BOROBUDUR

Borobudur is the name of a Buddhist temple located at Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Location of the temple is approximately 100 km south-west of Semarang, 86 miles to the west of Surakarta, and 40 km northwest of Yogyakarta. Stupa temple was founded by the Mahayana Buddhists around the year 800 AD during the early reign of Sailendra dynasty. The monument comprises six square terraces on which there are three circular courtyard, the walls decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues are original. [1] The main stupa lies in the middle of the biggest as well as crowning the building, surrounded by three rows of circular 72 perforated stupa in which there are statues of buddha sitting cross-legged in the lotus position perfectly with the mudra (hand gesture) Dharmachakra mudra (turning the wheel of dharma).This monument is a model of the universe and built as a shrine to honor the Buddha as well as serve as a place of pilgrimage to lead humanity from nature earthly passion turned to enlightenment and wisdom according to the teachings of Buddha. [2] The pilgrims enter through the east side start at the base of the temple ritual by walking encircling the shrine clockwise, while continuing to climb the stairs to the next through the three levels of the realm in Buddhist cosmology. The third level is Kamadhatu (the realm of the passions), Rupadhatu (the realm of intangibles), and Arupadhatu (intangible realm). In this journey of pilgrims walking through a series of hallways and stairs with no less than 1,460 witnessed the beautiful relief panels carved on the walls and balustrades.According to historical evidence, Borobudur was abandoned in the 14th century as the weakening influence of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and started the influence of Islam. [3] The world began to realize the existence of this building since it was discovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who was then as the British Governor General of Java. Since then it has undergone a series of Borobudur rescue and restoration efforts. The largest restoration project was held in the period 1975 to 1982 the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and UNESCO, and historic sites in the list of World Heritage Sites. [4]Borobudur is still used as a place of religious pilgrimage; each year Buddhists who come from all over Indonesia and abroad gather at Borobudur to commemorate Vesak Trisuci. In the world of tourism, tourism Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist.

 http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur