A Day At The Temple

This is Borobudur temple. Although, that is somewhat of a misnomer, Borobudur is actually a large, LARGE stupa sort of thing, covering the top of a hill. It was built either 800 or 1000 years ago, by Javanese Buddhists. It was rediscovered, maybe 100, 200 years ago, under a lot of volcanic ash. What's left, is amazing.

I visited Borobudur three times during my year in Indonesia. The first with my family, the second with two special friends, and the third time with a group of other AFSers. These photos come from my second excursion there. Becki, Jim and I went on a Monday morning, and spent all day there. For once, Borobudur was close to empty - there were not the usual hordes of tourists flocking around. President Soekarno's wife had died a few days earlier, and the country was in mourning.

We took the pilgramage route. Clockwise around each level, then move up to the next. The walls are covered with carvings taken from Buddhist tales, and as you progress upwards, the levels get less square, and more rounded. At the top, is one huge covered in stupa, empty, which represents Nirvana

For some reason, I remember it as being a very quiet day for all of us. I guess being in the vicinity of something that was built at least 500 years before your own country was known to Europeans, helps to instill a sense of history and awe. Borobudur, more than any other place, fills me with awe. It's a labour of love, it couldn't be anything else. So as we walked round and round, I grew progressively quieter. I remember sitting on the top, and feeling totally calm, and peaceful, without day to day thoughts intruding into my contemplation. I may have even fallen asleep

I also remember what happened when we returned to Yogya that afternoon. I'd found a copy of the Jakarta Post, and read about the Port Arthur massacre, which had happened in Australia a day or two earlier. I wanted to hear news of my homeland, but this wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to know about.As poetically pretentious as it may sound, I wish that the whole world, would know the tranquility that I felt, sitting at the top of Borobudur late on a Javanese afternoon.

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	This is Borobudur temple. Although, that is somewhat of a misnomer, Borobudur is actually a large, LARGE stupa sort of thing, covering the top of a hill. It was built either 800 or 1000 years ago, by Javanese Buddhists. It was rediscovered, maybe 100, 200 years ago, under a lot of volcanic ash. What's left, is amazing.
I visited Borobudur three times during my year in Indonesia. The first with my family, the second with two special friends, and the third time with a group of other AFSers. These photos come from my second excursion there.		Becki, Jim and I went on a Monday morning, and spent all day there. For once, Borobudur was close to empty - there were not the usual hordes of tourists flocking around. President Soekarno's wife had died a few days earlier, and the country was in mourning.
	We took the pilgramage route. Clockwise around each level, then move up to the next. The walls are covered with carvings taken from Buddhist tales, and as you progress upwards, the levels get less square, and more rounded. At the top, is one huge covered in stupa, empty, which represents Nirvana
For some reason, I remember it as being a very quiet day for all of us. I guess being in the vicinity of something that was built at least 500 years before your own country was known to Europeans, helps to instill a sense of history and awe.		Borobudur, more than any other place, fills me with awe. It's a labour of love, it couldn't be anything else. So as we walked round and round, I grew progressively quieter. I remember sitting on the top, and feeling totally calm, and peaceful, without day to day thoughts intruding into my contemplation. I may have even fallen asleep
	I also remember what happened when we returned to Yogya that afternoon. I'd found a copy of the Jakarta Post, and read about the Port Arthur massacre, which had happened in Australia a day or two earlier. I wanted to hear news of my homeland, but this wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to know about.As poetically pretentious as it may sound, I wish that the whole world, would know the tranquility that I felt, sitting at the top of Borobudur late on a Javanese afternoon.

A Day At The Temple

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