Didactic role of Borobudur, Temple of the Ananda ( Burma) Dr UdaY Dokras (original) (raw)
Related papers
Didactic role of Borobudur, Temple of the Ananda ( Burma)
INAC, 2023
Borobudur is a mandala, a heteroclite, a prototype that cannot be copied and a mountain. The Ananda Temple (1050-1100 C.E.) at Bagan, in Myanmar comes closest to it and since we know more about the Ananda Temple let us look at its role for example. It has 1500 Buddhas lining the 15m tall walls of its two interior corridors-the equivalent of internal terraces-while its upper terraces are lined with 547 plaques illustrating each of the jataka or "birth stories" of Buddha's previous incarnations. Most, however, are too high for anyone to see, since the temple was built for "merit," credit against the monarch's karmic debt, not for the edification of his subjects. This may reflect the difference between Ananda's Theravada Buddhism, where release is earned over many reincarnations and the Mahayana possibility for enlightenment in a lifetime illustrated at Borobudur. The Borobudur has a well-defined didactic purpose; their terraces with their bas-reliefs depict a series of episodes in the life of the Buddha which the Anand Temple's reliefs do not show-they glorify the King of Siam. The Borobudur thus has more educational value and a demonstrated learning experience than the Anand Temple-especially for a novice Buddhist Monk.
Didactic role of Borobudur and Ananda
Indo Nordic Author's Collective, 2021
The Borobudur has a well-defined didactic purpose; their terraces with their bas-reliefs depict a series of episodes in the life of the Buddha which the Anand Temple’s reliefs do not show- they glorify the King of Siam. The Borobudur thus has more educational value and a demonstrated learning experience than the Anand Temple- especially for a novice Buddhist Monk.
The cultural evidence of the Buddha at the Borobudur
University of Sydney, 2021
Buddhism had arrived in the Indonesian archipelago from the India subcontinent and began with trading along the sea routes during the second century. Around the 9th century, the rulers of the Sailendra Dynasty built the Buddhist temple in Java. The Chandi Borobudur had unique connotations of Buddha statues with mudras, stupas, sculptural reliefs, and ornamental motifs, these were combined successfully. And the temple was decorated brilliantly with traditional Javanese arts with the influence of Hindu elements. This paper will approach the creation of Borobudur as the acts of Gautama Buddha in his life until he attains Nivana and focus on the Borobudur's crowning stupa. Did Borobudur's central dome contain the relics as a concept of the Buddhist stupa? If it did, what's inside the inner chambers of the central stupa? If it didn't, the inner chambers of the main stupa are supposed to be empty. Many Buddhist stupas, pagodas and temples contain relics such as the hair relics of Buddha, statues and the Buddhist credos enshrined in the chamber. The Borobudur's main stupa had two empty chambers, one above the other, and now there is nothing inside it. Nevertheless, at the present time, Borobudur has become the biggest Buddhist temple, an extraordinary quality of architecture and stone sculptural achievement of traditional Javanese arts in the world.
Indo Nordic Author's Collective, 2022
Borobodur as the Ultimate Buddhist Temple Borobudur, was built during over a half century by the Sailendra Dynasty after Mahayana Buddhism was introduced from the Srivijaya Kingdom of South Sumatra in the early half of the 8th century AD. Many Buddhism images and reliefs in Borobudur were made referencing Gandavyuha and Vajrayana/Esoteric Buddhism from Sri Lanka and East India. Unlike Angkor it is not Converted but originally Buddhist. The stepped pyramid shape without an inner space as found at Borobudur is found in neither India nor Sri Lanka. And there are no stupas with that similar shape in Southeast Asia prior to Borobudur. Similar shaped monuments are found only in South Sumatra etc. This type of monument, originating from the mountain religions of Megalithic culture that predated the introduction of Buddhism continued through the Historical Age. Borobudur can be seen as a massive monument of this origin, decorated in Buddhism style. Borobudur is a step pyramid, built around a natural hill, comprised of a broad platforms topped by five walled rectangular terraces, and they in turn are topped by three round terraces. Each terraces is outlined with ornaments and statues and the walls are decorated with bas reliefs. More than two million blocks of volcanic stone were carved during its construction. Pilgrims have traditionally walked around the monument in a clockwise manner moving up each of the five levels, and in process covering five kilometers. Unlike most temples, Borobudur did not have actual spaces for worship. Instead it has an extensive system of corridors and stairways, which are thought to have been a place for Buddhist ceremonies. Borobodur also has six square courtyards, three circular ones, and a main courtyard within a stupa at the temple's peak. The entire structure is formed in the shape of a giant twirling staircase, a style of architecture from prehistoric Indonesia. Borobudur is a three' dimensional model of the Mahayana Buddhist universe. The climb to the top of the temple is intended to illustrate the path an individual must take to reach enlightenment. At the main entrance on the east side, visitors can not even see the top. Scholars believed this was intensional. At the top was the ideal of Buddhist perfection, the World of Formlessness. The architecture and stonework of this temple has no equal. And it was built without using any kind of cement or mortar!
MANDALA of BOROBUDUR Dr Uday Dokras
The mandala's symbolic power can be traced back to millennia-old roots in Indian temple architecture, which created sacred spaces linking the worshiper to the larger cosmos. In these temples, time and space were represented in a vocabulary of circles and squares. Empires such as Bagan, Ayutthaya, Champa, Khmer, Srivijaya and Majapahit are known as "mandala" in this sense. The Borobudur temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in the world after Angkor Wat. Constructors erected this monument in the shape of a mandala and an opening Lotus flower on a square base (118 x 118 m) that smoothly turns into a circle. 1
Borobudur, Java, Indonesia. The latest discoveries and astonishing revelations, which rewrite the history of the kings Sailendras and Borobudur. Who built this temple, this extraordinary mandala? The precise dates of construction of Borobudur. Why and how are the three Buddhist temples, Candi Borobudur, Candi Pawon and Candi Mendut linked? Who were the Sailendras kings of Java and what were their connections to the kingdom of Srivijaya and Palembang, Sumatra? Where was the palace of the Sailendras kings located in Java? And a lot of other completely new informations. Keywords : Indonesia, Java, bouddhisme, Borobudur, Mendut, Pawon, Sailendra, candi, temple, mandala.