Journals
Tuesday,Sep 28 2004, 09:49:17 AMPART 23: TO BOROBUDUR TEMPLE SEPT 11,...
PART 23: TO BOROBUDUR TEMPLE
SEPT 11, SATURDAY
8 am – we went to a farm to plow the soil and plant corn seeds
- everybody got to try to manipulate the cow
- when it was my turn, the cow stopped and pooed!!! (sh!t)
12 nn – we are leaving Banteran but Takuji is missing!!!
1 pm – lunch at SALAM
- along the way, passed by Candi Pawon Temple
2 to 4 pm – BOROBUDUR TEMPLE
7 pm – arrived back in Semarang, dinner at Candi Resto Its Otosan’s birthday!!!
9 pm – checked in Telomoyo Hotel
10 pm – drinking with the guys Kampai!!!
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BOROBUDUR = from the Sanskrit words “Vihara Buddha Uhm” (Buddhist Monastery on the hill)
= built during SAILENDRA Dyansty in 750 to 850 AD from the rocks of closest, but far, Merapi volcano
= used by Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhists
= made from 2 million lock stories in a form of a massive symmetrical stupa, literally wrapped (or standing) on a small hill
= it stands on its 118 x 118 meter base, but a new wall (3 meters thick and 5 meters high) was built around the base for support because it doesn’t have any foundations
= 6 square terraces with circular tops on the 3 upper most levels, and 4 stairways from each side leading to the top
= relief sculptures on the walls reveal stories
= base (walls that are now covered) depicting passions, desires and sufferings of humans – the lowest form of living
= 2nd to 3rd levels – it’s a 5 km long if you go around, tell stories from the life of Gautama to Buddhahood, Buddhist Docrines, reincarnations, and the Javanese life 1000 years ago
= this is Earth: it will take 2 weeks before you finish the stories
= 4th to 6th levels – there are no more stories but ‘stupas’ the ‘unstable stupa’ has the diamond-shape windows the ‘stable stupa’ has the square-shaped windows this is the near-buddha state 6th level is the Nirvana
= there are 505 Buddha statues representing his reincarnation 505 times before he became Siddharta Gautama, attained Nirvana and never reborn again
= most of the Buddhas are headless coz of looting
= one is a “Lucky Buddha” – if you can reach the hands or feet, your wish will be granted
= the temple was abandoned near after its completion and was buried under ashes until Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles governed Java in 1815 and ordered the cleansing to expose it
= restoration cost USD25 Million in 1973 to 1983
= it was bomed in January 1985 by Soeharto’s opponents
= renovation and restoration still taking place because of the harsh weather condition (hot sun and heavy rain) and from the tourists
= on the Southern side, you can see a mountain range that looks like the ‘Reclining Buddha’
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THE LIFE OF BUDDHA
= SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA was born in Kapilavastu, India (now inside Nepal) in 556 BC
= son of the King SHUDDODANA (sage of the Sakya Clan) and of the beautiful Queen MAHAMAYA (watch “Little Buddha” where Keanu Reeves portrayed the role of Siddharta Gautama)
= she gave birth in Lumbini while she was on her way to her father’s kingdom, a large tree lowered a branch to support her painless delivery
= Siddharta (means “he who has attained his goals”) was born fully awake, spoke of freeing all mankind from suffering, and lotus blossomed in his footsteps
= his mother died 3 days later then he was raised by her mother’s sister, MAHAPRAJAPATI
= he was married to YASHODHARA when he was 16
= his father doesn’t want him to become a man of faith so he provided him with all the good things and show no suffering
= in 533 BC, he wanted to go out of the palace to see the people. His father arranged his path by announcing that only young and healthy people should greet the prince
= there he saw four sights: a sick man, a poor man, a beggar, and a corpse
= at the age of 29, he left the kingdom and his family (this is known as Great Renunciation)
= he then began to practice the austerities and self-mortifications
= later he realized the ‘Middle Way’ – the string will not play harmoniously if it is too tight or loose
= in 528 BC, under a bo tree near Gaya (now Boddh Gaya in the state of Bihar) he experienced Great Enlightenment and became the Buddha “The Enlightened One”
= he understood all his previous lives and the entirety of the cycle of birth and rebirth (Samsara), and figured out how to end the cycle of infinite sorrow
= it is said that MARA, the evil one, frightened, tempted and tried to ensnare to his ego, but all failed.
