Indonesian Diary Entry
8/24-8/26 Borobudur.
We visited Borobudur on 8/24. This is a Buddhist temple (candi) that was constructed around A.D. 800. Even though it is presumptuous for me to say anything about the art and architecture of Borobudur, it probably helps to establish a sense of it or context. The site served as a monument, shrine, and apparently as a working temple. It is a single building or monument, and it is quite large. As best I can tell, there are no related buildings or constructions in the immediate vicinity. There are two related candi within three miles, but they do not form a complex, as say the buildings do around the great Mexican archaeological sites. It is helpful to quote a guidebook on this beauty.
“This colossal, cosmic mountain is one of humanity’s most imposing creations – nothing else like it exists. Erected 200 years before Notre Dame and Chartres cathedrals, it predates the Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia by three centuries. Build with more than two million cubic feet of stone, Borobudur is the world’s largest stupa and the biggest ancient monument in the Southern Hemisphere.” Nice description, and one should add, beautiful. The monument is a bit like a layer cake, with four layers of alleys or pathways (concentric) topped by a field of stupas surrounding one large stupa. The alleys or covered with relief panels. According to the guidebook there are over 2,700 panels covering 8,235 square meters of surface. The panels are mostly descriptions of teachings of the Buddha(s), but many are ornamental.
I read the description before going to the site. Such descriptions, like movie reviews, set one up for comparing the experience to the “trailer.” The truly good and great always hold their own. Borobudur holds its own and them some. There are a number of ways of looking at such a monument: artistic appeal; religious atmosphere; historical significance; current cultural importance; and so on and so forth. Let me try a couple of personal comments – how I saw it and how it affected me.
The panels are somewhat crude, but also lively. Looking at them, one gets a feeling for life 1,200 years ago. There are animal scenes, domestic scene, panels that depict musicians and dancers, and various forms of productive activity. At times you are conscious of the portrayal of the Buddha and his family, but at other times you are viewing ordinary life. It is easy to tire of such images, especially in a climate that is always hot and always humid, as it was today. I did not find the time wandering around the monument at all tiring. I became a little tired, but the monument and its depictions picked me up. The natural progression of the panels has spiritual importance, but by the time one reaches the top level it is impossible to be prepared fully for the beauty and sheer magnificence of what lies there. There are 72 small stupas on top, plus the central stupa. At first glace, from a distance, these look like little bells with a lattice covering. In fact they are about ten feet in diameter, and within each covering is a statue of the Buddha. A few are uncovered, and one looks directly at the statue. They are simply wonderful. They inspire awe. And then, from this spectacular structure you look out onto a field of rice paddies, a grove of nicely arranged trees forming an entry arcade, and a mountain range.
So what does one make of all of this? All the appropriate questions arise: how did they do this at that time; who designed it; how does it relate to other such shrines; just how was it used in its day; how did it feel in the early part of the 19th century when a grassy mound was uncovered to reveal the stones that made up the site; how did they ever put it all back together (and did they cry when it started to take shape)? For today, with the trip to Borobudur fresh in mind, I’m just happy I was able to see it. One last little comment about the monument may be of interest. I’ve been referring to Borobudur as a monument. That is intentional. There are, however, people who wish that it could be returned to its use as a religious structure instead of being a national monument. Quite apart from the questions of who found the site, who did the reconstruction and who paid for it, I find the matter of who should have the rights of ownership an interesting one. Are there some sites that go beyond being owned? There is general agreement on ownership of certain open spaces, but the matter of ownership of something like Borobudur is tricky.
It is best to end this with a comment I’ve often made in other contexts. We have abused the language (English and many others) to the point that our adjectives and modifiers and descriptors have been debased to absurdity. I assert that no political column provides a “revelation,” that no new cosmetic or detergent is “path breaking,” or that a new model of an old car is revolutionary. But it is no stretch to say that this monument is awesome. Say it five times. Let the words roll around in the mouth. And then save them for something else that is equally breathtaking.
The weekend was really a quiet one. I had hoped to make another excursion but it didn’t work out. The reason was that I planned to go with a “tour and travel” company. The failure to go reveals something interesting, however, and that is the reason for appending this non-event. In order for a tour to be a go there must be at least two people scheduled. Naturally, I assumed that this would not be a problem as the tour I wanted to go on was a major one: the Dieng Plateau. I have heard a number of times that ex pats have left the Yogya area because of the economic climate. I have mentioned this above. I did not realize just how true this was and how many ways this has had impact on the local economy. Because there are so few foreign residents and visitors there are few people to go on tours -- few as in one, in this instance. If I could have picked someone up off the street to join me, perhaps by paying half of his or her way, I could have gone to the Dieng Plateau. But no fellow tourist, no tour. So, organized touring will have to await Trudy. Then we will be a full complement.
I did enjoy a couple of games of badminton, though. That is, we played on Saturday and Sunday. The games were with two Americans and two Indonesians. (The other participants were all in their 20s and early 30s.) I would like to say that my many years of squash made me a fit competitor. Fit perhaps, a competitor not. This game is a challenge. Playing it can be (and thus far has been) a humbling experience. Fortunately, our Indonesian competitors took it all humorously. I would like to think I would do the same in a similar situation. Playing with these fellows taught me a good deal, some of which was about the game. It made for an enjoyable weekend, particularly after the unsuccessful try at the tour.