Borobudur! Borobudur!




Someone just told me that Borobudur is shaped like a mandala which is true if you were to view it from above; it is in fact one giant tantric Buddhist mandala, said to represent the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. My friends and I did not see that of course, since we did not hover over it in a helicopter or a plane but if you are keen, just have a look at a Borobudur miniature; there are lots of them being sold in souvenir stalls outside the gates of Borobudur. You'd notice perhaps that is has a square foundation and nine platforms, the lower six being squares and the upper three are circular in shape. In Jonathan Swift's satire, Gulliver Travels, I think there should be a scene where some people in some strange land tried in futility to build houses like a spider spinning its web, from the top down to the base. If I am not mistaken, I heard our guide said that Borobudur is built from the top downwards! And you'd think it's possible. The masterpiece has been built not on a piece of flat land but on a natural hill...
Traveling Tip: Buy some souvenirs!

Comments

Liudmila said…
Souvenirs are surely useful. To see and to understand what we can't see and to remember.I bought something for memory every time I visited something interesting.
footiam said…
I think so too. By the way, Borobudur must have appeared in your dream before. It is an old Buddhist monument built in the 8th century in central Java.
Liudmila said…
Yes, I thought about it too. I can't forget that dream, very unusual and anormal for one like me.
footiam said…
It is unusual no doubt; perhaps, if you don't think about it, it will just go away.