P456 - Indonesia - Borobudur Temple, Java

Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia (UNESCO WHS)

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). During the journey the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

婆羅浮屠是一座位於印度尼西亞中爪哇省的一座大乘佛教佛塔遺跡，距離日惹市西北40公里，是9世紀當時世上最大型的佛教建築物。

婆羅浮屠大約於公元842年間，由當時統治爪哇島的夏连特拉王朝統治者興建。「婆羅浮屠」這個名字的意思很可能來自梵語「Vihara Buddha Ur」，意思就是「山頂的佛寺」。後來因為火山爆發，使這佛塔群下沉、並隱蓋於茂密的熱帶叢林中近千年，直到19世紀初才被清理出來，与中国的长城、埃及的金字塔和柬埔寨的吴哥窟并稱為古代東方四大奇蹟。

References sources : wikipedia