Borobudur Temple Compounds
This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th
centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal
base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three
circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and
balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area
of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each
containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help
in the 1970s.
Outstanding Universal Value
The Borobudur Temple Compounds is one of the greatest
Buddhist monuments in the world, and was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD
during the reign of the Syailendra Dynasty. The monument is located in the Kedu
Valley, in the southern part of Central Java, at the centre of the island of
Java, Indonesia.
The main temple is a stupa built in three tiers around a
hill which was a natural centre: a pyramidal base with five concentric square
terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a
monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low
reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,520 m2. Around the circular
platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.
The vertical division of Borobudur Temple into base, body,
and superstructure perfectly accords with the conception of the Universe in
Buddhist cosmology. It is believed that the universe is divided into three
superimposing spheres, kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, representing
respectively the sphere of desires where we are bound to our desires, the
sphere of forms where we abandon our desires but are still bound to name and
form, and the sphere of formlessness where there is no longer either name or
form. At Borobudur Temple, the kamadhatu is represented by the base, the
rupadhatu by the five square terraces, and the arupadhatu by the three circular
platforms as well as the big stupa. The whole structure shows a unique blending
of the very central ideas of ancestor worship, related to the idea of a
terraced mountain, combined with the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana.
The Temple should also be seen as an outstanding dynastic
monument of the Syailendra Dynasty that ruled Java for around five centuries
until the 10th century.
The Borobudur Temple Compounds consists of three monuments:
namely the Borobudur Temple and two
smaller temples situatued to the east on a straight axis to Borobudur. The two
temples are Mendut Temple, whose depiction of Buddha is represented by a
formidable monolith accompanied by two Bodhisattvas, and Pawon Temple, a
smaller temple whose inner space does not reveal which deity might have been
the object of worship. Those three monuments represent phases in the attainment
of Nirvana.
The temple was used as a Buddhist temple from its
construction until sometime between the 10th and 15th centuries when it was
abandoned. Since its re-discovery in the 19th century and restoration in the
20th century, it has been brought back into a Buddhist archaeological site.
Criterion (i): Borobudur Temple Compounds with its stepped,
unroofed pyramid consisting of ten superimposing terraces, crowned by a large
bell-shaped dome is a harmonious marriage of stupas, temple and mountain that
is a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture and monumental arts.
Criterion (ii): Borobudur Temple Compounds is an outstanding
example of Indonesia’s art and architecture from between the early 8th and late
9th centuries that exerted considerable influence on an architectural revival
between the mid-13th and early 16th centuries.
Criterion (vi): Laid out in the form of a lotus, the sacred
flower of Buddha, Borobudur Temple Compounds is an exceptional reflection of a
blending of the very central idea of indigenous ancestor worship and the
Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana. The ten mounting terraces of the entire
structure correspond to the successive stages that the Bodhisattva has to
achieve before attaining to Buddhahood.
Integrity
The boundaries contain the three temples that include the
imaginary axis between them. Although the visual links are no longer open, the
dynamic function between the three monuments, Borobudur Temple, Mendut Temple,
and Pawon Temple is maintained.
The main threat to the ensemble is from development that
could compromise the extraordinary relationship between the main monument and
its wider setting and could also affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the
property. The approach to the property has to a degree already been compromised
by weak developmental regulations.
Tourism also exerts considerable pressure on the property
and its hinterland.
There is a growing rate of deterioration of the building
stone, the cause of which needs further research. There is also a small degree
of damage caused by unsupervised visitors.
The eruption of Mount Merapi is also considered as one of
the potential threats because of its deposit acidic ash as happened in 2010.
Authenticity
The original materials were used to reconstruct the temple
in two phases in the 20th century: after the turn of the century and more
recently (1973-1983). Mostly original materials were used with some additions
to consolidate the monument and ensure proper drainage which has not had any
significant adverse impact on the value of the property. Though the present
state of Borobudur Temple is the result of restorations, it retained more than
enough original material when re-discovered to make a reconstruction possible.
Nowadays the property could be used as a Buddhist pilgrimage
site. Its overall atmosphere is, however, to a certain degree compromised by
the lack of control of commercial activities and the pressure resulting from
the lack of an adequate tourism management strategy.
