Borobudur
Temple
The Borobodur Temple
complex is one of the greatest monuments in the world. It is of uncertain age,
but thought to have been built between the end of the seventh and beginning of
the eighth century A.D. For about a century and a half it was the spiritual centre
of Buddhism in Java, then it was lost until its rediscovery in the eighteenth
century. The structure, composed of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock is
erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular storeys,
three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The whole
structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha. For each
direction there are ninety-two Dhyani Buddha statues and 1,460 relief scenes.
The lowest level has 160 reliefs depicting cause and effect; the middle level
contains various stories of the Buddha's life from the Jataka Tales; the
highest level has no reliefs or decorations whatsoever but has a balcony,
square in shape with round walls: a circle without beginning or end. Here is the
place of the ninety-two Vajrasattvas or Dhyani Buddhas tucked into small
stupas. Each of these statues has a mudra (hand gesture) indicating one of the
five directions: east, with the mudra of calling the earth to witness; south,
with the hand position of blessing; west, with the gesture of meditation;
north, the mudra of fearlessness; and the center with the gesture of teaching.
Besides being the highest symbol of Buddhism, the Borobodur stupa is also a
replica of the universe. It symbolizes the micro-cosmos, which is divided into
three levels, in which man's world of desire is influenced by negative
impulses; the middle level, the world in which man has control of his negative
impulses and uses his positive impulses; the highest level, in which the world of
man is no longer bounded by physical and worldly ancient desire. It is
devotional practice to circumambulate around the galleries and terraces always
turning to the left and keeping the edifice to the right while either chanting
or meditating. In total, Borobodur represents the ten levels of a Bodhisattva's
life which he or she must develop to become a Buddha or an awakened one.
Prambanan Temple
Erected in the 10th century by
the ancient Hindu-Javanese rulers, this magnificent shrine is elaborately
ornamented with designs of the utmost delicacy. Walking about the main shrine,
people will notice the sub-basement underfacing upon which the temple is built.
This itself is not part of the temple, but forms its foundation. This
multisides basement is ornamented with many varied sculptured reliefs, such as
flowersand trees, and are popularly refered to as the "Prambanan motifes
adminitsniches" off sculped lion and filleted paners is the well known
"Wishing tree motive". The combination of these various motifs
brought with such delicacy, and so well preserved make this temple, known as
the Slender Virgin, "The Siva Temple". The main temple site located
in the immediate are: To the North of this temple lies the Brahma Temple,
and to the South the Wisnu
Temple. This three
ancient masterpieces of Hindu architecture are locally referred to as
"Candi Prambanan" or the Prambanan
Temple group. Perhaps one
of the most majestic temple sites in Southeast Asia.
Prambanan attracts a great many admirers each year from abroad. The first
open-air theatre on the southern side of the temple was built in 1960 and the
new theatre on the western side in 1988. During full moon evenings in the
months of May to October, the Ramayana ballet is performed here. The prambanan
temple complex lies among green fields and villages. It has eight shrines, of
which the three main ones are dedicated to Shiva, Wisnu, and Brahma. The main temple of Shiva rises to a height of 130 feet and
houses the magnificant statue of Shiva's consort, Durga.
Parangtritis Beach
Parangtritis is located in
Parangtritis village, Kretek Sub distric, Bantul Regency some 27 km south of Yogyakarta. This beach is the most frequently visited by
tourist and become their main destination. The beach can be reached by public
transportation that serves Yogyakarta-Bantul-Imogiri-Parangtritis from bus
station Giwangan, Yogya.
Parangtritis is an enchanting sloping beach combined with rocky hills, dunes, and white sandy beach. It is also a sacred place. Many people come to the beach to do meditation. Near tourist resorts, mainly:
- Parang wedang, this is a hot spring from which mineral water spouts up. Rooms are available to serve visitors who would like to take a bath with mineral water. According to the research, this water can heal all kinds of skin desease.
- Parangkusumo Beach, the western part of Parangtritis, where the Labuhan ceremony is held every year. People believe that the beach is the meeting place between the Mataram Kings and Kanjeng Ratu Kidul, the Goddess of the South Sea.