Borobudur (Javanese: ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶ ꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, translit. Candhi Barabudhur) 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 stupa-shaped temple was founded by Mahayana Buddhists around the year 800 AD during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple or temple in the world, as well as one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world.
This monument consists of six square-shaped 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 most extensive collection of Buddhist reliefs in the world. The largest main stupa lies in the center and crowns this building, surrounded by three circular lines of 72 hollow stupas in which there is a Buddha statue sitting cross-legged in a perfect lotus position with a mudra (hand attitude) Dharmachakra mudra (turning the wheel of dharma).
This monument is a model of the universe and was built as a sacred place to glorify the Buddha and also functions as a place of pilgrimage to guide humanity to move from the realm of worldly desires to enlightenment and wisdom according to Buddhist teachings. 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 climb to the next steps through three levels of realm in Buddhist cosmology. The three levels are Kāmadhātu (the realm of lust), Rupadhatu (the realm of the form), and Arupadhatu (the realm of the intangible). On their way the pilgrims walked through a series of aisles and stairs to watch no less than 1,460 beautiful relief panels carved into the walls and balustrades.
According to historical evidence, Borobudur was abandoned in the 14th century as the weakening influence of the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms on Java and the entry of Islamic influence began. 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 Governor General of England over Java. Since then Borobudur has experienced a series of rescue and restoration efforts (repairs). The largest restoration project was held in the period 1975 to 1982 under 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.
Borobudur is still used as a place of religious pilgrimage; every year Buddhists who come from all over Indonesia and abroad gather in Borobudur to commemorate Vesak Trisuci. In the world of tourism, Borobudur is the single tourist attraction in Indonesia that is most visited by tourists. So, are you interested to travel or worship to Borobudur temple?
Source : wikipedia
