Enjoy Time at Borobudur Part 1

North Yogyakarta | Buddhist Temple

Many tourists said if you are holiday in Yogyakarta, don’t forget to visit the big Buddhist Temple. Actually Borobudur temple located at Magelang, Central Java and 40 kilometers northwest of Yogyakarta. But Borobudur Temple is famous in area Yogyakarta. Fee entrance Borobudur Temple around 20 USD for adult but for the student non-Indonesian proof with ISIC the fee you pay around 10 USD.

HISTORY OF BOROBUDUR

This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It 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. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.

On February 23, 1983 the President Republic Indonesia, Soeharto, inaugurated the completion of Borobudur temple renovation (post renovation) with an expectation that it can last to another 1000 years.

As continuation of this renovation, Indonesia government decided to build a park around the temple of 85 ha. Function of this park is silencer, to arrange and accommodate increased visitor flows to the temple. Consequently, this park is protecting and safeguarding belt of glorious Borobudur temple. In the concept of park planning, it was attempted to restore historical and spiritual atmosphere around the temple. Building in the park is constructed with various scanty trees, all of these are expected to be one beautiful and grandiose combination with an impression of quite historic natural atmosphere.

Borobudur’s name originated from words Boro and Budur. Boro means temple or shrine from Sanskrit “Byara”. While Budur remains us of Balinese “Beduhur” which means above the hills. Borobudur temple which as built above the hill as stepped pyramid was made of piles more than 2 million andesitic rocks. If you examine the temple from a distant it gives you a shape of stupa but when you get near it, two items or building styles. Upper part has the shape of main stupa and is based on there round kernels, this style represent Indian architecture style while the lower part is stepped pyramid shaped as quadrilateral with angles.

Stupa in Borobudur Temple is accordance with Buddhism concept which is replica f universe. Borobudur Temple has no spaces inside. We can merely see and admire it by walking around it which it called as “Pradaksina”.

 Borobudur was constructed during the golden era of the Sailendra dynasty, which held sway on Java and neighboring Sumatra. This ruling clan came from South India or Indochina and helped to establish Java as a center of Buddhist scholarship and worship. The magnificent site drew pilgrims for hundreds of years—Chinese coins and ceramics found there suggest that the practice continued until the 15^th century. (In fact it has been revived today.)

 But Borobudur was mysteriously abandoned by the 1500s, when the center of Java life shifted to the East and Islam arrived on the island in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. Eruptions deposited volcanic ash on the site and the lush vegetation of Java took root on the largely forgotten site. In the early 19^th century Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, British governor of Java, heard of the site and took an interest in having it excavated. While this process revealed Borobudur’s treasures it also triggered a process of decay by exposing them to the elements. Villagers liberated stones for building materials, and collectors removed Buddha heads and other treasures for private and public collections around the world. The result is that Borobudur remains today what it was 1.200 years ago—a unique treasure to rival any site in Southeast Asia.