 decorative panels covering 600 square metres 100 monumental gargoyles to carry away the rainwater 432 Buddha images displayed from the galleries 72 Buddhas displayed in stupas on the great terrace 1,472 stupa-shaped ornaments Originally, the Borobudur had three levels, each of them corresponding to a level of the Mahayana Buddhism universe: Kamadhatu, the lower level of human life, a world of passions overwhelming the human beings, is represented by the lower level of the temple, which is now partly buried. Ruphadhatu is the second level. It is represented in the temple by the processional terrace and by the four rectangular terraces; it is ornamented by 2,000 bas-reliefs depicting the life of Prince Siddharta before he became the Buddha. On this level can also be found statues of the Buddha representing the five mudras (or hand positions). Above the rectangular terraces, three circular ones are ornamented by 72 stupas of stone. These stupas are bell-shaped, representing the sacred shape of Buddhism. Each of them encloses a statue of the Buddha Above these circular terraces, the higher level corresponds to the world of total abstraction (Arupadhatu), represented by a large stupa, about 15 meters in diameter. As each level represents a period of human life, the pilgrims had to walk along them clockwise, starting with the stairs on the eastern side. They could thus gradually follow the rules of Buddhist philosophy and eventually gain access to Wisdom. . 3 Levels: Borobudur Temple has three levels representing the three worlds in the universe: 1. Kamadhatu or the world of desire, Rupadhatu or the world of appearance and arupadhatu or the world without visual existence. At the level of rupadhatu, a man has left his desires but still has ego and resemblance. Arupadhatu is a world where ego and resemblance no longer exist. At this level, a man has been released from samsara and decided to break his affiliation with the mortal world. Kamadhatu is found at the foot of the structure, the five steps above it are described as rupadhatu and the third round terraces are described as arupadhatu . Similar to the Mahayana and the Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana was practiced in Borobudur during ancient times and the ability to integrate the philosophy of Tantric or Vajrayana and Mahayana through reliefs and sculptures in the temple indicates the high intelligence of Borobudur’s architect. Stupa: This is the Central component of a Buddhist temple, including Borobudur. Originally built to bury the relics of Buddha shortly after his body was cremated further developments indicate that it was used to store not only the relics of Buddhist monks but also Buddhist objects . A stupa, which describes the concept of Buddhism, has several sections, namely the basis of the stupa (Prasadha), the parts of the ball (dagob) or bell (genta) and the top or crown (yashti) . The stupa was also decorated with parasols (chattra) at the top of the yashti . The stupas are on the terrace of the temple having a form different from that of other stupas in Indonesia. 1,537 stupas could be subdivided into 1,536 buffer stupas and 1 main stupa located from the second-level terrace to the tenth-level terrace. The number of stupas on each terrace is different. The third terrace has the most number of stupas (416). On the basis of this evidence, it can be concluded that the number of stupas on each terrace is the multiples of 8, except on the second, fifth and tenth terraces. The perforated stupas are erected from the seventh to the ninth terrace 2 forms and 4 types of stupas exist in Borobudur. The forms are plain and perforated. The plain stupas can be found from the second to the sixth terrace and in the tenth terrace, where the great stupa is located. The number of plain stupas is 1,465, whereas the number of perforated stupas is 72. The stupas of Borobudur can be classified into four types, namely type A, type B, type C and type D. These four types are the Type A: plain stupas having a Prasadha with ornate lotus seams (dalla) and a semi-circle (kumuda), solid Anda, rectangular harmika and basic circleshaped yashti. This type of stupa is the smallest in Borobudur. There are 1,464 stupas of this type, which are located from the second to the sixth terrace on the ledges, niches and roofedgates or paduraksa. Type B: Or the hollow space-diamond stupas which are 56 in numbe, located on the seventh and eighth terraces. containing the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana that symbolises the turning wheel of dharma They are characterised by a Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), lotus (gentha-side), ornate lotus (dalla) and semi-circle (kumuda), and the hollow space-diamond stupas are characterised by an Anda, a rectangular harmika and a basic circle-shaped yashti. The type B stupas contain a statue of Dhyani Buddha Vairocana with the mudra or hand gesture of Dharma Chakra Parvatana. the plain stupas on these terraces are probably used as the boundary between the ledge (Vedika) and the floor (pradaksinapatha). Type C: the hollow space-square stupas are 16 in number located on the ninth terrace containing no statues. Therse are characterised by a Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), lotus (gentha-side), ornate lotus (dalla) and semi-circle (kumuda), and the hollow space-square Anda, by an octagonal harmika and basic octagonal-shaped yashti. Type D or Single main stupa that becomes the centre of the Borobudur Temple is characterized by Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), a lotus (genthaside), an ornate lotus (dalla) and a semi-circle (kumuda). The Anda is a solid, rectangular and octagonal harmika, with basic octagonal-shaped yashti. The Yashti on the main stupa has not been fully restored since the discovery of the temple. The reconstruction of the yashti was carried out on the basis of a picture showing that it previously contained three parasols. It is characterised by a (Chatra). There is a main stupa, with a belt adorned with vines, which is located on the tenth terrace. It has been suggested that the main stupa should be stylised with a parasol. It has been found that the plain stupas (type A) are located from the second to the sixth terrace. This argument is visualised in the temple in the form of type C stupas or the hollow space-diamond stupas. The Dhyani-Buddha Vairocana statues placed in this position show the ambiguity between the being and nothingness or maya. Buddha was visualised in the arupadhatu stages, but he is still able to carry out his activities. The activities presented in arupadhatu, which teaches Dharma, finalise and liberate all beings. They are manifested from the seventh to the ninth terraces. The Vairocana Buddha statue is placed in this stupa in order to demonstrate his activity; Buddha teaches all beings and to all directions. The hollow space-square stupas, which do not contain a Buddha statue, hold a higher position than the hollow space-diamond stupas. They have become a symbol of the last level arupadhatu, eventually reaching a Parinirvana stage, which is symbolised by the main stupa. According to Parinirvana Sutra , Buddha of Kamadhatu went to the top, and after passing through various levels in arupadhatu, he entered the level of arupadhatu to eventually reach the level where feelings no longer exist. Then, Buddha went down from the top to the lowest level of rupadhatu. Then, he again reached the highest level of rupadhatu to finally enter Parinirvana. 3.1 Comparison between the stupas of Borobudur and other temples Stupas are also found in other Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist temples, such as Mendut, Pawon, Ngawen, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples, as well as the Ratu Boko archaeological sites and Pura Pegulingan. The form of plain stupas found in all of these sites is similar to that of Borobudur. It has been found that the plain stupas in Sewu Temple are similar to those of Borobudur, which are placed on the ledge. They reinforce the opinion about their function at Borobudur as a boundary between the ledge (Vedika) and floor (pradaksinapatha). The Sewu Temple was built in the late 8th century having Vajradhatu-mandala structure, with a great number of Dhyani Buddha figures. However, there was limited information on the essence of Boddhisattva who was worshipped in the temple because the inscription of Kelurak, which was found at Sewu Temple, provided information only about a temple named Manjusri-grha or the house of Manjusri, and it could be built to worship Manjusri . On the basis of the similarities found, it can be suggested that Borobudur and Sewu Temples are most probably correlated and were erected at the same time. Both temples also represent Sailendra art and Mahayana and Vajrayana sects, such as stupas on the ledge and Vajradhatu-mandala structure. The author found the main stupas or type A stupa at Pawon, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples, as well as at the Ratu Baka archaeological site and Pura Pegulingan. The main stupas at Mendut and Ngawen Temples were built during the ancient times. The main stupas in both temples have collapsed or been damaged and cannot be reconstructed. Vairocana statues inside a hollow space-diamond stupa. The main stupa at Pura Pegulingan in Bali, which is similar to a miniature of stupa, can be found at these sites. The miniature of stupa at Pegulingan is probably related to the statues of Pancatathagata, which itself is related to the Vajrayana Buddhism doctrine, and it could be seen on the Dhyani Buddha statues that are placed on the four corners of the stupa (Astawa, 1996). The Ratu Boko Temple was built as a vihara and named Abhayagirivihara; it still preserves the legacy of Buddhism (Magetsari, 1981). The main stupa at Ratu Boko, has been reconstructed ever since its discovery. Meanwhile, Ngawen, Mendut, Pawon, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples have one main stupa surrounded by plain smaller stupas. The main stupas at these temples are the symbols of Parinirvana. It has been found that these main stupas in each temple were not decorated with parasols or chattra. Design Elements in the Bodoboudur- Forms and types of Borobudur’s stupas A. Revianur Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia How big was the city of Angkor at its height? But most people don't realize that Angkor Wat is just one of more than a thousand temples in the greater Angkor region. Our research suggests that this settlement may have been home to between 700,000 and 900,000 people at its height in the 13th century. Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. Angkor was built by human labor power. Hundreds of thousands of slaves put their sweat, their blood and their whole lives into its construction. Their experiences and abilities led them to solve the technical and engineering problems, as well as to create the great art works. Stupa & Circumambulation Circumambulation is the core ritualof Buddhist worship. The practitioner does not enter the stupa, it is a solid object. Instead, the practitioner circumambulates (walks around) it as a meditational practice focusing on the Buddha’s teachings. This movement suggests the endless cycle of rebirth (samsara) and the spokes of the Eightfold Path (eight guidelines that assist the practitioner) that leads to knowledge of the Four Noble Truths and into the center of the unmoving hub of the wheel, Enlightenment. This walking meditation at a stupa enables the practitioner to visualize Enlightenment as the movement from the perimeter of the stupa to the unmoving hub at the center marked by the yasti. The practitioner can walk to circumambulate the stupa or move around it through a series of prostrations (a movement that brings the practitioner’s body down low to the ground in a position of submission). An energetic and circular movement around the stupa raises the body’s temperature. Practitioners do this to mimic the heat of the fire that cremated the Buddha's body, a process that burned away the bonds of self-hood and attachment to the mundane or ordinary world. Attachments to the earthly realm are considered obstacles in the path toward Enlightenment. Circumambulation is not veneration for the relics themselves—a distinction sometime lost on novice practitioners. The Buddha did not want to be revered as a god, but wanted his ashes in the stupas to serve as a reminder of the Four Noble Truths. Votive Offerings Votive Stupa, Bodhgaya, 8th century, stone, 78 x 44 x 35 cm (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) Small stupas can function as votive offerings (objects that serve as the focal point for acts of devotion). In order to gain merit, to improve one’s karma, individuals could sponsor the casting of a votive stupa. Indian and Tibetan stupas typically have inscriptions that state that the stupa was made “so that all beings may attain Enlightenment.” Votive stupas can be consecrated and used in home altars or utilized in monastic shrines. Since they are small, they can be easily transported; votive stupas, along with small statues of the Buddha and other Buddhist deities, were carried across Nepal, over the Himalayas and into Tibet, helping to spread Buddhist doctrine. Votive stupas are often carved from stone or caste in bronze. The bronze stupas can also serve as a reliquary and ashes of important teachers can be encased inside. This stupa clearly shows the link between the form of the stupa and the body of the Buddha. The Buddha is represented at his moment of Enlightenment, when he received the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths (the dharma or law). He is making the earth touching gesture (bhumisparsamudra) and is seated in padmasan, the lotus position. He is seated in a gateway signifying a sacred space that recalls the gates on each side of monumental stupas.1 In the name of the revival of Hinduism hundreds of the Buddhist statues, stupas and viharas were destroyed. Pushyamitra Sunga The Hindu ruler demolished 84,000 Buddhist stupas which had been built by Ashoka the Great.As most characteristically seen at Sanchi in the Great Stupa (2nd–1st century bc), the monument consists of a circular base supporting a massive solid dome (the anda, “egg,” or garbha, “womb”) from which projects an umbrella. FROM DUST BOWL TO MEGALITH Architecturally speaking, the earliest and most basic interpretation of stupa is nothing but a dust burial mound. However, the historic significance of this built form has evolved through time, as has