BOROBUDUR-PATHS to ENLIGHTENMENT
Erected in the early 9th Century AD by the Saliendra Dynasty, the monumental stupa of the Borobudur Temple in Central Java/ Indonesia, listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural heritage site, is covered with some 1460 bas-relief panels, each one narrating a specific episode from one of the countless existences of Lord Buddha or his followers. The ascending path along these scenes is conceived in such a manner that it leads the seeker progressively towards enlightenment.
With its mandala-like shape and its rich figurative narrative the temple constitutes the equivalent of an integrated circuit carved in stone, encoded with instructions meant to convey an ancient message of wisdom and compassion to a modern world in need.
Introduction
There are Buddhas as innumerable as grains of sand in the Ganges.This is the story of one of them, Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, also known as Sakyamuni….
… as depicted on the walls of the Borobudur Temple, in Central Java, Indonesia …
…the largest Buddhist Temple in the world!
A comprehensive navigation allows the user to explore the Temple in many different ways.
A three dimensional model of the Temple provides instant access to any part of the monument.
Following the “Pilgrim´s Path” provides a systematic guide for the ascending circumambulations of the temple´s galleries…
…. leading progressively to spiritual enlightenment.
Both walls of each one of the four galleries are decorated with hundreds of bas-reliefs illustrating various episodes of Lord Buddha´s life and teachings.
In some 400 panoramas these panels can be interactively discovered in great detail one by one.The walls were painstakingly recorded over the course of a full year so an optimal illumination of each panel could be assured.
Each story figuring of the 1460 bas-reliefs ornating the Temple is described in great detail and linked to its original textual sources .
A detail of the bas reliefs showing Queen Mayadevi conceiving the future Buddha in the guise of a little white elephant.
Retracing the life of Lord Buddha step by step, beginning with his early years as the spoiled Royal Prince Siddhartha, heir to the throne of his father, King Suddodhana…
Prince Siddhartha´s “Great Departure “ after four fateful encounters with “Sickness”, Old Age”, Death” and a humble Monk led him to the realisation of the impermanence and ultimate dissatisfaction of conditioned existence.
Abandoning his worldly existence, Prince Siddhartha, who now adopts the name “Ascetic Gautama”, cuts his hair.
In search of ultimate detachment Gautama wanders the next six years the wilderness, subjugating himself to ever harsher self-mortification- and meditational practices.
However, ultimately Gautama realises, that the Middle Path”- consisting in avoiding the extremes of sensual indulgence and self mortification- is the true way leading to ultimate Enlightenment.
Near The Niranjana River Gautama gathers his strengths for his ultimate challenges before reaching enlightenment.
Sitting under the Holy Bodhi Tree and after overcoming the final temptations by Mara, the Great Evil One, Gautama reaches final Enlightenment and attains Buddhahood.
During his Enlightenment the “ Four Noble Truths” about “Universal Suffering”, the “Origin of Suffering”, The Way of Overcoming Suffering”, and The “ Noble Eightfold Path Leading to the Cessation of all Suffering” are revealed to the Buddha.
Borobudur, a place where man meets the divine within himself!
