Borobudur

“A path to awakening carved in stone, circling upward tier by tier”

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Photo: Heri nugroho · CC BY-SA 4.0

Scenes

A Buddha seated within a bell-shaped stupaOriginal uploader was Gunawan Kartapranata at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

The great temple rising tier upon tierGunawan Kartapranata · CC BY-SA 3.0

Meaning

Bell-shaped stupas rise through the dawn mist, and with each gallery you circle, the sky draws closer.

Believed to have been built in the 8th and 9th centuries as a great Mahayana Buddhist temple, its galleries are understood to trace the path to enlightenment as pilgrims circle from the lower terraces to the summit. The Vesak pilgrimage continues here each year.

Field notes

Location: Central Java · Indonesia · S7.6° · E110.2°
Best time: Sunrise, as the dawn mist lifts; Vesak (Waisak) at the full moon in May or June
Getting there: About an hour's drive from Yogyakarta; visits to the upper terraces are timed and reserved.
Etiquette: Circle the galleries clockwise, keeping quiet and honoring the care of the monument.

Sources

· UNESCO World Heritage
· Encyclopaedia Britannica

Official site Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.