2OTH TO 23RD DECEMBER 2014 PILGRIMAGE TOUR TO BOROBUDUR LED BY KYABJE UGYEN CHOEPHEL RINPOCHE TOGETHER WITH KHENPO KASTEN & LOPON KIMBU
Kyabje Ugyen Rinpoche, Khenpo Kasten and Lopon Lama Kimbu are doing auspicious chanting near Borobudur Temple together with trip members from Malaysia.
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Khenpo Kasten is setting up the shrine for puja at Borobudur Temple |
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MEMORABLE GROUP PHOTO AT BOROBUDUR TEMPLE
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central
Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms
and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the
center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues each of which is seated inside a
perforated stupa. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist
monuments in the world.
The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460
narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most
complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.
Buddhists from Thailand, Tibet, China and other Asian countries make a point of including
Borobudur in Java on any pilgrimage. The monument, which some call a temple, others a mandala
or cosmic mountain
"Then Buddhism was about a thousand years old, saw its decline in India, but in Southeast Asia, the
Kingdom of Srivijaya, in southern Sumatra, became the religion's new home and the centre of its
scholarship. The kingdom had the technology to build large ships that plied along trade routes to
India and China. These ships carried not just goods but Buddhist monks and scriptures from India.
"Over time Buddhism became the favourite religion of the Sailendra family which ruled central Java
between 780 and 832 and was credited for building the monument. Indonesian Buddhism then was
all about a quest for enlightenment.
What's true is that the Sailendras were serious enlightenment seekers, a fact that resulted from their
close ties with the Buddhist folk in north India who were patrons of Mahayana and Tantrayana
forms of Buddhism. That's where Tibet comes into the story of Borobudur. Tibetans consider
Borobudur to be highly sacred because they believe one of the Buddhist teachers who spread
Buddhism in Tibet came to Borobudur (the abode of pure Buddhism) to study Buddhist scriptures.
Pawon Temple, Mendut Temple and others temples nearby Yojgokarta
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Pawon Temple |
Mendut is a ninth-century Buddhist temple, located in Mendut village,
district, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The temple is located about three kilometreseast from Borobudur. Mendut, Borobudur and Pawon, all of which are Buddhist temples, are
located in one straight line. There is a mutual religious relationship between the three temples,
although the exact ritual process is unknown.
Pawon (known locally as Candi Pawon) is a Buddhist temple in Central
Java, Indonesia. "Between Mendut and Borobudur stands Pawon temple, a jewel of Javanese templearchitecture. Most probably, this temple served to purify the mind prior to ascending Borobudur."