its rudimentary structure. The massive dome-shaped “anda” form which has now become synonymous with the idea of this Buddhist shrine, is the result of years of cultural, social and geographical influences. The beauty of this typology of architecture lies in its intricate details, interesting motifs and immense symbolism, reflected and adapted in various local contexts across the world. Today, the word “stupa” is used interchangeably while referring to monuments such as pagodas, wat, etc. This paper is, therefore, an attempt to understand the ideology and the concept of a stupa, with a focus on tracing its history and transition over time. The main objective of the research is not just to understand the essence of the architectural and theological aspects of the traditional stupa but also to understand how geographical factors, advances in material, and local socio-cultural norms have given way to a much broader definition of this word, encompassing all forms, from a simple mound.The Stupa, which was conceived as a simple monument for the Buddha’s corporeal relics, has over time transformed in its form and nomenclature and resulted in various types of structures all over the world. In some regions, even supplementary structures like monasteries have come up alongside stupas, fuelling the inception of new Buddhist orders and sects. However, the core ideology of the stupa remains constant throughout each new development, as does its symbolism and several crucial architectural features. These characteristics must, therefore, be given due consideration and importance while designing any stupa project.2 What is the shape of Borobudur? Essay by Dr. Karen Shelby-https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/introduction- cultures-religions-apah/buddhism-apah/a/the-stupa Genesis of Stupas Shubham Jaiswal , Avlokita Agrawal and Geethanjali Raman’ Indian Institue of Technology, Roorkee, India -Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad, India https://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/22-Genesis-of-Stupas.pdf Stupa: This is the Central component of a Buddhist temple, including Borobudur. Originally built to bury the relics of Buddha shortly after his body was cremated further developments indicate that it was used to store not only the relics of Buddhist monks but also Buddhist objects . A stupa, which describes the concept of Buddhism, has several sections, namely the basis of the stupa (Prasadha), the parts of the ball (dagob) or bell (genta) and the top or crown (yashti) . The stupa was also decorated with parasols (chattra) at the top of the yashti . The stupas are on the terrace of the temple having a form different from that of other stupas in Indonesia. 1,537 stupas could be subdivided into 1,536 buffer stupas and 1 main stupa located from the second-level terrace to the tenth-level terrace. The number of stupas on each terrace is different. Plan And Symbolism Of Candi Borobudur The monument is arranged as an ascending series of three circular platforms that rest upon six square ones, capped by a large central stupa. It is symmetrical in plan with respect to the four cardinal directions, with the principal entrance on its eastern side. The original base was decorated with 160 relief panels depicting the law of cause and effect (karma); unable to support the rest of the building, this collapsed during construction and was replaced by a more substantial platform that covered the original reliefs. Today, four of the original karma panels have been re-exposed at the southeast corner ("A", in the diagram). The facade of the building is decorated with carvings that include makaras, guardian figures, and 432 Buddha statues (108 on each side) that are set into niches. 108 is the number of physical marks (such as urna, ushnisha, etc.) that distinguish a Buddha, and also has numerological significance as the product of 27x4 = 3x3x3x2x2 = three threes times two twos.) The buddhas on the lower four levels of each side display a characteristic directional mudra: bhumisparsa on the east, varada on the south, dhyana on the west, and abhaya on the north. On all four sides of the top row, the statues are in vitarka mudra. The balustraded walls of the square terraces form a roofless, winding corridor on each level (numbers "1" - "4" in the diagram). The walls of the corridors are decorated with reliefs:  1, outer wall: lower and upper tiers: jataka stories  1, inner wall: lower tier: avadanas; upper tier: life of Shakyamuni  2, outer wall: jatakas and avadanas; inner wall: Gandavyuha  3-4, inner and outer walls: Gandavyuha The jatakas and avadanas are popular stories about the past lives (incarnations) of human beings like Shakyamuni, who eventually became bodhisattvas as the result of their selfless actions. The life of Shakyamuni, on the upper tier of corridor 1, is taken from an Indonesian version of the Lalitavistara Sutra, that describes his birth, spiritual journey, and enlightenment. The Gandavyuha Sutra (the last chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra) is the story of a pilgrim named Sudhana, who visited 54 teachers1 in the course of a spiritual quest. All of these reliefs, in other words, are teaching aids that instruct visitors in how to become a bodhisattva, the spiritual goal of Mahayana Buddhist practice. After circumambulating the teaching corridors with their pictorial reliefs, the pilgrim ascends to the open upper platform that is occupied by 72 buddha statues ("S" in the diagram), each displaying dharmachakra mudra and enclosed in its own small, pierced, stupa. (The number 72 again has numerological significance, being the product of 9x8 = 3x3x2x2x2 = two threes times three twos.) Two of these small stupas have been opened ("O" in the diagram) for display to modern visitors. Many scholars believe that this level represents the Buddhist Realm Of Formlessness (i.e. the spiritual world), a higher reality in contrast to the Realm Of Form (i.e. the physical world) that is depicted in the corridor reliefs. The entire plan, with its square and circular elements, can also be interpreted as a physical mandala through which the pilgrim may navigate in order to further his spiritual growth. The large central stupa that crowns the monument has a hollow chamber within, that is completely walled off from the outside. When opened during restoration, it was found to contain an unfinished Buddha image that may represent a transcendent spiritual state. Besides these interpretations, the monument as a whole with its overall form and various levels and decorations can be seen both as a symbolic stupa, and as a world-mountain. All of these symbolic meanings are compatible with each other, and probably all were intended to apply here. Such multivalent symbolism was culturally available and readily understood both to the builders of the monument and to those who utilized it in their religious activities. This large and magnificent work can also be seen, in secular terms, as a most impressive demonstration of the power and piety of the Sailendra kings who organized and financed its construction. The measurements of the monument are given by Soediman (in "Borobudur Cultural Heritage," Studies in Conservation, Vol. 18, No. 3, August 1973, pp. 102-112) as 123m (400 ft) each side, by 31m (100 ft) high. Fifty four is half of 108. Most commentators quote a figure of fifty two teachers, omitting to count Maitreya and Samantabhadra. 1J. W. Heisig, Way of Enlightenment, Way of Salvation, Studies In Interreligious Dialogue 14 (2004), p. 57. However, the core ideology of the stupa remains constant throughout each new development, as does its symbolism and several crucial architectural features. These characteristics must, therefore, be given due consideration and importance while designing any stupa project. In her article on Symbolism of a Stupa, Supriya Sinha, believes that Containment finds significance in the vedic corpus, and, antedates it, as is evident from depictions in Indus valley seals .This decryption at the emblematic level begs an obvious question. What would compel a heterodox religion to attach itself with conventional symbolism? The dichotomy is explicable if one views the stupa as a product of its times. A time when structural aspects were based not on functional, utilitarian foundations but on deeply spiritual conceptions. The act of creation, as Coomarswamy has famouly said, was an act of replication.”We must do what the gods did in the beginning. Thus the gods did; thus men do.” The stupa, in its meaning, is replete with this primordial injunction and its appropriation reflects fundamental, primal, human motivations. At another level, this inclusion may have been necessitated by the dynamics of the existing religious milieu. A rudimentary situation analysis of the moment in time when this fledgling religion operated, and, when the first stupa was instituted, reveals the case of a relatively new entrant jostling for space against a dominant ideology. 1 …(http://thesacredspace.in/?p=163#:~:text=In%20its%20most%20fundamental%20essence,the%20remains%20of%20the%20Buddha%20.&text=In%20its%20earliest%20meanings%2C%20the,the%20remains%20of%20the%20Buddha%20 Of an incumbent mythology replete with cosmological interpretations and paradigmatic creator gods. In this setting, legitimacy would require equally potent antecedents. What better way to consecrate the remains of the one, who, like the Vedic god, Indra was born from his mother’s side than to have the sacred place of his interment evoke the archetypal feat of Indra? Parikrama or Pradakshina refers to circumambulation of sacred places to imbibe their energy in Sikh, Hindu, Jain or Buddhist context, and the path along which this is performed. Parikrama means "the path surrounding something" in Sanskrit, and is also known as Pradakshina ("to the right"), representing circumambulation. Both words are mostly used in the context of religious deities in a temple, sacred rivers, sacred hills and a close cluster of temples, and "doing a parikrama" as a symbol of prayer is an integral part of Hindu worship. In Hinduism and other Indian religions, the Parikrama inside temples or sacred sites is traditionally clockwise. Most Hindu temples and Buddhist Stupa include various Pradakshina paths. Pradakshina paths are defined. as: Circumbulatory or pathway around the shrine of the temples by keeping time is a common form of prayer in India.It includes Narmada, Shetrunjaya,Girnar. This pathway made of stone around the shrine is called Pradakshina path. Parikrama is also practiced in Buddhism. Pic shows circumambulatory path of a STUPA( Left Pic ) and Hindu temple. There could be one surrounding the main deity, other paths could be broader being concentric to the main path. However, it is not uncommon to find non-concentric parikrama paths in a single temple structure. At times the outermost parikrama path covers the whole village/town/city, thereby implying that the length of the path can stretch. Parikrama is done around sacred fire (Agni – the fire God), Tulsi plant (Ocimum tenuiflorum) and Peepal tree. Parikrama of Agni or Agni Pradakshina is a part of the Hindu marriage ceremony. Some of the Parikramas are Narmada River, Govardhan hill, Vrindavan, Vraj Mandala, Dwadash Madhav parikrama Tirthraj Prayag, Ayodhya, Girnar, Chitrakoot hill, Varanasi, Mathura, and Mathura-Vrindavan yugalabandi in Kartik ..... Typically, Parikrama is done after the completion of traditional worship (puja) and after paying homage to the deity. Parikrama is supposed to be done with a meditative mood. The pathway made of granite stone around the shrine is called the Pradakshina path. Pradakshina around the sacred fire is a part of the Hindu marriage ceremony. Schematic drawing of traffic (in black) and circumambulation (in blue) routes around stupa, south end of Zhongdian Town. In Buddhism circumambulation or pradakhshina has been an important ritual since early times. Sacred structures such as stupa or images have a pradakhshina path around them. The chaitya is a distinct ancient type of building that only survives in Indian rock-cut architecture, a hall with a stupa at the far end, always built with a rounded apse-like end, to allow pradakhshina.[14] A mandapa (prayer hall), added in the front transforms the original stupa into the stupa shrine — as a sacred entity which requires a circumambulatory path around it for the purpose of worship. The whole structure is planned in such a way that it becomes the centre of the mandala and symbolically represents Mount Meru. Buddhist faithful may perform pradakhshina by prostrating themselves at every step, thus greatly prolonging the process. The most extreme pradakhshina is that of the sacred Mount Kailash in Tibet, a mountain trek some 52 km (32 mi) long, at altitudes between 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and 18,200 ft (5,500 m). This may also be undertaken by Hindus and Jains, and some pilgrims progress by prostration, taking some weeks. Speaking further about Parikrama as a process, Ms. Supriya Sinha in her brilliant article quoted above points out ” Thus in the design of the Stupa the vedika enclosure marks off a path (Pradakshina Path) for the ritual of circumambulation. An important rite, it involved a physical engagement with the stupa and was performed by entering the precinct through the east gate and walking clockwise. The directional emphasis related the devotee to the passage of the sun, “the transcendent centre of the universe,” “cosmic intelligence” whose light is “intellectual wisdom”. In vedic mythology Indra is credited with releasing the sun, setting its “wheel in motion” and “making a pathway through the darkness” . The Buddha, whose birth is likened to the rising of the sun , compares his abhijana (“superknowledge”) to a rediscovery of ancient wisdom , “ clearing of an ancient jungle path from the brush that has overgrown and concealed it for generations” – a veritable pathway, a casting of light on what has been hidden in the darkness. And thence he proceeds to “turn the wheel of law”. With these inherent parallels, the ritual act performs the important function of linking the worshipper with the wheel turning Buddha, and the Sun , on a path that is homologous with the archetypal path. A further instrument to re-emphasize this symbolism is seen in the alignment of the gateways, which form a cosmological diagram in the form of a swastika- a metonymical symbol evoking the wheel and the movement of the light giving sun. This act, replete with cosmological significance puts