Borobudur: Pathway to Enlightenment

Vastuworld Research : 2

Another month of extensive research and we have tried to derive the formulas and calculations with reference to another marvelous building.

Human and Environment has a strong connection, Architecture depicts human energies and we humans are part of the environment.

Borobudur is an example where human dimensions are preciously followed in construction.
Buddhist cosmology is divided into three worlds: the Kamadhatu or the phenomenal world, the world of desires; the Rupadhatu, a transitional sphere where humans are released from their corporeal form and worldly concerns; and finally the Arupadhatu, the sphere of Gods the sphere of perfection and enlightenment.

Borobudur's architecture is modeled after this cosmology. Each part of the monument is devoted to a different world. The Kamadhatu is a huge, rectangular wall that just out at the foot of the monument. Above the base is the Rupadhatu, four rectangular terraces with procession corridors that are decorated with myriad statues and relief. These terraces are three circular terraces and a large dome. When we approach the monument however, it is difficult to discern the three separate elementary structures.

The rectangular foundation is obscure; rather than appearing as a step pyramid, the temple gives the illusion of being a solid circular dome with the final stupa protruding on the top. The monument is a confusion of endless terraces, statues and niches.

PRADAKCINA

In order to more fully appreciate a structure like Borobudur we should approach and experience the temple as the Buddhist initiates ten centuries ago were required to do. We should enter the temple by the east gate and circle the temple clockwise. There are eleven series of relief depicted on the monument. Sometimes two or three stories parallel each other on a gallery wall. To follow a story from beginning to end we must walk one complete circle around the temple. This process is called Pradakcina or paying homage to the good spirits. To walk counter clockwise is to recognize the spirits of the dead.

Borobudur is built as a single large stupa, and when viewed from above takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. The foundation is a square, approximately 118 meters (387 ft) on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.

Architecture systems has been followed with such perfection and techinology which would beat any of our modern service planning:

Approximately 55,000 cubic metres (72,000 cu yd) of stones were taken from neighbouring rivers to build the monument. The stone was cut to size, transported to the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints between stones. Reliefs were created in-situ after the building had been completed.

Chakras~The body & its Interface

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, or vortex, and it refers to each of the seven energy centers of which our consciousness, our energy system, is composed.

These chakras, or energy centers, function as pumps or valves, regulating the flow of energy through our energy system. The functioning of the chakras reflects decisions we make concerning how we choose to respond to conditions in our life. We open and close these valves when we decide what to think, and what to feel, and through which perceptual filter we choose to experience the world around us.

The chakras are not physical. They are aspects of consciousness in the same way that the auras are aspects of consciousness. The chakras are more dense than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body. They interact with the physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with a group of nerves called a plexus.
Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine gland associated with that chakra.