SCHOLARS PENETRATE THE HEART OF INDONESIA TO WITNESS, TOUR BUDDHIST AND HINDU SHRINES

We arrived at dawn at Samarang City, Java, a port located at the mouth of the Samarang River off the Java Sea. Samarang is also the capital of the Central Java Province. We were berthed at the commercial port about seven miles from the city. Our location was for the convenience of the ship to facilitate taking on food and supplies. The distance wasn't too important since the city was not on our agenda. Rather, we were to undertake a 14-hour day upcountry.
A word about Java. Indonesia has 200 million people and 120 million live on Java. The architecture and the monuments reflect Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic influences. Java is one and one half the size of the United Kingdom with two witness the population. Java is as small as Cuba. It is 30% land and 70% water. The population density is 1,000 persons per square mile. Java, ancient and modern, has been the center of Indonesian cultural and political power throughout history.
Today was our day to visit two world heritage class shrines, one Buddhist and one Hindu. By 0700, nine buses were loaded and on the way. Our first destination was Borobudur, an eighth century Buddhist temple, the largest in Indonesia and considered one of the world's wonders. Later, we were to visit Yogyakarta (the Sultan's Palace) and latter Prambanan, the ninth century Hindu shrine.
The journey to Borobudur itself was two and a half hours. We passed through Ambarana, then Lake Rana Pening, the largest lake in Central Java. Our travels then took us to Magelang, the home of the national military academy. We drove amid mountains and green hills, through rain forests, evergreen teak and deciduous trees.
The rain forest woods included teak, mahogany, building wood, carving wood, plywood and fire wood, with roadside stands selling all of the above. Massive amounts of timberland were cut to provide for settlements, agriculture and the exportation of lumber. The unregulated "slash and burn" policies now present serious problems to the ecosystem and serious pollution problems.
What does Borobudur mean? Experts still ask, but the consensus is that it is derived from two words: "vihair," which means a complex of buildings or dormitories, and "bedihur," which means a site on a hill. Together it means "a monastery on a hill called Borobudur." The actual shape is not that of a temple, but rather a stupa constructed on top of a storied shrine. The shrine covers 14,165 square meters. No less than two million blocks of volcanic rock have been used in constructing the shrine. The building volume measures 55,000 cubic meters; Borobudur weighs 3.5 million tons and can withstand the weight of over 5,000 visitors at one time.
Borobudur is a holy symbol of Lord Buddha, a monument of veneration and remembrance, and a place to keep the relics of Buddha and his disciples, especially Arhat. An inscription (732 AD) lists all the Buddhist kings of the Cailendar dynasty. In the same period, a Hindu dynasty, specifically the Sanjaya dynasty, coexisted. Thus, we were to see adjacent to Borobudur a chain of three Buddhist temples, including Mendut, which we also visited, and Pawon. Later in the day, when we visited the Hindu shrine Prambanan, we found it surrounded by five major and several small Buddhist shrines.
The monument is surrounded by mystery and unresolved issues. Where did the kingdom that erected this "monastery on the hill" disappear to? Why was this shrine abandoned? What was the exact relationship between these three Buddhist shrines? What happened between the seventh and eighth centuries to drive this monumental shrine into obscurity?
For centuries, Borobudur was the primary destination for all Buddhist pilgrimages. Then history goes blank. People moved elsewhere. The shrine was forgotten and unkept. Weeds overgrew it. Natural disasters toppled the upper portions. Natural decay set in. A 10th century volcano appears to have buried whatever remained visible.
Not until the 17th century was there any written indication of Borobudur. Another two centuries lapsed before, in the 19th century, England's Governor General Sir Thomas Ruffles came upon a huge temple atop a weedy hill. The site peeked his curiosity. He authorized an expedition under H.C. Cornellius to investigate. That decision began the modern age of the discovery of Borobudur. It is recorded that, in 1876, eight push-carts of statues and carved stones were removed and presented to the King of Siam. They are still in Siam.
In 1907, a Dutch engineer began the first meticulous and painstaking excavations of this shrine. He worked until 1911. He was building his excavations on the first (preliminary) diggings of 1815-1820. Nothing more happened until Th. Van Erp began his work in 1907. The work continued spasmodically for a century. Between 1950 and 1960, the Indonesian government became interested. Political unrest delayed construction. However, by 1967 UNESCO became aware of this world treasure. The International Congregation of Orientialists encouraged UNESCO sponsorship of a restoration project.
Stones were disassembled, treated, numbered, then reassembled where possible. Professional archeological explorations have continued since that time and were in process during our visit. The project is expected to take another century to complete. Fortunately, we did not have to wait one hundred years to visit Borobudur.
Our millennium adventure learning cruise was to "forgotten places." Borobudur surely qualified. We arrived in what the Irish would call a "soft rain" - more than mist and less than steady rain. From the buses to the shrine was still a hike - perhaps a half-mile with only occasional trees for shelter.