the worshipper in harmony with the cosmos while it also reminds him of the Buddha and his odyssey across several lifetimes to attain final liberation-transcendental nirvana. At the centre of the stupa complex is the solid hemispherical dome described variously in Buddhist texts as garbha, container or alternatively as anda . It bears within itself the seed (bija)-relic. Symbolically this links the dome to the cosmic womb eg: the vedic hiranyagarbha (golden womb) which emerges from the primordial waters of chaos . This analogy is explicit in reliefs at Sanchi and on some early coins where the stupa is shown floating on water .So deep are the cosmological interlinkages that the mythic womb, the embodiment of life and prosperity, was said to encompass the riches of the universe. In a ritual enactment of the myth, the relic caskets are often made of precious metals/stone and routinely suffused with precious elements. In the brahmanical context, the womb represents the creative unity. In the Buddhist context, it is the enfolder of the seed and signifies the involutional tendency of the spiritual path- the return to the centre, to unity. “The stupa symbolically designates this centre to which the seeker directs his life’s pilgrimage”. and it bears within itself the “pivotal presence” of the wheel turning Buddha . This is significant in the light of inscriptions , which state that the corporeal remains of the Buddha are “endowed with life” ( “prana sammada”) for it implies that the dome not only allows the devotee to experience proximity to the Buddha, but also makes him aware of his involutional unity. The cosmological theme continues with the axial pillar which represents the world axis . This pole is symbolic of the link between the human and the divine worlds. It indicates a pathway of spiritual acscent, an upward movement away from the confines of the physical world , to the limitless realm. In this sense, the pole is a beacon, a representation of the devotee’s goal, for in its verticality, one can measure one’s own progress towards the supreme attainment, a goal triumphantly achieved by the Buddha in nirvana. The third terrace has the most number of stupas (416). On the basis of this evidence, it can be concluded that the number of stupas on each terrace is the multiples of 8, except on the second, fifth and tenth terraces. The perforated stupas are erected from the seventh to the ninth terrace 2 forms and 4 types of stupas exist in Borobudur. The forms are plain and perforated. The plain stupas can be found from the second to the sixth terrace and in the tenth terrace, where the great stupa is located. The number of plain stupas is 1,465, whereas the number of perforated stupas is 72. The stupas of Borobudur can be classified into four types, namely type A, type B, type C and type D. These four types are the Type A: plain stupas having a Prasadha with ornate lotus seams (dalla) and a semi-circle (kumuda), solid Anda, rectangular harmika and basic circleshaped yashti. This type of stupa is the smallest in Borobudur. There are 1,464 stupas of this type, which are located from the second to the sixth terrace on the ledges, niches and roofedgates or paduraksa. Type B: Or the hollow space-diamond stupas which are 56 in numbe, located on the seventh and eighth terraces. containing the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana that symbolises the turning wheel of dharma They are characterised by a Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), lotus (gentha-side), ornate lotus (dalla) and semi-circle (kumuda), and the hollow space-diamond stupas are characterised by an Anda, a rectangular harmika and a basic circle-shaped yashti. The type B stupas contain a statue of Dhyani Buddha Vairocana with the mudra or hand gesture of Dharma Chakra Parvatana. the plain stupas on these terraces are probably used as the boundary between the ledge (Vedika) and the floor (pradaksinapatha). Type C: the hollow space-square stupas are 16 in number located on the ninth terrace containing no statues. Therse are characterised by a Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), lotus (gentha-side), ornate lotus (dalla) and semi-circle (kumuda), and the hollow space-square Anda, by an octagonal harmika and basic octagonal-shaped yashti. Type D or Single main stupa that becomes the centre of the Borobudur Temple is characterized by Prasadha with a flat seam (patta), a lotus (genthaside), an ornate lotus (dalla) and a semi-circle (kumuda). The Anda is a solid, rectangular and octagonal harmika, with basic octagonal-shaped yashti. The Yashti on the main stupa has not been fully restored since the discovery of the temple. The reconstruction of the yashti was carried out on the basis of a picture showing that it previously contained three parasols. It is characterised by a (Chatra). There is a main stupa, with a belt adorned with vines, which is located on the tenth terrace. It has been suggested that the main stupa should be stylised with a parasol. It has been found that the plain stupas (type A) are located from the second to the sixth terrace. This argument is visualised in the temple in the form of type C stupas or the hollow space-diamond stupas. The Dhyani-Buddha Vairocana statues placed in this position show the ambiguity between the being and nothingness or maya. Buddha was visualised in the arupadhatu stages, but he is still able to carry out his activities. The activities presented in arupadhatu, which teaches Dharma, finalise and liberate all beings. They are manifested from the seventh to the ninth terraces. The Vairocana Buddha statue is placed in this stupa in order to demonstrate his activity; Buddha teaches all beings and to all directions. The hollow space-square stupas, which do not contain a Buddha statue, hold a higher position than the hollow space-diamond stupas. They have become a symbol of the last level arupadhatu, eventually reaching a Parinirvana stage, which is symbolised by the main stupa. According to Parinirvana Sutra , Buddha of Kamadhatu went to the top, and after passing through various levels in arupadhatu, he entered the level of arupadhatu to eventually reach the level where feelings no longer exist. Then, Buddha went down from the top to the lowest level of rupadhatu. Then, he again reached the highest level of rupadhatu to finally enter Parinirvana. 3.1 Comparison between the stupas of Borobudur and other temples Stupas are also found in other Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist temples, such as Mendut, Pawon, Ngawen, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples, as well as the Ratu Boko archaeological sites and Pura Pegulingan. The form of plain stupas found in all of these sites is similar to that of Borobudur. It has been found that the plain stupas in Sewu Temple are similar to those of Borobudur, which are placed on the ledge. They reinforce the opinion about their function at Borobudur as a boundary between the ledge (Vedika) and floor (pradaksinapatha). The Sewu Temple was built in the late 8th century having Vajradhatu-mandala structure, with a great number of Dhyani Buddha figures. However, there was limited information on the essence of Boddhisattva who was worshipped in the temple because the inscription of Kelurak, which was found at Sewu Temple, provided information only about a temple named Manjusri-grha or the house of Manjusri, and it could be built to worship Manjusri . On the basis of the similarities found, it can be suggested that Borobudur and Sewu Temples are most probably correlated and were erected at the same time. Both temples also represent Sailendra art and Mahayana and Vajrayana sects, such as stupas on the ledge and Vajradhatu-mandala structure. The author found the main stupas or type A stupa at Pawon, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples, as well as at the Ratu Baka archaeological site and Pura Pegulingan. The main stupas at Mendut and Ngawen Temples were built during the ancient times. The main stupas in both temples have collapsed or been damaged and cannot be reconstructed. Vairocana statues inside a hollow space-diamond stupa. The main stupa at Pura Pegulingan in Bali, which is similar to a miniature of stupa, can be found at these sites. The miniature of stupa at Pegulingan is probably related to the statues of Pancatathagata, which itself is related to the Vajrayana Buddhism doctrine, and it could be seen on the Dhyani Buddha statues that are placed on the four corners of the stupa (Astawa, 1996). The Ratu Boko Temple was built as a vihara and named Abhayagirivihara; it still preserves the legacy of Buddhism. The main stupa at Ratu Boko, has been reconstructed ever since its discovery. Meanwhile, Ngawen, Mendut, Pawon, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples have one main stupa surrounded by plain smaller stupas. The main stupas at these temples are the symbols of Parinirvana. It has been found that these main stupas in each temple were not decorated with parasols or chattra. 1 In 1931, a Dutch artist and scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake. Lotus flowers are found in almost every Buddhist work of art, often serving as a throne for buddhas and base for stupas. The architecture of Borobudur itself suggests a lotus depiction, in which Buddha postures in Borobudur symbolize the Lotus Sutra, mostly found in many Mahayana Buddhism (a school of Buddhism widely spread in the east Asia region) texts. Three circular platforms on the top are also thought to represent a lotus petals. Borobudur's vertical organization reflects Buddhist cosmology, according to which the universe is divided into three superimposing spheres: kamadhatu (desire), rupadhatu (forms) and arupadhatu (formlessness). The Borobudur Temple Compounds is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, and was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD during the reign of the Syailendra Dynasty. "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." However the construction and the style of terraced structure where one climbs from one to the hiher terrace suggests another design concept. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging.essence. This word sunyata or shunyata translated most often as emptiness, vacuity, and sometimes voidness[2] – is a concept that found in diverse religions from Buddhist, Shaivite and Vaishnavite, which has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context. In Theravāda Buddhism, Suññatā often refers to the non-self (Pāli: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman) nature of the five aggregates of experience and the six sense spheres. Suññatā is also often used to refer to a meditative state or experience. However in  Mahāyāna Buddhism, practiced by the builders of the Borobodur stupa- śūnyatā refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)", but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen, Shentong, or Chan. At Borobudur, geometry, geomancy, and theology all instruct adherents toward the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Meticulously carved relief sculptures mediate a physical and spiritual journey that guides pilgrims progressively toward higher states of consciousness. The entire site contains 504 statues of the Buddha. An aerial view of Borobudur shows the overall plan forms a giant tantric Buddhist mandala. All tiers are connected with more than a hundred staircases. Some say the numbers are even higher — close to 500! — and others just lost count during the ascent. BOROBUDUR Design Borobudur ground plan taking the form of a Mandala Borobudur is built as a single large stupa and, when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. The original foundation is a square, approximately 118 metres (387 ft) on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform contains seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures. The design of Borobudur took the form of a step pyramid. Previously, the prehistoric Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia had constructed several earth mounds and stone step pyramid structures called punden berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan site near Cisolok , Kuningan. The construction of stone pyramids is based on native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode of ancestral spirits or hyangs. The punden berundak step pyramid is the basic design in Borobudur, believed to be the continuation of older megalithic tradition incorporated with Mahayana Buddhist ideas and symbolism. Aerial view of Borobudur, it took the form of a step pyramid and mandala plan The Three Realms of Buddhist Cosmology The monument's three divisions symbolize the three "realms" of Buddhist cosmology, namely  1.Kamadhatu (the world of desires),  2.Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and finally  3.Arupadhatu (the formless world). Ordinary sentient beings live out their lives on the lowest level, the realm of desire. Those who have burnt out all desire for continued existence leave the world of desire and live in the world on the level of form alone: they see forms but are not drawn to them. Finally, full Buddhas go beyond even form and experience reality at its purest, most fundamental level, the formless ocean of nirvana.  