Ebook: Borobudur

Placing Borobodur, one of the world's largest religious monuments, in the context of 8th-century Javanese architecture and contemporary Buddhist culture, this study examines its construction and symbolism and charts its recent restoration under the auspices of UNESCO.

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After a concise introduction by author in which he describes the penetration of hindu-buddhist civilization in ancient Indonesia, an extensive and well documented scientific exposé is given, being a description of Life of Buddha as illustrated by bas-reliefs of Barabudur, Java Introduction (except) .... The life-story of the historic Buddha, who preached the creed of salvation to us. There appears tobe good reason for aseparate publication of the important series of reliefs on the first gallery, representing this text, the Lalitavistara. Not only it is in itself a most holy and authoritative work of Mahayana doctrine and one of the most important Sources for The Life of Buddha, but moreoverthecircumstance that the Sanskrittext is still extant in the same (or almost the same) redaction as used an Barabuqur, makes it possible to quote the actual passages that had to be depicted by the sculptors. When new photographs had been made of the monument during the work of restoration (I901-I911), the Dutch Government published a detailed description of Barabudu.... ....It is the chapter of this work containing the above mentioned Lalitavistara-reliefs that is now brought Mtt separately. For all other particulars of the monument and of ]avanese Buddhism, the reader is referred to the complete edition.