Corner Mystery - Borobudur a Buddhist stupa in the Mahayana tradition is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. This Buddhist monument from the eighth century (between 750 and 850 AD) has gained a place on Unesco’s world heritage list. Located 40 km (25 mile) northwest of Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, near the Mount Merapi (one of the most active volcano in Indonesia). It was built from nearly two million stone blocks of andesite, a bluish-gray volcanic stone, Borobudur is shaped like a stepped pyramid, the base of which is 402 feet long from north to south and 383 feet long from east to west; the height is now 95 feet above ground level. This magnificent temple is a three-dimensional diagram of the universe and a visual representation of Buddhist teachings. From above, the design of Borobudur resembles a mandala (a Hindu pattern used in meditation), leading to specu*lation that the complex was built by Indian Buddhists who were influenced by Hindu beliefs. Viewed from the ground, the mandala comes together to form a mountain of stone. For centuries, Borobodur lay hidden under layers of volcanic ash. The reasons behind the desertion of this magnificent monument still remain a mystery and no one knows what happened to the culture that built the monument.
Perhaps Mount Merapi had erupted, choking the rice lands with layers of volcanic ash. Whatever the cause, the population moved to East Java in a mass exodus, and Borobudur was left behind, its meaning lost in time. Some scholars believe that famine caused by an eruption of Mount Merapi forced the inhabitants of Central Java to leave their lands behind in search of a new place to live. When people once again inhabited this area, the glory of Borobudur was buried by ash from Mount Merapi.
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Perhaps Mount Merapi had erupted, choking the rice lands with layers of volcanic ash. Whatever the cause, the population moved to East Java in a mass exodus, and Borobudur was left behind, its meaning lost in time. Some scholars believe that famine caused by an eruption of Mount Merapi forced the inhabitants of Central Java to leave their lands behind in search of a new place to live. When people once again inhabited this area, the glory of Borobudur was buried by ash from Mount Merapi.
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