Borobudur

Every year Indonesian Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha Siddharta Gautama. It is a special moment known as Waisak. Buddhists from all over the country congregate at what is considered a wonder of the world. As light filters across the horizon and begins to flood the surrounding countryside, there is sight of the rivers and valleys which surround and protect the mighty stone structure, the venue of Waisak, which is the Borobudur Temple.

The period 600 AD to 800 AD was a golden age of temple construction throughout India, Ceylon and South East Asia. It was a time when Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Magnificent monuments were built for cultural expressions and religious devotion. After their periods of glory they sank into oblivion, either as a result of military conquest or natural disasters and their monuments were reclaimed by the jungle, lost to mankind for almost a thousand years.

Sri Pannavaro Thera, the monk who founded the monastery in Mendut, describes Borobudur as "having slept well for 500 years".

Based on the inscription dated 842 AD, Casparis suggested that Borobudur was one time a place for praying. The inscription states: "Kawulan i Bhumi Sambhara". Kawulan means the origin of holiness; "bhumi sambhara" is a name of a place in Borobudur.

The sun rises, as it has for more than a thousand years, on the temple of Borobudur, in Central Java. The dappled light is followed by the first rays of the sun which shine upon the highest of the natural features of the area Mount Merapi, a picture-book perfect volcano, which lies slightly to the east. Soon the same rays flicker across the Stupa at the top of Borobudur itself and the mighty monument braces itself for yet another day of extraordinary heat, when the stone of which it consists, will gradually become hotter and await the relief of the afternoon before the respite offered by the coming of night.

While the dawn of Waisak morning begins like all others, it is no ordinary day for the temple of Borobudur. For this is the anniversary of the day on which Siddharta Gautama was born, a man who eventually attained enlightenment and became a Buddha and went on to found the Buddhist religion, two thousand five hundred and thirty five years ago.

Borobudur, itself, is the largest of man's tributes to Buddha and as the largest Buddhist structure in the world it is devoted to telling the life story of the Buddha. It was built to resemble a microcosm of the universe and its purpose was to provide a visual image of the teachings of the Buddha and show, in a practical manner, the steps through life that each person must follow to achieve enlightenment. The pilgrim to this shrine would first have been led around the base and shown the friezes, which illustrate the consequences of living in the World of Desire.

Buddhism emphasizes the changes which are wrought on the human character by meditation. The meditative state is attained through peace, both within and without. Borobudur epitomizes this peace. It is a monument to silence.

To sit and meditate in the upper terraces of the temple is to feel the great weight of power which funnels through the structure and infuses the earth below and the valleys around with a peace and beauty which has always been part of the Buddhist tradition. One feels a little closer to the truth. The spirit of Borobudur is very much alive.

It is interesting that the power which has been so great as to destroy the monument several times in its history has also induced mankind to rebuild it, each time. The last rebuilding which took place in recent times was a combined UNESCO project with funding and engineers from all over the world and we, with our reverence of technology in this modern age, would like to think that will be an end of it, but what of the future? Is it possible that the designers of this structure were successful in building a monument that is meant to self destruct? It is an interesting concept.

The sun has risen. The stupas are warming and speckled with light the surviving Buddha's, who sit patiently inside them. The day has begun.

I will take you through the imagery that occurs each year as Waisaik is celebrated at Borobudur.

Before the procession, there is much to be done. The local organizing committee has been working for months to prepare for this day and the office of the secretariat is busy with Buddhist believers from all over Indonesia who are registering as participants. Reunions are taking place as groups who have become friends on previous occasions meet again and catch up.

Stalls open, as they invariably do in Indonesia, whenever there is a crowd, and the carnival atmosphere is alive. Pilgrims find their way through the crowds and up into the inner chamber of the Mendut temple where Indonesia's largest remaining Buddha statue, three meters high in solid black rock, has been decorated with flowers, candles and incense by the believers.

Crowds come to watch each other and police come to control them. Sellers of Buddha heads, T shirts, souvenirs, water in bottles and any other conceivable thing, mingle in the crowd. Excitement grows. The local gamelan plays. The loudspeaker, a necessity at every Javanese gathering, crackles.

Delegates are reminded to watch their valuables and to take them with them on the procession, as one can never tell what might happen in a crowd this size. The procession starts, some time about midday. All delegates must carry flowers which are available at the front entrance to the temple. They must be flowers which have been blessed. You cannot use your own flowers. Donations are made to purify the flowers.

