Borobudur Paths

Dr Uday Dokras
Borobudur and the concept of path in Buddhism
Paths have been pervasive in human civilization. The idea of path is an important concept in
Buddhism, and is essential in understanding the meaning and purpose of one of the most
remarkable and impressive monuments in the world: Borobudur. : the Buddhist teaching of the
means of attaining Nirvana through rightness of belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort,
thought, and meditation - the four noble truths. These are crustallized in the Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra
or The Excellent Manifestation Sūtra ( Sutra of the Tree's Display; "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.
The Gandavyuha Sutra forms a major segment of the temple’s upper galleries. The last chapter
of a larger text called the Flower Garland Sutra, it relates the story of Suddhana, a youth who
commences a journey to meet fifty-three teachers while seeking the path to enlightenment. The
concept of “path” is a central theme in the text. He eventually meets an enlightened being
(bodhisattva) named Samantabadhra. Excerpts from the larger sutra illustrate the concepts under
discussion:

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“I will lead those who have lost their way to the right road. I will be a bright light for those in the
dark night, and cause the poor and destitute to uncover hidden treasures. The Bodhisattva
impartially benefits all living beings in this manner.
I vow to shut the door to evil destinies and open the right paths of humans, gods and that of
Nirvana.
Once any sentient beings see the Buddha, it will cause them to clear away habitual obstructions.
And forever abandon devilish actions: This is the path traveled by Illumination.
Sentient Beings are blinded by ignorance, always confused; the light of Buddha illuminates the
path of safety. To rescue them and cause suffering to be removed.

All sentient beings are on false paths—Buddha shows them the right path, inconceivable,
causing all worlds to be vessels of truth…”
The temple has been described in a number of ways. Its basic structure resembles that of a
pyramid, yet it has been also referred to as a caitya (shrine), a stupa (reliquary), and a sacred
mountain. In fact, the name Śailendra literally means “Lord of the Mountain.” While the temple
exhibits characteristics of all these architectural configurations, its overall plan is that of a three-
dimensional mandala—a diagram of the cosmos used for meditation—and it is in that sense
where the richest understanding of the monument occurs.

Candi Borobudur’s design was conceived of by the poet, thinker, and architect Gunadharma,
considered by many today to be a man of great vision and devotion. Meticulously carved relief
sculptures mediate a physical and spiritual journey that guides pilgrims progressively toward
higher states of consciousness. But one has to climb the paths set out on the STUPA.

If one looks from afar and goes home then the pathis not traversed. Just like in Buddhism, one
can become a Buddhist by embracing the path and walking on it. Similarly in Borobudur the way
or paths built on the structure have to be climbed from the floor to the TOP. Whether searing

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heat or pouring rain there is no roof or overhed shelter. In fact the journey of Borobudur consists
of a series of open-air passageways that radiate around a central axis mundi (cosmic axis). It is
set high upon a hill vertically enhanced by its builders to achieve a greater elevation.  Devotees
circumambulate clockwise along walkways that gradually ascend to its uppermost level. At
Borobudur, geometry, geomancy, and theology all instruct adherents toward the ultimate goal of
enlightenment. Alog the path from the bottom to the to, meticulously carved relief sculptures
stare doen from : ‘walls” upon the pilgrims as they progressively ascend upwards toward
higher states of the structure and also the pictorials representing higher levels of consciousness-
from bottom to the top. Moving past the base and through the four galleries, the devotee emerges
onto the three upper terraces, encountering 72 stupas each containing a three-dimensional
sculpture of a seated Buddha within a stone latticework. At the temple’s apex sits the large
central stupa, a symbol of the enlightened mind

The entire site contains 504 statues of the Buddha. 1460 stone reliefs on the walls and opposite
balustrades decorate the first four galleries, with an additional 1212 decorative reliefs
augmenting the path. The relief sculptures narrate the Buddha’s teachings (the Dharma), depict
various events related to his past lives (Jataka tales), and illustrate didactic stories taken from
important Buddhist scriptures (sutras). Interestingly, another 160 relief sculptures adorn the base
of the monument, but are concealed behind stone buttresses that were added shortly after the
building’s construction in order to further support the structure’s weight. The hidden narrative
reliefs were photographed when they were discovered in the late 19th century before the stones
were put back to help ensure the temple’s stability.

The experience of meaning

The experience of Borobudur relates to the philosophic and spiritual foundation of the Buddhist
religion it concretises and celebrates. Since its inception, roughly 2500 years ago, Buddhism has
directly engaged what it sees as the paradoxical nature of human existence. The most essential
tenet the religion promulgates is the impermanent, transient nature of existence. Transcendental
wisdom via the Dharma (the Noble Eight-Fold Path) hinges on recognizing that attachment to the
idea of a fixed, immutable “self” is a delusion.

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Enlightenment entails embracing the concept of “no-self” (anattā), understood to be at the heart
of eliminating the suffering and dissatisfaction (dukkha) of sentient beings. This is the ultimate
message expressed in the sacred scriptures that are solidified in artistic magnificence along the
stone walls and railings of Borobudur. The physical movement of circumambulating the
structure symbolizes the non-physical—or spiritual—path of enlightenment. In a real sense, then,
the concept of path within Borobudur monumentalizes the impermanent. Like a river that is
never the same from moment to moment, to physically move along the path while meditating on
the spiritual message of the sutras is meant to help one fully embrace the Buddha’s paradoxical
message of impermanence.

From the Gandavyuha Sutra (RIGHT) Crowning stupa The texts illustrated on the walls refer to
pathways as well.

From darkness into light

The idea of moving from the darkness into the light is the final element of the experience of
Borobudur. The temple’s pathway takes one from the earthly realm of desire (kamadhatu),
represented and documented on the hidden narratives of the structure’s earthbound base, through
the world of forms (rupadhatu) as expounded on the narratives carved along the four galleries set
at right angles, until one finally emerges into the realm of formlessness (arupadhatu) as
symbolized and manifested in the open circular terraces crowned with 72 stupas.

However, the symbolization of enlightenment these stupas represent is not intended to be merely
aesthetic. Buddhist stupas and mandalas are understood as “spiritual technologies” that harness
spiritual “energies” in the creation of sacred space.

The repetition of form and the circumabulatory progress of the pilgrim mimic, and thereby
access, the cosmological as a microcosm. The clockwise movement around the cosmic center
reproduces the macrocosmic path of the sun. Thus, when one emerges from the dark galleries
representing the realms of desire and form into the light of the “formless” circular open air upper
walkways, the material effect of light on one’s physical form merges concomitantly with the
spiritual enlightenment generated by the metaphysical journey of the sacred path.
Light, in all its paradoxes, is the ultimate goal. The crowning stupa of this sacred mountain is

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dedicated to the “Great Sun Buddha” Vairocana. The temple sits in cosmic proximity to the
nearby volcano Mt. Merapi. During certain times of the year the path of the rising sun in the East
seems to emerge out of the mountain to strike the temple’s peak in radiant synergy. Light
illuminates the stone in a way that is intended to be more than beautiful. The brilliance of the site
can be found in how the Borobudur mandala blends the metaphysical and physical, the symbolic
and the material, the cosmological and the earthly within the structure of its physical setting and
the framework of spiritual paradox.