The liberation from the cycle of Saṃsāra where the enlightened soul had no longer attached to worldly form corresponds to the concept of Śūnyatā, the complete voidness or the nonexistence of the self. Kāmadhātu is represented by the base, Rupadhatu by the five square platforms (the body), and Arupadhatu by the three circular platforms and the large topmost stupa. The architectural features between the three stages have metaphorical differences. For instance, square and detailed decorations in the Rupadhatu disappear into plain circular platforms in the Arupadhatu to represent how the world of forms—where men are still attached with forms and names—changes into the world of the formless. Congregational worship in Borobudur wsas( and also is) performed in a walking pilgrimage. Pilgrims are guided by the system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform. Each platform represents one stage of enlightenment. The path that guides pilgrims was designed to symbolize Buddhist cosmology. In 1885, a hidden structure under the base was accidentally discovered. The "hidden footing" contains reliefs, 160 of which are narratives describing the real Kāmadhātu. The remaining reliefs are panels with short inscriptions that apparently provide instructions for the sculptors, illustrating the scenes to be carved. The real base is hidden by an encasement base, the purpose of which remains a mystery. It was first thought that the real base had to be covered to prevent a disastrous subsidence of the monument into the hill. There is another theory that the encasement base was added because the original hidden footing was incorrectly designed, according to Vastu Shastra, the Indian ancient book about architecture and town planning. Regardless of why it was commissioned, the encasement base was built with detailed and meticulous design and with aesthetic and religious consideration. STEPPED PYRAMID; You will need to climb 625 steps up and 625 steps down to see what gorgeous nature looks like. It's going to be worth it! Choose your level of difficulty at Suroloyo Peak: The first level is an easy track, where you can enjoy the Borobudur silhouette from afar. BOROBUDUR: Mountain, Mandala, Monument (770 - 830)       SUDHANA LISTENING TO ONE OF THIS "52 FRIENDS," BOROBUDUR (770 - 830) “The liturgical advantages of linear addition for temple design does not fully explain why, despite the paramount importance Indian architects attached to the concept of the “temple mountain” and their genius for finding ever more ingenious forms with which to express it, they do not appear to have attempted to build a pyramid in stone. Mountains, specifically the Himalayas, had long been seen as the haunt of the Hindu deities and the furthest reach from pedestrian, dust-bound humanity. The Khmer built temples on every mountain, or what passed for one, in their water-logged homeland and, where there were no hillocks, they erected mountains of masonry. The earliest “temple mountain” was probably the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (2667 - 2648 B.C.E.,) followed by the “ziggurats” of Mesopotamia, a name meaning “to build a raised place” in Akkadian. The 14th Century B.C.E Babylonian Dur Kurigaizu may possibly have been the original “Tower of Babel,” to the conquered Hebrews a symbol of pagan hubris competing with their monotheistic, unnamable god. In Mesoamerica, isolated from the Eastern Hemisphere for millennia, the largest, if no longer most impressive temple mountain, was built at Cholula near Puebla, in the 9th Century, the aptly named Tlachihualtepetl, “the mountain built by hand” in Nahuatl, all 4.45 million cubic meters of it, now a grassy hill crowned by a Christian church. ​ Did Indian sthapakas disdain a mass of masonry as too literal an interpretation of what was at best a metaphor with many possible metaphysical tenors? Or was their anti-materialistic theology offended by the notion of making an imitation mountain – an illusion of an illusion – preferring an obvious “aedicule” or icon of a mountain, thus emphasizing that a temple, a mountain and Mt. Meru were merely “dependently-originated” emanations and mirages which would be destroyed, like their creator, Brahma, every 311 trillion 40 billion years ––just a “flash in eternity” in the words of the Bhagavad Gita. Still, it comes as a surprise that the first, great “temple mountain” in the Indic cultural ambit was built at a remote inland site surrounded by volcanoes on the Kedu Plain of South Java, 40km from present-day Yogyakarta. The temple mountain of Borobudur is estimated to have taken sixty years, from 770 to 830, to complete during the peak of the Mahayana Buddhist Sailendra Kingdom. Jayavarman II (790 - 835) may have been a feudatory of the Sailendras and even have spent time in Java before he declared the independence of the Khmer Empire in 802, while the temple was still under construction. ​ Perhaps as surprising as Borobudur’s location is that this first “temple mountain” achieved a level of architectural and theological sophistication never again equaled or attempted. The temple appears not only to have been laid-out according to a mandala, like those of India, but to have functioned as one as well, a yantra, a diagram or device for “consciousness raising,” here a literal pathway for attaining “enlightenment in this life-time” – or at least simulating its path over a weekend. Mandalas are intended to aid their makers’ meditations and visualizations and then destroyed once their outward, illusory form had been internalized; hence, they have always been regarded as ephemeral, painted on perishable fabric or even drawn in sand. At Borobudur, however, groups of pilgrims were presumably intended in the coming centuries to make their way around the padas of each of mandala’s concentric squares, upward and inward along a 3km long “liturgical path,” towards its central stupa and tip, the primal bindu or dot, literally climbing towards satori stone by stone and footstep by footstep.  ​ Upwards of 3500 mandalas are recorded from the 9th Century and although scholars have been unable to find one which corresponds exactly with Borobudur’s site plan, its similarities with several widely-used types are striking. For example, the 504 Buddha statues which line its terraces are aligned in accord with the Diamond World Mandala, one of the most widely used Tantric models. The 368 statues in the niches above the first four terraces sign with the mudra of the four Mahayana dhyani, tathagata or “wisdom” Buddhas, associated with the direction they face; the 72 Buddhas in the dagobas or stupas of the three round terraces (gold circles) have been associated with Vairocana, the central Buddha of that mandala of whom the other four are aspects or manifestations. ​ The identity of the 64 Buddhas on the 5th terrace (dark green) has occasioned considerable scholarly debate because 1) the Diamond World mandala has only five Buddhas and 2) the 64 statues are depicted in vitarka or teaching mudra, not used in that mandala. Some have speculated that the Buddhas of the 5th terrace and in the stupas are both Vairocana, while others have suggested the “extra,” “sixth” Buddha is the historical Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama. A third group has put forward Vajradhara, a Buddha found especially in Vajrayana or Tantric sutras, the Adi-Buddha or source of the other five, representing the dharmakhana, the non-manifest or “subtle” “Buddha body,” “nature” or “essence,” equivalent to ultimate reality, sunyata or emptiness of thought and substance. Thus, Borobudur still withholds some of its secrets despite the great advances of modern research. All the Buddhas, significantly, face outward towards the world in keeping with the temple’s primarily didactic mission. From templemountains.org ​ ​​ ​ The texts illustrated on Borobudur’s 2670 bas relief panels (1460 of them narrative, the rest decorative) in two registers on the walls and balustrades of its four concentric, redented terraces seem deliberately selected and sequenced to illustrate the three dhatus, lokas or “realms” of Buddhist cosmology, subdivided into thirty-three (or thereabout,) ranked levels of consciousness,  The original base, (now hidden by a “false foot,” added when the temple began to subside under its own massive weight,) the 1st terrace and the balustrade of the 2nd, depict events from the kamadhatu, the ten “desire worlds” inhabited by humans as well as the Vedic gods and demons The panels on the three upper terraces are taken from the Gandavyuha, (The Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble or The Entrance into the Dharma) which constitutes the 39th chapter of the Flower Ornament Sutra and its sequel, the Bhadraari Sutra. These are important, if obscure, Mahayana texts describing the quest for enlightenment of a youth, Sudhana, in the course of which he is instructed by no fewer than fifty-two “good friends,” gurus, bodhisattvas and Buddhas, populating the rupadhatu, the eighteen “form worlds” of those who are no longer subject to cataleptic desires, experiencing only self-delight, but still occupy discrete territory in space and a unified consciousness capable of instructing others. On the fifth terrace bas reliefs are replaced by Buddhas in lattice-work stupas or dagobas, some with square, some with hexagonal matrices, which presumably represent the arupadhatu, the four “formless worlds” of beings who have transcended individual form and spatial dimension; since they therefore cannot be represented, they are bracketed in a kind of “architectural parenthesis” or "under erasure," partially visible within the dagobas as Buddhas withdrawn in meditating on the emptiness of their own meditations. See my Paper below LEFT Bright Flame Banner Bodhisattva, Sumeru Banner Bodhisattva, Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva, Unobstructed Banner Bodhisattva, Flower Banner Bodhisattva, Leaving Filth Banner Bodhisattva, Sun Banner Bodhisattva, Wonderful Banner Bodhisattva, Leaving Dust Bodhisattva, Universal Light Banner Bodhisattva, Earth Awesome Might Bodhisattva, Jeweled Might Bodhisattva, Great Might Bodhisattva, Vajra Might Wisdom Bodhisattva, Leaving Filth Might Bodhisattva, Proper Dharma Sun Might Bodhisattva, Meritorious Virtue Mountain Might Bodhisattva, Wisdom Light Reflection Might Bodhisattva, Universal Auspicious Might Bodhisattva, Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, Empty Space Treasury Bodhisattva, Lotus Treasury Bodhisattva, Jeweled Treasury Bodhisattva, Sun Treasury Bodhisattva, Pure Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva, Dharma Seal Treasury Bodhisattva, Brightness Treasury Bodhisattva, Navel Treasury Bodhisattva, Lotus Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva, Good Eyes Bodhisattva, Pure Eyes Bodhisattva, Leaving Filth Eyes Bodhisattva, Unobstructed Eye Bodhisattva, Universal Seeing Eyes Bodhisattva, Good Contemplating Eyes Bodhisattva, Blue Lotus Flower Bodhisattva, Vajra Eyes Bodhisattva, Jeweled Eyes Bodhisattva, Eye of Emptiness Bodhisattva, Happy Eyes Bodhisattva, Universal Eyes Bodhisattva, Heavenly Crown Bodhisattva, Universally Illumining the Dharma Realm Wisdom Crown Bodhisattva, Way-place Crown Bodhisattva, Universally Illumining the Ten Directions Crown Bodhisattva, All Buddhas’ Treasury Crown Bodhisattva, Transcending All the Worlds Crown Bodhisattva, Universally Illumining Crown Bodhisattva, Indestructible Crown Bodhisattva, Maintaining All Thus Come One’s Lion Throne Crown Bodhisattva, Universally Illumining the Dharma Realm and Emptiness Crown Bodhisattva, Brahma King Cowl Bodhisattva, Dragon King Cowl Bodhisattva, All Transformation Buddhas’ Light Cowl Bodhisattva, Way-place Cowl Bodhisattva, Sounds of All the Ocean-like Vows Jeweled King Cowl Bodhisattva, All Buddhas' Light Mani Cowl Bodhisattva, Manifesting All of Emptiness' Level Marks Mani King Adorned Cowl Bodhisattva, Manifesting All Thus Come Ones’ Spiritual Transformations Mani King Banner Net Draped Cowl Bodhisattva, Emitting All the Sounds of Buddhas Turning the Dharma Wheel Cowl Bodhisattva, Speaking All Names and Sounds of the Three Periods of Time Cowl Bodhisattva, Great Light Bodhisattva, Leaving Filth Light Bodhisattva, Jeweled Light Bodhisattva, Leaving Dust Light Bodhisattva, Flaming Light Bodhisattva, Dharma Light Bodhisattva, Still and Quiet Light Bodhisattva, Sun Light Bodhisattva, Self-Mastery Light Bodhisattva, Heavenly Light Bodhisattva, Blessings and Virtue Banner Bodhisattva, Wisdom Banner Bodhisattva, Dharma Banner Bodhisattva, Spiritual Penetrations Banner Bodhisattva, Light Banner Bodhisattva, Flower Banner Bodhisattva, Mani Banner Bodhisattva, Bodhi Banner Bodhisattva, Brahma Banner Bodhisattva, Universal Light Banner Bodhisattva, Brahma Sound Banner Bodhisattva, Mountains Clanging Together Sound Bodhisattva, Pervading All Sounds of the Dharma Realm Bodhisattva, Shaking All Dharma Seas Thunderous Sound Bodhisattva, Subduing Demon Sound Bodhisattva, Great Compassion Expedient Cloud and Thunderous Sound Bodhisattva, Quelling All Worlds' Sufferings Comforting Sound Bodhisattva, Dharma Ascended Bodhisattva, Utmost Superior Bodhisattva, Wisdom Superior Bodhisattva, Meritorious Virtue Sumeru Superior Bodhisattva, Meritorious Virtue Coral Superior Bodhisattva, Renown Superior Bodhisattva, Universal Light Superior Bodhisattva, Great Kindness Superior Bodhisattva, Wisdom Sea Superior Bodhisattva, Buddha Seed Superior Bodhisattva, Light Victory Bodhisattva, Virtuous Victory Bodhisattva, Superior Victory Bodhisattva, Universal Brightness Victory Bodhisattva, Dharma Victory Bodhisattva, Moon Victory Bodhisattva, Empty Space Victory Bodhisattva, Jeweled Victory Bodhisattva, Banner Victory Bodhisattva, Wisdom Victory Bodhisattva, Sala Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Dharma Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Elephant Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Brahma Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Mountain Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Multitude Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Swift Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Still and Quiet Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Non-Moving Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Strength Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva, Most Superior Self-Mastery King Bodhisattva Still and Quiet Sound Bodhisattva, Unobstructed Sound Bodhisattva, Earth Shaking Sound Bodhisattva, Ocean Shaking Sound Bodhisattva, Cloud Sound Bodhisattva, Dharma Light Sound Bodhisattva, Empty Space Sound Bodhisattva, Proclaiming All Living Beings' Good Roots Sound Bodhisattva, Manifesting the Sound of All Great Vows Bodhisattva, Way-place Sound Bodhisattva, Sumeru Light Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Empty Space Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Leaving Defilement Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Unobstructed Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Good Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Universal Illumining the Three Periods Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Vast Great Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Universal Bright Enlightenment Bodhisattva, Dharma Realm Light Enlightenment Bodhisattva. These Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas, five hundred in all, were Bodhisattvas who had accomplished Universal Worthy's conduct and vows. Building structure Approximately 55,000 cubic metres (72,000 cu yd) of andesite stones were taken from neighbouring stone quarries to build the monument.