= Brahma, king of the gods in Hindu, convinced Buddha to teach
= he started teaching in the Deer Park near Benares (now Varanasi)
= his five followers rejoined him and became his first disciples (Bhikkus)
= his family, his father and son became monks, and his wife and aunt became the first Buddhist nuns
= his first sermon (which is comparable to Jesus’ Sermon in the Mount), is called “Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Law”, and explained the 4 Noble Truths and the 8-Fold Noble Paths
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SETTING INMOTION THE WHEEL OF THE LAW
“There are two extremes, which he who has given up the world, ought to avoid. What are these two extremes? A life given to pleasures, devoted to pleasures and lusts: this is degrading, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and profitless; and a life given to mortifications: this is painful, ignoble, and profitless. By avoiding these two extremes, the Tathagata (a title of Buddha meaning “he who has arrived at the truth”) has gained knowledge of the Middle Path which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi (total enlightenment), to Nirvana (state of release from samsara, the cycle of existence and rebirth)
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
= all human life is suffering
= all suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent
= human suffering can be ended by ending human desire
= desire can be ended by following the “Eightfold Noble Paths”
THE EIGHTFOLD NOBLE PATHS
= right understanding
= right thought
= right speech
= right action
= right livelihood
= right effort
= right mindfulness
= right concentration
Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal after eating contaminated pork, he was 80 years old.
His last words were, “Impermanence are all things created. Strive on with awareness”.
Tuesday,Sep 28 2004, 09:23:31 AMPART 22: TO BANTERAN VILLAGE, SLEMAN SEPT 10,
PART 22: TO BANTERAN VILLAGE, SLEMAN SEPT 10,FRIDAY
8 to 10 am – walk along Malioboro Street for shopping along the sidewalk with Nao, Matsubara and Tomofumi (Otosan)
- went to a public market, Genung Agung (the President’s Residence in Central Java), and to a heroes’ shrine
- there are so many vendors on both sides of the street selling almost anything: from the famous batik shirts and portraits, souvenir items with Javanese and Yogyakartan imprints like wossen sculptures, ornaments, figurines, menagerie, key chains, to silver metals, and food
- some sellers can speak a little English or Japanese - some will pretend that they will show you some batik exhibit or give you some assistance in traveling or bargaining
– one guy was tailing us coz its my fault, I said that Im from Surabaya and I was speaking Indonesian. I dismissed him 3 times – so annoying
12 nn – left the hotel for BANTERAN VILLAGE in SLEMAN (approx. 5 km North)
2 pm – started making ‘BATIK’ painting
- played Gobak Sodor (go back to the door) / Patintero in the Philippines
- the Japs asked for a coconut, actually its not young anymore
7 pm – had a dinner prepared by the residents of the village in a traditional Javanese reception manner
8 pm – played Kerawitan
10 pm – stayed over night in Host Families
- the water is cold coz its from the mountain, but the toilet is ‘jongkok’ (the bowl is mounted on the floor)
BANTERAN is one of the most important towns on the countryside because of its preserved culture and environment. It is a traditional community living practically and peacefully, and away from the busy, crowded streets of Yogya. The local people are warm and nice to their guests. Houses are made of bricks with smooth finishing touches so it is not a ‘hut’ (a traditional house made of leaves and bamboo or rattan in the Philippines and Vietnam). Most of the residents are elders, their children work in the city or far-off town. The representative of the community is in his early 30’s and can speak English. The people are mostly Moslem although some families are Catholics. The village hosts tourists, both foreigners and locals, to have a taste of life in their lovely town.
MAKING BATIK ART is not that easy. You use something like a pipe pen with a small bucket-like where it holds the melted wax. I spilled some on my finger and its f**king hot! It took away some of my finger hairs when I pulled it out. You must control the flow of the wax on the end nozzle by tilting it and bringing it down or it will drop continuously and mess with bottom part of your art. Once it drops on the textile, there is no way to clean it. Its either you cover it with another illustration or you start all over again.
THE WAX will stay there when you soak it in a pre-paint solution before you can apply all other colors. Then dip the cloth it a boiling water to remove the wax and it will reveal a white color (coz its untainted with paint). Wala!
KERAWITAN is a traditional orchestra which spread in the Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Sabah, Philippines) from Indian influence then mixed with Islamic custom and adapted by those countries according to their culture. It is composed of bamboo xylophones, drums and gongs made of bronze. Everybody played an instrument with a 4/4 tempo (1 note for each beat). Mine was 12/4 (3 notes for each beat), which is a bit difficult. But I got used to it. And the blending of the instruments are AWESOME!!!
