History of Borobudur

Borobudur is the largets Buddhist temple in the world, was built by Sailendra Dynasty on 780-840 AD. Borobudur was built as a place of worship and pilgrimage for the Buddhists. This temple contains instruction and guidance for humans to stay away from worldly passions and going towards wisdom and enlightment, according to Buddha. This relic was discovered by British Forces lead by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles on 1814. The whole temple area was completely cleaned up on 1835.

Borobudur Temple was built with “Mandala” style which reflects the universe in Buddhist beliefs. The structure is a box-shaped building with four entrances and a circular center point. Borobudur is divided into two realm, the worldly realm which is then divided into three zones on the outside and the Nirvana realm at the center. The three realms are called Kamadhatu which is the world today, Rupadhatu is a transitional realm where humans are free from worldly affairs, and finally Arupadhatu which is the highest realm as the house of God.

First Zone: Kamadhatu

This world that we see and experienced as humans now

Kamadhatu consists of 160 reliefs describing the Karmawibhangga Sutra, the law of cause and effect. Describes human nature and passions, such as robbing, killing, raping, torturing, and slander. The cover at the bottom has been permanently opened so that visitors can see the hidden relief at the bottom. An entire photo collection of 160 relief can be seen at the Borobudur Temple Museum located in Borobudur Archaeological Park.

Second zone: Rupadhatu

transitional realm, where humans have been freed from world affairs

Rapadhatu consists of stone relief carvings gallery and Buddha statues. In total there are 328 Buddha statues which also have relief decorations on the carvings. According to the Sanskrit manuscripts in this section consists of 1300 reliefs in the form of Gandhawyuha, Lalitawistara, Jataka and Awadana. Altogether stretches as far as 2.5 km with 1212 panels.

Third zone: Arupadhatu

the highest realm, the house of God

Three circular porches lead to the dome at the center or stupa which depicts the rise of the world. In this section there is no ornamentation or decoration, which means that it represents the highest purity.

The porch in this section consists of a circular stupa with a hollow, inverted bell, containing a statue of Buddha that leads to the outside of the temple. There are 72 stupas in total. The largest stupa in the middle is not as high as the original version which has a height of 42m above the ground with a diameter of 9.9m. Unlike the stupas that surround it, the central stupas are empty and cause debate that there are actually not empty, but there are also those who argue that the stupas are indeed empty.

Relief

In total there are 504 Buddhas with meditation attitudes and six different hand positions throughout the temple.

Temple Corridor

During the restoration of the early 20th century, two smaller temples were found around Borobudur, namely Pawon Temple and Mendut Temple in line with Borobudur Temple. Pawon Temple is 1.15 km from Borobudur, while Mendut Temple is 3 km from Borobudur Temple.

There is a belief that there is a religious connection between the three temples but the ritual process is still unknown. The three temples form the route for the Vesak Day Festival which is held every year during the full moon in April or May. The festival commemorates the birth and death, and enlightenment given by Buddha Gautama.