A Pilgrimage to Borobudur - organised by the Buddhist Library Dhamma Fellowship Group -- Impressions by Daisy Lai

Our journey to Borobudur started punctually on an early Tuesday morning in the end of August, 2005. En route to Borobudur, we visited Semarang, and met up with our local guide, Din, and our Indonesian host, Ms. Rona. Next day, we continued our journey to Borobudur.

We arrived at Borobudur on Wednesday early afternoon. Like all who visited Borobudur, the beauty of this magnificent monument enchanted us. Despite being situated in a country with the world largest Muslim population, this Buddhist monument is well conserved and maintained. The site was also pleasantly clean. A clear indication of the respect the locals accorded to this ancient monument.

Candi Borobudur (or Borobudur Temple) is a magnificent Buddhist monument situated almost 42 km north of Yogyakarta. Believed to be built between 750 and 850 AD by the Sailendra Dynasty, Borobudur temple is no ordinary structure. Its architectural symbolisms indicated that it might be a tool for telling the Jataka stories and instilling the profound teaching of Middle Path by Buddha to the villagers living around the monument. It was somehow forgotten after the mysterious disappearance of the ancient Central Javanese civilization after 928 AD, and was re-discovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and his men in 1814. After a massive 10-year conservation project during the Suharto government in the 70s to 80s, the monument is re-opened to the public but it is no longer a religious site. Nevertheless, Borobudur temple is still revered by many Buddhists.

Braving the hot afternoon sun, we started our climb up Borobudur temple. Due to the constraint of time, we could not view through all the galleries. Nevertheless, as we ascended, the magical spirit of Buddha’s teachings toward absolute freedom from Dukkha could be felt gently sweeping across our mind. Such was the extraordinary effect this complex architecture could impose on its visitors.

When we reached the summit of Borobudur, we were taken in by the beautiful surroundings of Borobudur. Naturally, our time at the summit was also our photo-taking moments. When it was time to say goodbye to Borobudur, Bhante Nigrodha led us in a clockwise walk around the top large stupa three times, circumbulating the stupa we chanted the Vandana, Ti-Sarana, medley of Buddha Vandana, Dhamma Vandana and Sangha Vandana, and finally finished with Metta Sutta. Thereafter, we made our way slowly down.

From Borobudur, we visited Candi Mendut situated about three kilometres away. Of the two ancient Buddhist temples near Borobudur, Candi Mendut is the bigger, and housed three big Buddhist statues. The Buddha statue in the Buddhist Library is a replica of one of the Buddhist statues in Candi Mendut. During the restoration period of Borobudur, the annual Vesak day festival was celebrated at Mendut. However, after the re-opening of Borobudur, the Indonesian government no longer permitted communal ceremonies to be held at Borobudur, and the Vesak day celebration remains in Mendut.

Finally, we settled in a monastery next to Candi Mendut to refresh ourselves before we proceeded to another highlight of our trip - the inaugural performance of a Javanese dance that re-tells the story of the origin of Borobudur.

Although this is a relatively short trip, the visit to Borobudur is spiritually enriching. The memorable trip already made some of us asking where we are going next year. India? Myanmar? Sri Lanka?