Tourists who have been fortunate enough to find themselves in the area at the time are introduced into the scene. They wander everywhere waiting for the inevitable explanation of what is happening. They stand in front of the cameras of Indonesians.

Within the monastery itself, stalls have been set up in the front for the selling of specialist Buddhist goods. Enormous pots of local chicken noodle soup and meatballs boil and bubble in the local food stalls as the owners feast on this one day of the year. Martabak from the streets of Yogya fries itself into the mouths of the delegates. The monetary profit from this day is certainly the main attraction for vendors.

The loudspeaker begins to intone the order of the participants of the processions. When the time comes, the procession carries the relics of the monastery, which include a piece of Buddha's bone, in specially constructed containers. The band marches out. Participants, often dressed in matching colours to represent their region, are handed water as they assembled on the road.

The day and the road are hot. If you haven't processed with a crowd of fifteen thousand you haven't really lived. The crowd itself stretches for more than a kilometer. Within the crowd are various sub-cultures which unite and contemplate the moment. People share words, water, sweets and smiles. Non-retrievable footwear on the road is a reminder of the momentary nature of material possessions. It is impossible to retrieve lost footwear as the surge of humanity can not be stopped for long enough for this to happen. Rounding one corner in the road, the flood of worshippers stretches out like a sea of people. Candi Pawon is left behind with a mantra. Finally the temple of Borobudur dwarfs the crowd from afar.

At last, the procession arrives at the Bodhi tree which was planted in 1934 by a monk from Sri Lanka and under which everyone congregates. The organizers have done a wonderful job and a red carpet covers the area where all begin to sit and face the dais erected in front of Borobudur. On the right are the assembled monks of Indonesia, mingled with a scattering in foreigners.

Still clutching flowers and water, the crowd mass over the carpet until it disappears into a sea of yellow, white and black. Mantras begin. Borobudur smiles silently. The large group of pilgrims seems suddenly, so small, at the base of the imposing stone structure.

In 1983 President Suharto re-opened the temple of Borobudur after its restoration by UNESCO, with the hope "that Borobudur will live a thousand years more" and in the same year the Government proclaimed Waisak a national Buddhist holiday. It was this proclamation which makes possible the congregation of Buddhists from all over Indonesia to gather each year.

Back in the time of Dutch rule the celebration of Waisak at Borobudur began in 1930 and has since continued on and off. In 1959, monks from all over the world congregated at Borobudur for the celebration.

In 1976, Sri Pannavaro Thera, who describes Borobudur as having "slept well for five hundred years" began the monastery in Mendut in order to service the use of Borobudur for Waisak. The monastery gave a local base for the organization. What began as a simple bamboo hut is now an impressive complex.

Wherever you are in Indonesia, you are not far away from the power of prayer. Buddhism is a minor religion, but as such, in a country of Indonesia's population density, it still has many adherents. To sit in the midst of the thousands and join in the mantras is an experience in humility.

Meditation time. Sudden silence. The silence of Borobudur. Peace.

The power of the great temple of stone which is funneled into the earth below is re-cycled to the heavens by the human power of prayer. The circle is complete. The full moon, as if to signal nature's acceptance of the phenomenon, rose slowly behind the great stupa of Borobudur: the technology of ancient times, both God's and man's, in deliberate conjunction.

Once, a young English man asked me about the ceremony. "I thought Indonesia was a Muslim country," he said. We talked about Panca Sila and freedom of religion. "Why do they use the Nazi Flag?" he enquired. I pointed out that the swastika has been a religious symbol for thousands of years and the opinion of many Indonesians was that the Nazis lost their war because they defiled the symbol by turning it to a forty five degree angle. "The Nazi colours of black, red and white are used," he said, "it is the Nazi flag." I talked about acculturation. Man's basic colours have always been red, black and white. That the Nazis used these colours in the 1930's, does not give them sole right to their use.

The ceremony is over. The crowds vanish quickly. The people disperse. But the moon and the feeling remain.

The next day Borobudur will once again open its sculptures to the cameras of tourists. On the top levels of the monument it is already necessary to find shade as the morning sun rises higher.

Yesterday's gathering place is cleared of the rubbish which accompanies the crowds. It is raked into piles and loaded onto trucks. All signs of the single day of the year when the temple is used as a religious shrine are soon removed. Until the next Waisak day pilgrims will climb alone, meditate alone, and pray alone.

Only on Waisak is Borobudor opened to the combined karma of the Buddhists of Indonesia. It is a privilege to join with them and partake in the simplicity and beauty of the occasion.