[84] The stone was cut to size, transported to the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints between stones. The roof of stupas, niches and arched gateways were constructed in corbelling method. Reliefs were created in situ after the building had been completed. The monument is equipped with a good drainage system to cater to the area's high stormwater run-off. To prevent flooding, 100 spouts are installed at each corner, each with a unique carved gargoyle in the shape of a giant or makara. Borobudur differs markedly from the general design of other structures built for this purpose. Instead of being built on a flat surface, Borobudur is built on a natural hill. However, construction technique is similar to other temples in Java. Without the inner spaces seen in other temples, and with a general design similar to the shape of pyramid, Borobudur was first thought more likely to have served as a stupa, instead of a temple. A stupa is intended as a shrine for the Buddha. Sometimes stupas were built only as devotional symbols of Buddhism. A temple, on the other hand, is used as a house of worship. The meticulous complexity of the monument's design suggests that Borobudur is in fact a temple. Little is known about Gunadharma, the architect of the complex. His name is recounted from Javanese folk tales rather than from written inscriptions. The basic unit of measurement used during construction was the tala, defined as the length of a human face from the forehead's hairline to the tip of the chin or the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger when both fingers are stretched at their maximum distance.  The unit is thus relative from one individual to the next, but the monument has exact measurements. A survey conducted in 1977 revealed frequent findings of a ratio of 4:6:9 around the monument. The architect had used the formula to lay out the precise dimensions of the fractal and self-similar geometry in Borobudur's design. This ratio is also found in the designs of Pawon and Mendut, nearby Buddhist temples. Archeologists have conjectured that the 4:6:9 ratio and the tala have calendrical, astronomical and cosmological significance, as is the case with the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The main structure can be divided into three components: base, body, and top.[85] The base is 123 m × 123 m (404 ft × 404 ft) in size with 4 metres (13 ft) walls.[84] The body is composed of five square platforms, each of diminishing height. The first terrace is set back 7 metres (23 ft) from the edge of the base. Each subsequent terrace is set back 2 metres (6.6 ft), leaving a narrow corridor at each stage. The top consists of three circular platforms, with each stage supporting a row of perforated stupas, arranged in concentric circles. There is one main dome at the center, the top of which is the highest point of the monument, 35 metres (115 ft) above ground level. Stairways at the center of each of the four sides give access to the top, with a number of arched gates overlooked by 32 lion statues. The gates are adorned with Kala's head carved on top of each and Makaras projecting from each side. This Kala-Makara motif is commonly found on the gates of Javanese temples. The main entrance is on the eastern side, the location of the first narrative reliefs. Stairways on the slopes of the hill also link the monument to the low-lying plain. Stairs of Borobudur through arches of Kala/A narrow corridor with reliefs on the wall Half cross-section with 4:6:9 height ratio for foot, body and head, respectively Pradakshina, in Hinduism and Buddhism, the rite of circumambulating in a clockwise direction an image, relic, shrine, or other sacred object. Circumambulating in a counterclockwise movement—i.e., keeping the left shoulder toward the central object—called prasavya, is observed in funeral ceremonies. Circumambulation (from Latin circum around and ambulātus to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practice (known in Sanskrit as pradakśiṇā). The notion of the middle way refers to the Buddha's resistance to unconditionally accept any extreme ways of practice or theoretical viewpoints. This practical middle path, which is the way to the attainment of nirvāṇa, is separated into eight sections which together bear the name of the noble eightfold path. The position of narrative bas-reliefs stories on Borobudur wall Borobudur is constructed in such a way that it reveals various levels of terraces, showing intricate architecture that goes from being heavily ornamented with bas-reliefs to being plain in Arupadhatu circular terraces. The first four terrace walls are showcases for bas-relief sculptures. These are exquisite, considered to be the most elegant and graceful in the ancient Buddhist world. The bas-reliefs in Borobudur depicted many scenes of daily life in 8th-century ancient Java, from the courtly palace life, hermit in the forest, to those of commoners in the village. It also depicted temple, marketplace, various flora and fauna, and also native vernacular architecture. People depicted here are the images of king, queen, princes, noblemen, courtier, soldier, servant, commoners, priest and hermit. The reliefs also depicted mythical beings in Buddhist.beliefs.such.as asuras, Gods, bodhisattvas, kinnaras, gandharvas and apsaras. The images depicted on bas-relief often served as reference for historians to research for certain subjects, such as the study of architecture, weaponry, economy, fashion, and also mode of transportation of 8th-century Maritime Southeast Asia. One of the famous renderings of an 8th-century Southeast Asian double outrigger ship is Borobudur Ship. Today, the actual-size replica of Borobudur Ship that had sailed from Indonesia to Africa in 2004 is displayed in the Samudra Raksa Museum, located a few hundred meters north of Borobudur. The Borobudur reliefs also pay close attention to Indian aesthetic discipline, such as pose and gesture that contain certain meanings and aesthetic value. The reliefs of noblemen, noble women, kings, or divine beings such as apsaras, taras and boddhisattvas are usually portrayed in tribhanga pose, the three-bend pose on neck, hips, and knee, with one leg resting and one upholding the body weight. This position is considered as the most graceful pose, such as the figure of Surasundari holding a lotus During Borobudur excavation, archeologists discovered colour pigments of blue, red, green, black, as well as bits of gold foil, and concluded that the monument that we see today – a dark gray mass of volcanic stone, lacking in colour – was probably once coated with varjalepa white plaster and then painted with bright colors, serving perhaps as a beacon of Buddhist teaching.[93] The same vajralepa plaster can also be found in Sari, Kalasan and Sewu temples. It is likely that the bas-reliefs of Borobudur was originally quite colourful, before centuries of torrential tropical rainfalls peeled-off the colour pigments. Narrative panels distribution Section Location Story No. of panels hidden foot wall Karmavibhangga 160 first gallery main wall Lalitavistara 120 Jataka/Avadana 120 balustrade Jataka/Avadana 372 Jataka/Avadana 128 second gallery balustrade Jataka/Avadana 100 main wall Gandavyuha 128 third gallery main wall Gandavyuha 88 balustrade Gandavyuha 88 fourth gallery main wall Gandavyuha 84 balustrade Gandavyuha 72 Total 1,460 Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 square metres (27,000 sq ft), and they are distributed at the hidden foot (Kāmadhātu) and the five square platforms (Rupadhatu). The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara, are grouped into 11 series that encircle the monument with a total length of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The hidden foot contains the first series with 160 narrative panels, and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on the wall read from right to left, while those on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right. The hidden foot depicts the workings of karmic law. The walls of the first gallery have two superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of the Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also the balustrades in the first and the second galleries tell the story of the Buddha's former lives. The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana's further wandering about his search, terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom. The law of karma (Karmavibhangga) The Karmavibangga scene on Borobudur's hidden foot, on the right depicting sinful act of killing and cooking turtles and fishes, on the left those who make living by killing animals will be tortured in hell, by being cooked alive, being cut, or being thrown into a burning house. The 160 hidden panels do not form a continuous story, but each panel provides one complete illustration of cause and effect.[94] There are depictions of blameworthy activities, from gossip to murder, with their corresponding punishments. There are also praiseworthy activities, that include charity and pilgrimage to sanctuaries, and their subsequent rewards. The pains of hell and the pleasure of heaven are also illustrated. There are scenes of daily life, complete with the full panorama of samsara (the endless cycle of birth and death). The encasement base of the Borobudur temple was disassembled to reveal the hidden foot, and the reliefs were photographed by Casijan Chepas in 1890. It is these photographs that are displayed in Borobudur Museum (Karmawibhangga Museum), located just several hundred meters north of the temple. During the restoration, the foot encasement was reinstalled, covering the Karmawibhangga reliefs. Today, only the southeast corner of the hidden foot is revealed and visible for visitors. The story of Prince Siddhartha and the birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara) Queen Maya riding horse carriage retreating to Lumbini to give birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama The story starts with the descent of the Buddha from the Tushita heaven and ends with his first sermon in the Deer Park near Benares. The relief shows the birth of the Buddha as Prince Siddhartha, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of Kapilavastu (in Nepal). The story is preceded by 27 panels showing various preparations, in the heavens and on the earth, to welcome the final incarnation of the Bodhisattva. Before descending from Tushita heaven, the Bodhisattva entrusted his crown to his successor, the future Buddha Maitreya. He descended on earth in the shape of white elephants with six tusks, penetrated to Queen Maya's right womb. Queen Maya had a dream of this event, which was interpreted that his son would become either a sovereign or a Buddha. A relief of Jataka story of giant turtle that saving drowned sailors. Prince Siddhartha Gautama became an ascetic hermit. While Queen Maya felt that it was the time to give birth, she went to the Lumbini park outside the Kapilavastu city. She stood under a plaksa tree, holding one branch with her right hand, and she gave birth to a son, Prince Siddhartha. The story on the panels continues until the prince becomes the Buddha. The stories of Buddha's previous life (Jataka) and other legendary people (Avadana) Jatakas are stories about the Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddhartha. They are the stories that tell about the previous lives of the Buddha, in both human and animal form. The future Buddha may appear in them as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. Avadanas are similar to jatakas, but the main figure is not the Bodhisattva himself. The saintly deeds in avadanas are attributed to other legendary persons. Jatakas and avadanas are treated in one and the same series in the reliefs of Borobudur. The first twenty lower panels in the first gallery on the wall depict the Sudhanakumaravadana, or the saintly deeds of Sudhana. The first 135 upper panels in the same gallery on the balustrades are devoted to the 34 legends of the Jatakamala.[99] The remaining 237 panels depict stories from other sources, as do the lower series and panels in the second gallery. Some jatakas are depicted twice, for example the story of King Sibhi (Rama's forefather). Sudhana's search for the ultimate truth (Gandavyuha)-Gandavyuha Sutra on 2 nd level North wall The Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra or The Excellent Manifestation Sūtra (Tib. sdong po bkod pa'i mdo, Sutra of the Tree's Display; cf. Skt "gaṇḍi", "the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches") is a Buddhist Mahayana Sutra of Indian origin dating roughly c. 200 to 300 CE. It depicts one of the world's most celebrated spiritual pilgrimages, and comprises the 39th chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture. In Buddhabhadra's Chinese translation of the Avatamsaka, this 39th chapter is entitled "Entrance into the Dharma Realm".The Sutra is described as the "Sudhana's quest for the ultimate truth", as the sutra chronicles the journey of a disciple, Sudhana ("Excellent Riches"), as he encounters various teachings and Bodhisattvas until his journey reaches full circle and he awakens to teachings of the Buddha. A relief of the Gandavyuha story from Borobudur 2nd level north wall. RIGHT Sudhana learning from one of the fifty-two teachers along his journey toward enlightenment. Sanskrit manuscript, 11-12th century. In his quest for enlightenment, recounted in the last chapter of the Flower Ornament Scripture, Sudhana would converse with a diverse array of 53 kalyāṇa-mittatā (wise advisors), 20 of whom are female, including an enlightened prostitute named Vasumitrā, Gautama Buddha's wife and his mother, a queen, a princess and several goddesses. Male sages include a slave, a child, a physician, and a ship's captain. The antepenultimate master of Sudhana's pilgrimage is Maitreya. It is here that Sudhana encounters the Tower of Maitreya, which — along with Indra's net – is a most startling metaphor for the infinite: In the middle of the great tower... he saw the billion-world universe... and everywhere there was Sudhana at his feet... Thus Sudhana saw Maitreya's practices of... transcendence over countless eons (kalpa), from each of the squares of the check board wall... In the same way Sudhana... saw the whole supernal manifestation, was perfectly aware of it, understood it, contemplated it, used it as a means, beheld it, and saw himself there. 