Borobudur Temple

borobudur temple

Borobudur Temple or abbreviated Borobudur (Javanese: ​ꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, translit. Candi Båråbudhur) is a Buddhist temple located in Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. This temple is located approximately 100 km to the southwest of Semarang, 86 km to the west of Surakarta, and 40 km to the northwest of Yogyakarta. This temple with many stupas was founded by Mahayana Buddhists around the year 800 AD during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple or shrine in the world, as well as one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world.

This monument consists of six square terraces on which there are three circular courtyards, the walls are decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally there were 504 Buddha statues Borobudur has the most complete and largest collection of Buddhist reliefs in the world.The largest main stupa is located in the center and at the same time crowning this building, surrounded by three circular rows of 72 perforated stupas in which there is a Buddha statue sitting cross-legged in a perfect lotus position with the Dharmachakra mudra (turning the wheel of dharma).

This monument is a model of the universe and was built as a holy place to glorify Buddha as well as function as a place of pilgrimage to guide mankind from the realm of worldly desires to enlightenment and wisdom according to Buddha’s teachings. The pilgrims enter through the east side and begin the ritual at the base of the temple by walking around this sacred building in a clockwise direction, while continuing to ascend the next steps through the three levels of realms in Buddhist cosmology. The three levels are Kāmadhātu (the realm of lust), Rupadhatu (the realm of the tangible), and Arupadhatu (the realm of the intangible). On the way the pilgrims walk through a series of passages and stairs by witnessing no less than 1,460 beautiful relief panels engraved on the walls and balustrades.

According to historical evidence, Borobudur was abandoned in the 14th century as the influence of the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in Java weakened and the influence of Islam began to enter. The world began to realize the existence of this building since it was discovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who at that time served as the British Governor General of Java. Since then Borobudur has undergone a series of rescue and restoration efforts (repairs). The largest restoration project was carried out between 1975 and 1982 with the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and UNESCO, then this historic site was included in the list of World Heritage Sites

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