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| Wednesday, 24 December 2003 |
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Borobudur Marvellous monument of the Mahayana by Derrick Schokman In the Sal Grove of Kusinara, just before passing away, the Buddha is said to have directed his disciples to bury his remains under a tumulus or stupa, the traditional sepulchre of worldly monarchs. That could have given rise to Buddhist art. According to sacred tradition eight stupas were erected over the Buddha's remains after his death. We cannot form an adequate conception of those monumental reliquaries, for not a trace of them has been discovered. We may assume, however, that they were the prototype of the numberless stupas that were subsequently raised over the Buddhist world, attaining its highest perfection at Borobudur in Java. Saliendras This marvellous monument of the Mahayana, the world's largest Buddhist stupa, was raised in the latter half of the 8th century when the Saliendras were the rulers of a mighty kingdom comprising Sumatra, Java and the Malay Peninsula. They were zealous Buddhists who founded sanctuaries not only in their own dominions, but even at Nalanda, the famous seat of Buddhist learning in Southern Bihar and at Nagapatam on the Coromandel coast.
With the introduction of Islam in the Malay archipelago however Buddhist worship ceased and Borobudur fell into decay. In the course of time it was buried under its own debris covered with tropical vegetation. Sir Stampford Raffles discovered it in 1814 and ordered it to be excavated and surveyed. The ruins were subsequently plundered by greedy foreign collectors, and it was not until 1907-11 that any intensive measures for its preservation were conducted by Lt. Lolonel Van Erp of the Royal Engineers. And it was only in the 1970s that concerned member nations of UNESCO stepped in an offered to help restore Borobudur.
In February 1983 President Suharto dedicated the rejuvenated monument. The restoration is impressive. A long wide landscaped carpet of flowers has been laid up to the temple. The initial impact of Borobudur shimmering in the moist tropical heat is stunning. During the protracted walk to the temple, the stupa grows until it fills the horizon. By the time you mount its steps and climb into the maze of galleries your senses are overwhelmed by its size and symmetry. Borobudur is a most elaborate stupa, quite unique in its construction and ornamentation. It is built on top of a hill and consists of a succession of terraces, mine in number, the lower six being roughly square and the upper three being circular. Terraces Four flights of steps lead upward from the middle of the square sides. On each square terrace they pass through a lavishly sculptured gateway. Most prominent is the kala-makara consisting of a lion-head placed in the apex of the arch, combined with two makara heads. Each square terrace is provided with a solid stone rampart open to the sky, by which circumambulation (Pradakshina) of the sacred monument can be performed. The passages are profusely decorated with long rows of sculptures panels on the main wall and inner surface of the ramparts. The outside of the ramparts too have sculptured niches, each having a lize-size image of the Buddha carved in the round. The Buddhas are shown in different attitudes (mudra). In stark contrast the three circular terraces are devoid of decoration, except that above the galleries there are bell-shaped latticed stupas with statues of the Buddha inside in the dharmachakra mudra or attitude of preaching. Intentional The contrast is intentional and meant to show stages in the Buddha's transcendence from earthly frivolities to spiritual enlightenment. The sculptures on the lowest square terraces are concerned with the inexorable law of karma depicting retribution for good and evil deeds. Higher panels depict the jataka stories and the Buddha's progress up to time he delivers his first sermon, having realised the variety of all phenomena and vanquished the demon of lust to become the saviour from transmigration and transitory existence. The final rise into this abstract state of heavenly perfection is implicit in the large 8 metre high stupa at the pinnacle of Borobudur. It has been calculated that there are nearly 1,500 sculptured panels in Borobudur, and that if these sculptures are laid end to end they will extend for three miles. Nowhere else in the world does one get such an extended and detailed sculptured illustration of Buddhist thought and doctrine. |
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