Borobudur: Zen in Stone
The origins:
A powerful empire. A burning desire to make a name for posterity. A grand vision of a magnificent monument. Thousands of skilled artisans and sculptors deployed. Generations toiling silently. And finally, a masterpiece, so wonderful that it seems destined to last forever.
Then:
The empire declines. The masterpiece is ignored. Nature takes over. Memories fade into myth.
The last act:
Whispered mentions of past glory. A curious explorer from the West. A chance (re)discovery. Great excitement. Renewal. Global resurgence in interest.
This is the story of so many great marvels across the world — Petra, Khajuraho, Ellora caves, and the one we were headed to — Borobudur.
Borobudur stands in the heart of Indonesia, nestled among emerald landscapes and mist-kissed mountains. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Borobudur comes from boro (or big) and budur (Buddha) — literally Big Buddha. Temples in Indonesia are called Chandi (a term derived from Goddess Chandika), and the temple is referred to as Chandi Borobudur.
When we first spoke about visiting Indonesia for our December break, we decided to skip Bali and explore other locations. The first in the list was Borobudur. I had once seen a picture of a serene Buddha amongst stupas, and was keen to explore the place in person.
Borobudur is about a couple of hours drive from the city of Yogyakarta (also called Jogja — short for Jogjakarta — by locals). It is a testament to a time when Hinduism and Buddhism thrived in Indonesia, between the 8th and 14th centuries. Borobudur was built during the reign of the Indianised Shailendra dynasty that ruled Java and other islands in South East Asia. There are various theories about their origins ranging from being a local Javanese dynasty to them being a part of the Srivijaya dynasty that ruled Sumatra and Malaysia to one that even postulates that they came from Odisha.
We do not know the reasons for them building Borobudur — was it an act of devotion for their Mahayana faith or a counter to the Hindu influence of the neighboring Sanjaya dynasty that built the Prambanan temples nearby?
What we do know is that it is heavily inspired by Buddha’s life, teachings and concepts. It originally had 504 Buddha statues and over 2500 reliefs on stories spread over 9 levels. It ranks as one of the most outstanding architectural marvels in South East Asia.
Borobudur is architecturally laid out in the shape of a mandala — a square outer form with a circle at the center. The nine levels from the outer to the inner are split across distinct segments.
The first is called Kamadhatu, representing the sphere of desire. This segment has reliefs carved outlining the struggle with desire.
The next one, representing an evolution, is Rupadhatu, representing the sphere of divinity of form. This has intricate stories from Lalitavistara — the story of Buddha’s life.
The first two segments are geometrically laid out in a square form. The third elevation, called Arupadhatu, represents the sphere of formless divinity, nirvana and shunyata, which is laid out in a circular pattern.
What’s unique is that even the statues of the Buddha (mainly in the second section — Rupadhatu) are arranged differently depending on the side they face. The statues to the East have Buddha’s right palm facing downwards, symbolizing a connection to the earth. The ones to the South have the palm facing upwards, symbolizing charity. The ones to the West have Buddha seated in a meditative pose with both palms on his lap facing upwards, symbolizing concentration, while the ones to the North have statues with the right arm uplifted, blessing others.
As we walked around, we marveled at the intricate carving, but also noticed that most of the temple seemed reassembled. Our guide pointed out that the original temple was abandoned between the 8th and 14th centuries, likely because Islam became the state religion. Over the centuries, the temple also faced earthquakes and was affected by ash from eruptions from the nearby Mount Merapi, an active volcano, driving away local population Eastward towards Bromo and Bali.
Nothing much was done during the centuries of Dutch colonization, but during a brief interregnum when the British ruled Indonesia in the 19th century, an explorer came across Borobudur and petitioned the government for a cleanup. An initial clean up revealed the structure, but years of neglect had weakened the structure.
It took another century and a concerted effort by the newly independent Indonesian government to drum up global interest for Borobudur. UNESCO took up the onus of restoration, and sent experts who worked over a 20 year period to restore Borobudur. Borobudur was recognized as a UNESCO heritage site in 1991.
But being close to active volcanoes, Borobudur needs care. When the nearby Mount Merapi erupted in 2010, the authorities quickly covered the stupas to prevent ash from damaging it. Borobudur even survived a small terrorist attempt at blowing up part of the stupas.
Today, Borobudur is one of the most visited monuments in Indonesia.
Wandering through Borobudur, we couldn’t help admiring the thought and effort that went into even minor details. For instance, the stupas in the top three layers, totalling 72 in number, are largely similar, yet different. All of them have 4 layers, the bottom representing a monk’s garment touching the ground, the next representing a lotus flower emerging from the ground, the third an upturned begging bowl and the top a walking stick.
Peer closer and you see slight differences. The top layer only has one large stupa which has no windows. The layer below it has square windows, while the third layer has rhombuses as windows. The stupas in the second and third layers house a buddha statue within each stupa.
Tourists are allowed till 7 layers, while the last is reserved for monks. After a peaceful stroll through the stupas, as we walked back, a final surprise awaited us.
Some of the reliefs in Borobudur’s walls are that of a ship. In 1982, an Englishman saw this and theorized that the ships were inspired by an ancient maritime route linking Indonesia with Africa. He then built a replica and retraced the original route — from Indonesia to Madagascar and then on to Ghana. The almost forgotten maritime route is now called the Cinnamon route, and it is theorized that many Indonesians settled in Madagascar as the temperatures are largely similar.
As we came down to the base and stared at Borobudur, it seemed to embody Buddha’s teaching in spirit — everything changes and nothing lasts forever. What better to instruct this than a glorious monument that has seen past glory, ruin, restoration and a new found revivalist status? Even this phase may not be permanent.