2 The penultimate master that Sudhana visits is the Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of great wisdom. Thus, one of the grandest of pilgrimages approaches its conclusion by revisiting where it began. The Gaṇḍavyūha suggests that with a subtle shift of perspective we may come to see that the enlightenment that the pilgrim so fervently sought was not only with him at every stage of his journey, but before it began as well—that enlightenment is not something to be gained, but "something" the pilgrim never departed from. The final master that Sudhana visits is the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who teaches him that wisdom only exists for the sake of putting it into practice; that it is only good insofar as it benefits all living beings. Samantabhadra concludes with a prayer of aspiration to buddhahood, which is recited by those who practice according to Atiśa's Bodhipathapradīpa, the foundation of the lamrim textual traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Gandavyuha is the story told in the final chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra about Sudhana's tireless wandering in search of the Highest Perfect Wisdom. It covers two galleries (third and fourth) and also half of the second gallery, comprising in total of 460 panels.[100] The principal figure of the story, the youth Sudhana, son of an extremely rich merchant, appears on the 16th panel. The preceding 15 panels form a prologue to the story of the miracles during Buddha's samadhi in the Garden of Jeta at Sravasti. Sudhana was instructed by Manjusri to meet the monk Megasri, his first spiritual friend. As his journey continues, Sudhana meets 53 teachers, such as Supratisthita, the physician Megha (Spirit of Knowledge), the banker Muktaka, the monk Saradhvaja, the upasika Asa (Spirit of Supreme Enlightenment),Bhismottaranirghosa, the Brahmin Jayosmayatna, Princess Maitrayani, the monk Sudarsana, a boy called Indriyesvara, the upasika Prabhuta, the banker Ratnachuda, King Anala, the god Siva Mahadeva, Queen Maya, Bodhisattva Maitreya and then back to Manjusri. Each spiritual friend gives Sudhana specific teachings, knowledge, and wisdom. These meetings are shown in the third gallery. After a second meeting with Manjusri, Sudhana went to the residence of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, depicted in the fourth gallery. The entire series of the fourth gallery is devoted to the teaching of Samantabhadra. The narrative panels finally end with Sudhana's achievement of the Supreme Knowledge and the Ultimate Truth. A Buddha statue with the hand position of dharmachakra mudra” Apart from the story of the Buddhist cosmology carved in stone, Borobudur has many statues of various Buddhas. The cross-legged statues are seated in a lotus position and distributed on the five square platforms (the Rupadhatu level), as well as on the top platform (the Arupadhatu level). The Buddha statues are in niches at the Rupadhatu level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the balustrades, the number of statues decreasing as platforms progressively diminish to the upper level. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, there are 432 Buddha statues at the Rupadhatu level. At the Arupadhatu level (or the three circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, which adds up to 72 stupas.[4] Of the original 504 Buddha statues, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless), and 43 are missing. Since the monument's discovery, heads have been acquired as collector's items, mostly by Western museums. Some of these Buddha heads are now displayed in numbers of museums, such as the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, Musée Guimet in Paris, and The British Museum in London. Germany has in 2014 returned its collection and funded their reattachment and further conservation of the site. Head from a Borobudur Buddha statue in Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam./Headless Buddha statue in Borobudur. Since its discovery, numbers of heads have been stolen and installed in museums abroad. Emblem of Central Java displaying Borobudur. RIGHT -Lion gate guardian At first glance, all the Buddha statues appear similar, but there is a subtle difference between them in the mudras, or the position of the hands. There are five groups of mudra: North, East, South, West and Zenith, which represent the five cardinal compass points according to Mahayana. The first four balustrades have the first four mudras: North, East, South and West, of which the Buddha statues that face one compass direction have the corresponding mudra. Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and inside the 72 stupas on the top platform have the same mudra: Zenith. Each mudra represents one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas; each has its own symbolism. Following the order of Pradakshina (clockwise circumumbulation) starting from the East, the mudras of the Borobudur buddha statues are: Statue Mudra Symbolic meaning Dhyani Buddha Location of the Statue Bhumisparsa mudra Calling the Earth to witness Aksobhya Rupadhatu niches on the first four eastern balustrades Vara mudra Benevolence, alms giving Ratnasambhava Rupadhatu niches on the first four southern balustrades Dhyana mudra Concentration and meditation Amitabha Rupadhatu niches on the first four western balustrades Abhaya mudra Courage, fearlessness Amoghasiddhi Rupadhatu niches on the first four northern balustrades Vitarka mudra Reasoning and virtue Vairochana Rupadhatu niches in all directions on the fifth (uppermost) balustrade Dharmachakra mudra Turning the Wheel of dharma (law) Vairochana Arupadhatu in 72 perforated stupas on three rounded platforms The rediscovery and reconstruction of Borobudur has been hailed by Indonesian Buddhists as the sign of the Buddhist revival in Indonesia. In 1934, Narada Thera, a missionary monk from Sri Lanka, visited Indonesia for the first time as part of his journey to spread the Dharma in Southeast Asia. This opportunity was used by a few local Buddhists to revive Buddhism in Indonesia. A bodhi tree planting ceremony was held in Southeastern side of Borobudur on 10 March 1934 under the blessing of Narada Thera, and some Upasakas were ordained as monks. Once a year, thousands of Buddhist from Indonesia and neighboring countries flock to Borobudur to commemorate national Vesak ceremony. The emblem of Central Java province and Magelang Regency bears the image of Borobudur. It has become the symbol of Central Java, and also Indonesia on a wider scale. Borobudur has become the name of several establishments, such as Borobudur University, Borobudur Hotel in Central Jakarta, and several Indonesian restaurants abroad. Borobudur has appeared on Rupiah banknotes and stamps and in numbers of books, publications, documentaries and Indonesian tourism promotion materials. The monument has become one of the main tourism attraction in Indonesia, vital for generating local economy in the region surrounding the temple. The tourism sector of the city of Yogyakarta for example, flourishes partly because of its proximity to Borobudur and Prambanan temples.         The Form of Emptines and the “Emptiness of Form” ​ The explicit theological program, such as that depicted on the walls and balustrades of Borobudur’s five terraces, “terraces,” edges, galleries, gopuras and thresholds along the stupa’s east-west “liturgical axis” marks significant stages on a monk’s path to enlightenment and his attainment of the ten Mahayana paramitas, perfections or insights, necessary to become a bodhisattva,  Nonetheless, a monk, like today’s visitors, would pass through 92 limens or “thresholds” in the course of crossing just these three enclosures; the succession of gates and doors along this “pilgrim’s progress” would frame an unobstructed view from the profane space of the 4th enclosure on the east, to its counterpart on the west and beyond, the forest around the temple. The Buddha image in the cella would be barely visible, though it marked the point where the two cardinal axes of the terrestrial plane intersect the vertical axis of spiritual ascent vanishing at the tip of the shikhara or summit of Mt. Meru, into formless space; in a literal sense, then, the “vanishing point.” From here, the bodhicitta, who had advanced far on the path to enlightenment, might perceive the statue, the shrine, the temple and the world beyond, even his perceiving them, as maya, just thoughts and hence illusions. The series of empty 92 east-facing Buddhas: Buddha: Akshobhya ("immovable") Buddha wisdom: vajra (diamond, clarity) mudra: bhumisparsa (earth-touching, dispelling.ignorance) 92 south-facing Buddhas: Buddha: Ratnasambhava (“born from a jewel”) Buddha wisdom: ratna (jewel, all-inclusive equanimity) mudra: varada (generosity, granting wishes)   92 west-facing Buddhas: Buddha: Amitabha (“infinite light”) Buddha wisdom: padma (lotus, compassion) mudra: dhyani (meditation)   92 north-facing Buddhas:  Buddha: Amoghasiddhi (“infallible accomplishment”) Buddha wisdom: karma (effective means) mudra: abhaya (fearlessness, reassurance)   *64 Buddhas on the 5th terrace:  Buddha: the historical Buddha (“the awakened one”) Buddha wisdom: dharma (doctrine) mudra: vitarka (teaching)    *72 Buddhas in stupas or dagobas:  Buddha: Vairocana (“essential radiance”) Buddha wisdom: tathagata (“thusness”) mudra: dharmachakra (“first turning of the wheel of dharma,” Buddha’s first sermon at the deer park, Sarnath) Key to texts illustrated on the 1460 narrative bas relief panels   1. Karmavibhangga (The Law of Karma, moral fables) 160 panels hidden by the added base or “false foot”   2. Jatakas (Birth stories of the 547 previous incarnation of the historical Buddha from the Pali Canon) 600 panels on the 1st and 2nd terrace balustrades    3. Avadanas (Legends of Illustrious Men) 120 panels on the 1st terrace’s lower register   4. Lalitavistara (The Unfolding of the Play, scenes from the life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, the bodhisattva, Sakyamuni, up to his first sermon at Sarnath) 120 panels on the 1st terrace’s upper register    5.Gandavyuha (The Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble from the Flower Ornament Sutra and its sequel the Bhadraari Sutra, the youth Sudhana’s journey to enlightenment) 460 panels on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th terraces’ two registers and balustrades doors in all four directions would frame sunyata or emptiness, stretching to infinity, while the concentric structures would be like echoes of the primal A-U-M, just reverberations. Paradoxically, the closer the adept approaches the  realization that “form is emptiness,” represented by the emptiness at the void at the temple’s center, the statue of Buddha who himself achieved nirvana or non-existence,  the more the architecture, its diamonds, rectangles, dimensions and alignments dematerialize and become mere reminders of their own lack of independent existence or origination. Might this help explain, in part, the architectural anti-climax and axial slackening of Jayavarman’s VII’s Buddhist complexes compared with the monumental massifs at the centers of the Baphuon or Angkor Wat?  The Borobudur Temple was built in the 8th and 9th centuries by Java's Shailendra Dynasty, when it became a major Buddhist pilgrimage site. The temple is built in three tiers, each individually representing a sphere of the cosmic path to nirvana, while collectively representing the physical journey to achieve it.Built with about 2,000,000 cubic feet (56,600 cubic metres) of gray volcanic stone, Borobudur encloses a small hill and is shaped like a stepped pyramid with three major levels—a square base, a middle level of five square terraces, and an upper level of three circular terraces—totaling, in effect, nine lesser sections . The original foundation is a square, approximately 118 metres (387 ft) on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. There are no internal cell shrines, and the terraces are solid. Borobudur is thus a Buddhist stupa in the Indian sense. Each of the square terraces is enclosed in a high wall with pavilions and niches along the whole perimeter, which prevents the visitor on one level from seeing into any of the other levels. Originally, it was probably plastered white, and painted in bright colours. There must have been a substantial monastery for the monks who looked after the structure and the pilgrims, but nothing adequate has yet been discovered. Borobudur, built as a single large stupa, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala when viewed from above, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind.  The foundation forms a square, approximately 118 meters (387 ft) on each side. Nine platforms, the lower six square and the upper three circular, grace the structure. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa has a bell-shape, pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures. Approximately 55,000 m³ (almost 2 million cubic feet) of stones came from neighboring rivers to build the monument. Workman cut the stone to size, transporting them to the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails formed joints between stones. Artists created reliefs in-situ after the building had been completed. The monument enjoys a good drainage system to cater for the area's high storm water run-off. To avoid inundation, 100 spouts embellish each corner with a unique carved gargoyles (makaras). Stairways climb up at the center of each side with a number of gates, watched by a total of 32 lion statues. Borobudur differs markedly with the general design of other structures built for that purpose. Instead of building on a flat surface, Borobudur sits on a natural hill. The building technique has similarities with other temples in Java. With no inner space as in other temples and its general design similar to the shape of pyramid, Borobudur at first had been mistaken as a stupa instead of a temple (or candi in Indonesian). A stupa serves as a shrine for the Lord Buddha. Sometimes craftsmen build stupas only as devotional symbols of Buddhism. A temple, on the other hand, serves as a house of deity and have inner spaces for worship. The complexity of the monument's meticulous design suggests a temple. The structure comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. 72 Buddha statues seated inside the perforated stupa surround a main dome, located at the center of the top platform. The monument serves both as a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. 