AS MENTIONED BY TAKUJI in his diary, “the music made me feel that I am communicating with the local people although we don’t speak the same language” (rephrased)
Tuesday,Sep 28 2004, 09:14:52 AMPART 21: TO CENTRAL JAVA ====================
PART 21: TO CENTRAL JAVA
SEPT 8, WED – TO
10 am – left
= the land that I passed by is a great plain
= from GRESIK, the city immediately North of
=some fields are for root crops while some are rice fields
1 pm – lunch at BULU town near the boundary of Central and
2 pm – traveling along the town REMBANG and its regency towns
= here are mostly fishermen
3 pm – PATI
3:30 pm - KURUS
4 pm – DEMAK
= these are urbanized towns
5 pm – arrived
= stayed at Fajar’s place, son of the Dean of Economics
= met Rie, Yossy, Masato and Eriko (Japanese)
= met Fauziah,
BRIEF HISTORY OF JAVA
= Java Man lived 1.7M years ago in
= 8th Century: First major principality –
= 780 AD: SAILENDRA DYNASTY spread Buddhism
= 11th Century: Sumatra-based
= King Airlangga, a semi-legendary figure, revived the Javanese power and formed the first link between Java and
= He divided his kingdom to his two sons:
= 13th Century: Ken Angkok, a commoner, assume
= Kertanegra was the last king
= Wijaya, Kertanegra’s son-in-law, established
= 15th to 16th Century: Islam moved in
= MATARAM Islamic Kingdom covered Central and
= 17th Century: Dutch arrived
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SEPT 9, THURSDAY – TO YOGYAKARTA (pronounced as ‘
6 am – left
7 am – MAGELANG
8:30 am – arrived Yogya, breakfast
10 am – a bomb exploded in
11 am – 10 Japanese arrived from
11:30 – went to KRATON, the Sultan’s Palace
2 pm – checked-in
3 pm – eat at Matahari Mall Foodcourt (pujasera)
4 pm – went around
6 pm – dinner at
8 to 10 pm – watched RAMAYANA BALLET in an amphitheater with the well-lighted
BRIEF HISTORY OF YOGYAKARTA
= built by Prince Mangkubumi who returned to the seat from the
= took the title of “SULTAN” (king) and the name HAMENGKUBUWONO (The Universe on the lap of the King)
= Prince Diponogero’s Java War (1825-1830) took place
= the Dutch occupied Yogya in 1948 but dare not to move against the Sultan coz the people looked upon him as a god
= Yogya is a self-governing district answerable only to
= Kraton still houses the present Sultan and his Royal Family
= he distributed some of his land surrounding the palace to the people
= the center is the reception hall, BANGSAL KENCANA (Golden Pavilion)
= the museum part is dedicated to Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX
RAMAYANA
= an Indian epic around 1000 BC
= Rama, a young prince, Sita, his wife, and Laksamana, Rama’s brother
= Ravana, the evil king of Langka, abducted Sita
= Rama mustered the aid of a monkey army who built a causeway across to Lanka, released Sita and brought her back
THE STORY is adapted to Javanese culture. The characters are dressed up as Javanese – the headdress, sash, skirts, ornaments, and weapons, to the dance steps, music and musical instruments.
GALEMAN is a traditional orchestra using bronze ‘kettle dums’, hourglass drums, pot and barrel-shaped drums, two-stringed lutes, harps, flutes, reed pipes, a keyed metallophone (saron), cymbals, calung (a Sudanese instrument), gong and various wind and plucked string instruments.
WAYANG (puppet) a preserved Hindu-Buddhist heritage in Java.
Wayang Kulit
= puppet made from leather and performed by casting a shadow on a screen
= usually depicts the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata
= a dalang (single puppeteer) brings the characters to life
= the standardization of the puppet designs is traditionally attributed to King Raden Patah of Demak (16th Century Islamic Kingdom)
= the leaf-shaped kayon represents the ‘tree’ or ‘mountain of life’, and is used to end the scenes or to symbolize wind, mountains, obstacles, clouds or the sea.
= many figures and stories have a mystical function; certain stories are performed to protect a crop, a village or even individuals
WAYANG GOLEK
= are three-dimensional wooden puppets with movable heads and arms
= stories are mostly inspired by Islamic myths
WAYANG KLITIK
= it’s a flat wooden puppet carved in a low relief
= the story is about the young Prince Damar Wulan who rise to become ruler of the
WAYANG ORANG or WONG
= a dance-drama with real people
WAYANG TOPENG
= the people uses masks