As you would surmise, the hawkers were waiting under the trees. This time, they tended to be children offering post cards, stamps and guidebooks. I ordinarily find these items irresistible. But, I did get my stamps at Bali and the postcards looked old, dog-eared and badly printed. Only the shrink wrapped guidebook had any appeal. "Only ten dollars, Mister." No way!
My resistance reached a new high. Children can be persistent. One young boy "attached" himself to me for the entire visit. No "no" or explanation could dissuade him. He followed me everywhere. What became evident was an unspoken code among the young salesmen that recognized that he was mine and kept others from approaching me. If they did, a mere gesture from the boy caused them to disappear. Our bus guide was not the shrine guide, so the need for the guidebook became more acute. The rains ceased so one could open a guidebook and be more intelligent about what we were seeing.
I felt I was reliving the Bible story of the woman who pestered the Lord until he met her demands. The Lord gave in - and so did I. I got my 20 ragged postcards (but the best available), no stamps, and the guidebook for four dollars. I'm not sure his take, but it was surely small. The smile on his face and his thanks were almost worth another dollar!
To give you a sense of the enormity of the shrine, consider some of these dimensions. We climbed about 40 steps to the first of ten levels of Borobudur. These ten levels represent the 10 stages to be passed through to Buddhahood. They are the ten stages from earth to Nirvena (perfection).
The pilgrim begins with a left turn to circle the shrine. The walls are covered with stone-carved panels about Lord Buddha and Buddhist history, philosophy, theology and mythology. The teachings of Buddha are illustrated in some relief panels. The shrine compiles 1,300 such panels.
For example, there are 372 panels on the first level, 129 panels on the second level, two sets of 88 panels at the third level, and 72 and 84 panels on the fourth level. The shrine included 504 statues of Buddha in standing or sitting positions.
There was no way to complete the circle of the ten levels in our half-day visit, especially if one wanted to examine and understand the various panels. I chose to visit levels one and two counter-clockwise to avoid the streams of new visitors.
Then, suddenly, like all tours, we had to move on to our next destination, Yogyakarta, called "the heart of Indonesia." Before Jakarta in modern Indonesia, Yogyakarta was the capital. It is located along a fertile plain under the shadow of three volcanoes. Yogyakarta is home to Yoga's Grjah Mada University. Its 60,000 students represent 20% of the city population. We were there to visit the Palace of the Sultan.
The palace, namely Kraton, was built in 1757 in classical Javanese palace court architecture. It is a complex of 30 buildings. There are gateways, assembly halls, pavilions, courtyards, tea rooms for men, tea rooms for women, and greeting halls for receiving dignitaries and ordinary visitors. Each building had a specific purpose - official or private space for the sultan and family. Each was decorated and each decoration had symbolic meaning.
The sultan in history, his successor today, is considered one of the most important persons in Indonesia. In fact, those at the palace were preparing that day for a visit with the president of Indonesia the following day.

The heavens opened. The rains came. We sought shelter. But, an open air palace of public places did not provide much shelter. The rain not only dampened us, but dampened the enthusiasm of the group for the lengthy explanations of the palace guide. Our guide was more interested in demonstrating her (very) limited English than in answering questions. With the rain and her soft voice, she quickly lost her audience. Fortunately, the palace museum and royal receiving room provided momentary shelter and a glimpse at the majestic lifestyle of the country's most important sultan.
It was an earlier sultan who welcomed the Roman Catholic missionaries to Java. He gave them land adjacent to the Kraton for the first church. Today, it is the site of an imposing cathedral.
The palace was worth a prolonged visit, but only on a sunny day. Drying off and lunch became priority. Buddha would call this the Kamadhatu stage - satisfying animal needs. We were off to lunch - a typical Javanese lunch of ten courses served buffet style. There was soup, salads, rice and vegetables, fish, meat, casserole, chicken, fresh fruits and sweets. You can imagine a nine bus lunch break: pushing, shoving, cutting in line, and everybody wanting to be first and to know "what is this dish?" But, we survived.
Suddenly, the sun emerged as we did. We drove to nearby Prambanan, the most famous Hindu Temple in Java. Prambanan Temple was also known as the "slender virgin temple." Built in the ninth century, the temple is richly decorated with ornamental sculptured reliefs.
The main temple, called Siwa Temple, was located mid-court. A second temple, Brahma, was located to the north and a third temple, Visnu, was located to the south. Collectively, these temples are called the Prambanan group and serve as world class examples of early Hindu architecture. By contrast, this temple grouping was less spectacular than the Borobudur shrine, but the contrast represents the contrasts between Buddhist and Hindu religious cultures.
Another mist began to fall as twilight dimmed and we began our three-hour return trip to the Ocean Explorer.
Our third stop in Indonesia was to have been at Nais Island, a day or more sail away from Java. However, we needed more fuel and supplies. Singapore was a delightful alternative, for everyone, myself included. The ancient cultures of Bali and Java gave way to ultramodern Singapore.