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 of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades. Pilgrimage constitutes the central congregational worship in Borobudur. The system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform guide pilgrims. Each platform represents one stage of enlightenment. The symbolism of sacred knowledge according to the Buddhism cosmology served as the model for the path that guides pilgrims. Scant records about the architect Gunadharma exist. Javanese legendary folk tales, rather than written in old inscriptions, serve as the only account of his name, referred to as the one who "… bears the measuring rod, knows division and thinks himself composed of parts." The architect had used the formula to lay out the precise dimensions of Borobudur. The nearby Buddhist temples of Pawon and Mendhut have identical formula. Archaeologists conjectured the purpose of the ratio formula and the tala dimension has calendrical, astronomical and cosmological themes, as of the case in other Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The main vertical structure divides into three groups: base (or foot), body, and top, resembling the three major division of a human body. The base measures 123x123 m² square in size and 4 meters (13 ft) high of walls. Five square platforms each with diminishing heights compose the body. The first terrace sets back 7 meters (23 ft) from the edge of the base. The other terraces set back by 2 meters (6.5 ft), leaving a narrow corridor at each stage. The top consists of three circular platforms, with each stage supporting a row of perforated stupas, arranged in concentric circles. One main dome sits at the center, the top reaches the highest point of the monument (35 meters or 115 ft above ground level). Stairways at the center of each side with a number of gates, watched by a total of 32 lion statues, provide access to the upper part. The main entrance stands on the eastern side, the location of the first narrative reliefs. Stairways linking the monument to the low-lying plain rise on the slopes of the hill. The monument's three-fold division symbolizes the three stages of mental preparation towards the ultimate goal according to the Buddhism cosmology, namely Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and finally Arupadhatu (the formless world). The base represents Kamadhatu, five square platforms (the body)Rupadhatu, and the three circular platforms and the large topmost stupa Arupadhatu. The architectural features between three stages have metaphorical differences. For instance, square and detailed decorations in the Rupadhatu disappear into plane less circular platforms in the Arupadhatu to represent how the world of forms—where men remain attached with forms and names—changes into the world of the formless. In his great book,The History of Java published in 1817, Raffles describes aptly the spatial coordinates of the Borobudur In the district of Boro in the province of Kedu, and near to the confluence of the rivers Elo and Praga, crowning a small hill, stands the temple of Boro Bodo, supposed by some to have been built in the sixth, and by others in the tenth, century of the Javan era. It is a square stone building consisting of seven ranges of walls, each range decreasing as you ascend, till the building terminates in a kind of dome. It occupies the whole of the upper part of a conical hill, which appears to have been cut away so as to receive the walls, and to accommodate itself to the figure of the whole structure. At the centre, resting on the very apex of the hill, is the dome, of about fifty feet diameter; and in its present ruinous state, the upper part having fallen in, only about twenty feet high. This is surrounded by a triple circle of towers, in number seventy-two, each occupied by an image looking outwards, and all connected by a stone casing of the hill, which externally has the appearance of a roof.     “Descending from thence, you pass on each side of the building by steps through five handsome gateways, conducting to five successive terraces, which surround the hill on every side. The walls which support these terraces are covered with the richest sculpture on both sides, but more particularly on the side which forms an interior wall to the terrace below, and are raised so as to form a parapet on the other side. In the exterior of these parapets, at equal distances, are niches, each containing a naked figure sitting cross-legged, and considerably larger than life; the total number of which is not far short of four hundred. Above each niche is a little spire, another above each of the sides of the niche, and another upon the parapet between the sides of the neighbouring niches. The design is regular; the architectural and sculptural ornaments are profuse. The bas-reliefs represent a variety of scenes, apparently mythological, and executed with considerable taste and skill. The whole area occupied by this noble building is about six hundred and twenty feet either way.     “The exterior line of the ground-plan, though apparently a perfect square when viewed at a distance, is not exactly of that form, as the centre of each face, to a considerable extent, projects many feet, and so as to cover as much ground as the conical shape of the hill will admit: the same form is observed in each of the terraces.     “The whole has the appearance of one solid building, and is about a hundred feet high, independently of the central spire of about twenty feet, which has fallen in. The interior consists almost entirely of the hill itself.” In 1885, restorers discovered a hidden structure under the base. The "hidden foot" contains reliefs, 160 providing narrative describing the real Kamadhatu. The remaining reliefs, panels with short inscriptions, describe instruction for the sculptors, illustrating the scene they would carve. An encasement base hides the real base that served an unknown function. The encasement base had been built with detailed and meticulous design with aesthetics and religious compensation. Borobudur Temple was built by the Sailendra dynasty famous in history because as efforts to idealize and glorify Buddhism Mahayana. Borobudur Development Phase Borobudur temple had been forgotten for a long period even centuries - the building is so magnificent and therefore  faced with the destruction process. It has experienced only 150 years as a center of pilgrimage, a short time compared to its age.  Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels) covering the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface measures 2,500 m², the panels distributed at the hidden foot (Kamadhatu) and the five square platforms (Rupadhatu). The narrative panels, telling the story of Sudhana and Manohara, group into eleven series encircled the monument with the total length of 3,000 meters (1.86 miles). The hidden foot contains the first series with 160 narrative panels and the remaining ten series distribute throughout walls and balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on the wall read from right to left, while on the balustrade read from left to right. That conforms with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right. The hidden foot depicts the story of the karma law. The walls of the first gallery have two superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also balustrades in the first and the second galleries tell the story of Buddha's former lives.[  The remaining panels depict Sudhana's further wandering about his search; terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom. The law of karma (Karmavibhangga) The 160 hidden panels form a discontinuous story, each panel providing one complete illustration of cause and effect. Depictions of blameworthy activities, from gossip to murder, with their corresponding punishments have been etched. Praiseworthy activities, including charity and pilgrimage to sanctuaries, and their subsequent rewards, appear. The pains of hell and the pleasure of heaven, as well as scenes of daily life, complete with the full panorama of samsara (the endless cycle of birth and death), have been illustrated. The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara) One relief on a corridor wall. The story starts from the glorious descent of the Lord Buddha from the Tushita heaven, and ends with his first sermon in the Deer Park near Benares. The relief shows the birth of Buddha as Prince Siddharta, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of Kapilavastu (in present-day Nepal). Twenty-seven panels showing various preparations, in heavens and on earth, to welcome the final incarnation of Bodhisattva precede the story.[21] Before descending from Tushita heaven, Bodhisattva entrusted his crown to his successor, the future Buddha Maitreya. He descended on earth in the shape of white elephants with six tusks, penetrated to Queen Maya's right womb. Queen Maya had a dream of that event, which had been interpreted that his son would become either a sovereign or a Buddha. While Queen Maya felt the time to give the birth had arrived, she went to the Lumbini park outside the Kapilavastu city. She stood under a plaksa tree, holding one branch with her right hand and she gave birth to a son, Prince Siddharta. The story on the panels continues until the prince became Buddha. Prince Siddharta story (Jataka) and other legendary persons (Avadana) Jatakas constitute stories about the Buddha before his birth as Prince Siddharta.[22] Avadanas bare similarity with jatakas except with a main figure other than Bodhisattva himself. Other legendary persons have been attributed with the saintly deeds. Jatakas and avadanas receive treatment in one and the same series in the reliefs of Borobudur. The first twenty lower panels in the first gallery on the wall depict the Sudhanakumaravadana or the saintly deeds of Prince Sudhanakumara. The first 135 upper panels in the same gallery on the balustrades have been devoted to the thirty four legends of the Jatakamala. The remaining 237 panels depict stories from other sources, as do for the lower series and panels in the second gallery. Some jatakas stories have been depicted twice, for example the story of King Sibhi. Sudhana search of the Ultimate Truth (Gandavyuha) Gandavyuha, a story about Sudhana's tireless wandering in search of the Highest Perfect Wisdom, covers two galleries (third and fourth) and also half of the second gallery. They comprise in total 460 panels. The principal figure of the story, the youth Sudhana, son of an extremely rich merchant, appears on the 16th panel. The preceding 15 panels form a prologue to the story of the miracles during Buddha's samadhi in the Garden of Jeta at Sravasti. During his search, Sudhana visited no less than thirty teachers but none of them had satisfied him completely. Manjusri then instructed him to meet the monk Megasri, where he received the first doctrine. Sudhana journey continues to meet in the following order Supratisthita, the physician Megha (Spirit of Knowledge), the banker Muktaka, the monk Saradhvaja, the upasika Asa (Spirit of Supreme Enlightenment), Bhismottaranirghosa, the Brahmin Jayosmayatna, Princess Maitrayani, the monk Sudarsana, a boy called Indriyesvara, the upasika Prabhuta, the banker Ratnachuda, King Anala, the god Siva Mahadeva, Queen Maya, Bodhisattva Maitreya and then back to Manjusri. Each meeting has given Sudhana a specific doctrine, knowledge and wisdom. Those meetings appear in the third gallery. After the last meeting with Manjusri, Sudhana went to the residence of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, depicted in the fourth gallery. The entire series of the fourth gallery has been devoted to the teaching of Samantabhadra. The narrative panels finally end with the Sudhana's achievement of the Supreme Knowledge and the Ultimate Truth.[ Apart form buddha in Buddhist cosmology carved in the wall, there are many statues of Borobudur buddha sitting cross-legged in the lotus position and showing mudras or symbolic hand gesture given.Buddha statue in niches Rupadhatu level, set by the line on the outside of the balustrade. As platforms progressively diminish to the upper level, the number of Buddha statues decrease. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, 432 Buddha statues appear at the Rupadhatu level At the Arupadhatu (three circular platforms or courtyard), statues of Buddha are placed in berterawang stupa style i.e.perforated. At first there were 32 yard circular stupa, stupa court both 24, and a third court are 16 stupas, all total 72 stupas. Of the total 504 Buddha statues, over 300 have been mutilated (mostly headless) and 43 have been stolen Since the monument's discovery, heads of Buddha have often been stolen as collector's item, mostly by foreign museums.On the face of all these buddha statues look similar, but there are subtle differences among them, namely the mudra or hand gesture position.There are five classes of mudra: North, East, South, West, and Central, all based on five main directions of the compass according to Mahayana teachings.Fourth balustrade has four mudras: North, East, South, and West,where each buddha statue facing towards the show typical mudra.Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and statues of Buddha in the 72 stupas on the upper court berterawang showing mudras: Middle or Central.Each mudra symbolizes the five Dhyani Buddhas;each with its own symbolic meaning. A headless Buddha statue inside a stupa/ A technique to improve Borobudur's drainage system during the 1973 restoration by embedding concrete and pvc pipe Restoration of Borobudur temple Restoration of Borobudur temple commenced on August 10, 1973 on the Northwest Facing east the 600 -young high school studying the theory and practice in the field of Archaeology Chemika (CA) and Technology Archaeology (TA) Their duty was unpacking and installing stone  while Chemika were in charge of cleaning and repairing stones - stones that were cracked and broken, while the work of a technical nature such as the provision of transport providing materials - building materials was handled by contractors (PT Nidya WORKS and THE CONTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF THE PHILLIPINES). the part that Borobudur Temple which consists of the  Rupadhatu elements ie a lower level of the square, while legs Borobudur Temple and porch I, II, III and stupa facelift  was completed on February 23, 1983 under the chairmanship of DR M Soekmono with inscriptions on a stone weighing mark + 20 Tons. Time-Line of  restoration of Borobudur temple * 1814 - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Governor-General of the United Kingdom in Java, heard of the discovery of archaeological objects in the village of Borobudur. Raffles ordered H.C. Cornelius to investigate the location of the discovery, a hill covered with shrubs. * 1873 - The first monograph published about the temple. * 1900 - The Dutch East Indies government established a committee of restoration and maintenance of Borobudur. * 1907 - Theodoor van Erp led the restoration until 1911. * 1926 - Borobudur restored again, but stopped in 1940 due to malaise and the crisis of World War II. * 1956 - The Indonesian government requested the assistance of UNESCO. Prof. Dr. C. Coremans came to Indonesia from Belgium to investigate the causes of damage to Borobudur. * 1963 - The Indonesian government issued a decree to restore Borobudur,  after the events of the G-30-S. * 1968 - At a conference-15 in France, UNESCO agreed to provide assistance to rescue Borobudur. * 1971 - The Government of Indonesia established a body chaired Prof.Ir.Roosseno for the restoration of Borobudur. * 1972 - International Consultative Committee was formed with the involvement of various countries and Ptof. Roosseno as chairman. * UNESCO-sponsored committees provide 5 million U.S. dollars from the cost of restoration of 7750 million U.S. dollars.The rest was covered by Indonesia. * August 10, 1973 - President Suharto inaugurated the commencement of the restoration of Borobudur; restoration was completed in 1984 * January 21, 1985 - bomb attacks that destroyed some of the stupa at Borobudur was soon restored. The attack carried out by the Islamic extremist group led by Husein Ali Al Ethiopia. * 1991 - Borobudur designated as UNESCO World Heritage. FINAL WORD European scholars have written many books on Angkor, claiming that there is a great “mystery” about how it was built. While it is true that the exact method used to carry the huge stones to the top is not known, there really is no “mystery.” Angkor was built by human labor power. Hundreds of thousands of slaves put their sweat, their blood and their whole lives into its construction. Their experiences and abilities led them to solve the technical and engineering problems, as well as to create the great art works. Ancient kings may have thought that these monuments would bring eternal glory to themselves and to the gods they believed in. But really, Angkor brings glory to the traditions of the Kampuchean people. If we could accomplish such great feats even in the dark days of slavery, then we know that we will be able to accomplish things ten times greater now that we have been liberated by socialism.” Angkor Wat is a well-chosen symbol mof Cambodia. It represents the spirit of “daring to scale the heights” that fills the Kampuchean people today as they build a new society free from the oppression of the old one. Having said that let us examine how both the Angkior and the Borobudur were built to invoke the attention of the beholder by its spatial dimensions. And by that I don’t just mean the Size( which, no doubt is huge) but the abilityto involve the beholder into the matrix of the structure. A balustrade is a railing (handrail) and the row of balusters (posts) that support it. ... A balustrade can also be known as railing, rail, banister, handrail and parapet. Balustrades are installed at the side/edge of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from fallin Behind the splendor of the great temple built by Syailendra dynasty on the 8th century AD which is also known as one of the 7 wonders of the world. Till this day,  the Borobudur temple was still leaves some big question marks about its existence. The construction itself is estimated to take approximately 100 years, and it is not known exactly how this gigantic-sized temple was built, but based on the observations of archeologists. Formerly this temple has 1 giant stupa around 5 balustrades, because it is feared to be collapsed because the pressure was too heavy, then this stupa was changed to 1 great stupa with 3 levels of stupas around it. Aerial view of the Borobudur temple, one of UNESCO World Heritage Site in Indonesia. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2kIISDh) Borobudur temple architecture One interesting thing to note from the Borobudur temple was its architecture. The Borobudur temple has a very precise arrangement, where every stone that is part of the structure are perfectly and precisely placed. Usually to do something like this requires a good mathematical calculation ability. The question was who can design those entire construction of this gigantic-sized temple? According to legend, the temple designer is Gunadharma, an intellectual figure of his time. But once again, there is not enough evidence to support this statement. Built on an ancient lake  A doctoral degree student from the Department of Geography, Gajah Mada University named Helmi Murwanti who mentioned about the existence of an ancient lake that was once in the area around Borobudur temple stood, long before the temple was built.  An illustration of the existence ancient lake on the area where the Borobudur temple was stood, long before the temple was built. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2mlT7xI) The results of the analysis of the spread of black clay deposits show that they are derived from volcanic material and rocks, coupled with satellite images that show the flow of the river that empties into this lake. It is estimated that this ancient lake was formed in the Pleistocene era and was 10,000 years old which then shrunk because of human use in line with the development of civilization around the lake. Great research in depth needs to be done again to reveal all the mysteries inherent in the Borobudur temple, as the original world cultural heritage of Indonesia. We should be a part of the next generation to know the ins and outs of this temple, lest important information that we should know is buried forever. ***  Kunto Bimo Myth If we pay attention, in the Borobudur temple there are several hollow stupas in which there's a statue called Kunto Bimo in Dharmachakra position inside it.  The statue of Kunto Bimo in Dharmachakra position inside a hollow stupa at the Borobudur temple According to legend, anyone who can touch the statue with his hands through the holes of the stupa all of his wishes will fullfill. For men, it is recommended to touch the statue's little finger. While for women, it is recommended to touch the toes. Out of nowhere the such belief began, but in some cases it has happened. The hidden reliefs There is one reliefs that is hidden at the foot of the temple and known as Karmawibhangga. This reliefs depicts the sensitive criminal scenes such as murder, rape, and another violence activities. The hidden reliefs at the foot of the Borobudur temple, known as Karmawibhangga depicts the sensitive scenes of murder, rape, and another violence activities No one knows why there are such reliefs are hidden in the Borobudur temple. The reliefs itself was first discovered by J.W Yzerman in 1891. The reliefs depicts the flying saucers sightings From several of the world's ancient relics that have the reliefs depicts the sightings of the UFOs or flying saucers, it turns out that Borobudur temple is one of them. But it cannot be ascertained, why they're made such pattern. Whether it was indeed the intended UFO things or another symbol. The reliefs was depicts the flying saucers sightings on the Borobudur temple. Some experts have argued that the flying saucers-shaped like could be the symbol of the 7 royal jewels in the Buddhist cosmology but still there is no valid proof of this statement. This group included in the beginning a complex of temples with hindu vocation revolving around a pyramid with steps truncated, posed on a hill, first state of Candi Borobudur. The sanctuaries related to the pyramid and still existing are Candi Pawon, Candi Mendut, and Candi Bajong whose ruins cannot be excavated because they are in the cemetery of the village of the same name. On this pyramid will be built, at the extreme end of the 8th century the first buddhistic Borobudur (state n°2) while following the shape, the line and the orientation of the pyramid, but will be devoted to the five Jina. Unfortunately, a landslide will carry the second and third galleries and to require a complete recasting of the monument which will be undertaken from the very start of the 9thcentury. This third state will complete a score of year later. In 832, Sanjaya reunify all the center of Java under their banner. They then try to bring back to their religious design the population by building temples hindouists right to Buddhist sanctuaries and which will include elements of Buddhist decorations, as Candi Prambanan which will be built just near the great complex of Candi Sewu and also of Candi Banon built near Candi Pawon, or by completing bouddhistic monuments by incorporating some elements in it properly hindu. It will be the case for Borobudur which Sanjaya will take again after 932 and which they will complete by in particular building the large staircases of access (state 4), then on which they will add two new series of reliefs (state 5).   Candi Borobudur : Localization: Borobudur is situated approximately 40 km in northeast of Yogyakarta, in the east of the village of Muntilan, on the slopes of the Ajamajam mount.   Stages of the realization : Its construction started towards 780 under the reign of king Sailendra Vishnu (or Dharmatunga). The 2nd and the 3rd stage, makes a quasi whole rebuilding of it after a landslide which damaged the monument seriously, was made starting from 792 under the reign of king Indra. The fourth stage, without great modifications, was the work of Samaratunga, and the completion took place under the reign of Garung or Rakai Pikatan ?   Description: It is Thomas Stanford Raffles who made the first description of the monument in his "History of Java", published in London in 1817.         It is a monument with a quasi square base of about 113 m and 30 m top. It is composed of approximately 1 600 000 cut blocks of endesite. The name of Borobudur, according to the specialist in epigraphy J.G. de Casparis, would be the contraction of an expression meaning "the mountain of the accumulation of the merits of the ten states of Bodhisattva", and one finds these ten levels in the shape of ten floors which should be climbed, after having made the turn of it , until the large stupa central.     These ten floors are : The base where are the famous hidden sculptures (visible in photographs in the museum). The external ambulatory. The four square terraces. The three circular terraces. The platform at the top.    The 10 floors represent three divisions of the Buddhist universe: That of the daily world or passions, called Kamadhatu (the first two stages) That of the awakening, called Rupadhatu (square terraces). That higher of the complete detachment, called Arupadhatu (circular terraces). On the monument are more than 1500 extraordinary carved panels reporting several stories related on Buddhism and the Buddha himself, 1200 other various decorations, 504 statues of Buddha including 72 inside 72 small stupas openwork and posed on the circular terraces, and at the top a large stupa of 15 m diameter and as much top. Significance as a Mandala : Borobudur is not a temple, that is not a place of worship; it is in fact a gigantic mandala, i.e. a representation of the cosmic universe in the mahayanic Buddhism orchestrated, if one can say, by the five Jina (the one who overcame passions), which are five images of the Buddha, corresponding to five episodes significant of his life and organized according to the five directions of space. One thus has : At the east, Akshabya, "the imperturbable one". It makes the gesture ( mudra) of "the earth taken for witness". At the south, Ratnasambhava, "left from the jewel". It makes the gesture of the "gift of oneself". At the west, Amitabha, "the infinite light". It makes it gestureof the "meditation". At north, Amoghasiddha, "success eternal". He makes the gesture of "the absence of fear". And in the center, Vairochana, "the luminous one". He makes the gesture "to turn the wheel of the Law". Borobudur thus makes it possible to the pilgrim to meditate on his own existence, on the vacuity of the things which surround us, on the direction of the life, throughout the 2, 500 km of galleries and as one rises towards the top, that one approaches the sky.   Carved représentations :     All the galleries are covered on both sides and sometimes on two levels with carved panels, which also obliges to make ten full rotations if one wants to follow in the order all the series. One of course sought to understand this immense comic strip by recutting it with known texts. But because of the various stages of its animated construction, of the modifications due also to the evolution of the religious ideas which arrived by waves from the Indies, of the specific convictions of each sovereign Sailendra or Sanjaya, Buddhists or hindu, the told stories are enough disjointed, and certain series keep mysterious.             Obviously, that harms largely the intellectual advance of the pilgrim who does not find himself there more, and it is perhaps for this reason that nowhere elsewhere, nor in any country one finds a monument which resembles closely or even by far to "this pastry ", as said Roger Vaillant. Globally, here are the recognized texts for certain series : Karmawibhangga is a manuscript describing the doctrines of the causes and the consequences of the good and the evil. One finds it on the hidden panels of the base, visible in the museum, but of which some have been left uncovered on the monument, on the Southern side. Lalitavishtara which tells the life of the historical Buddha from his birth to his first sermon at Bénares. 120 panels on the first gallery, side of the wall, series top. Jataka describe the former lives of the Buddha in the form of 547 tales often putting in scene animals. Avadana are moral tales and legends putting in scene high facts accomplished in the name of the Buddha. One finds Jataka and Avadana on the first gallery under Lalitavishvara, along the balustrade of the same gallery at top and bottom, and along the balustrade of the second gallery. Gandawyuya which tells the history of Sudhana in its search to reach the illumination, and its meeting with Bodhisattva Maitreya and Samentabhadra. One can follow his initiatory course on the wall of the second gallery, the wall and the balustrade of the third, and on the wall of the fourth. Bhadrachari which continues the history of Sudhana started in Gandawyuya, with its promise to follow the example of Bodhisattva Samanthabhadra. One follows it on the wall of the fourth gallery.   69