Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Borobudur, Pathway to Enlightenment

Posted on April 28, 2014February 18, 2016 by Dharma Documentaries
A look at the rediscovery, meaning and preservation of the largest Buddhist monument in the world.

Borobudur-Pathway-to-Enlightenment

Part of PBS’ Treasures of the World series this is an excellent documentary on the rediscovery of Borobudur, its meaning and the various preservation efforts that have been made since it was retrieved from the jungle in the early 19th century.

Borobudur was built in the 9th century during the Sailendra period, a Malay dynasty that ruled from Sumatra, but the workers and craftsmen, of course, were Javanese inspired by their Indian predecessors.

The monument is a 3-dimensional ma??ala belonging to the Tantric tradition, which leads the devotee through the various levels of existence up and to the freedom encountered on its topmost storey.

Along the way there are lessons in kamma, the protective gods, the Bodhisattva’s quest, his last life and Awakening, and his future disciples’ own quest for ultimate release.

The film includes many of the scenes found on the monument and some descriptions of what they represent, and some very old archive photographs also, all of which are worth seeing.

The film concludes with a look at the huge international effort that went into the most recent restoration which took a total of eight years, as a million stones were disassembled, renovated and then reassembled.


The Borobudur part of this film starts half way through the embedded video; the first half is a really interesting look at the building of the Taj Mahal, so if that interests you start the film from the beginning.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Java, Sculpture, Temples, Vajrayana

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please Note: Comments are Moderated before Publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2p4

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

or Bank Transfer to:
Mr. Ng Choon Aun, Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Acc. No. 6352323912, Swift: PBBEMYKL

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Movie)

Recent Posts

  • Buddha’s Lost Children
  • Zen Buddhism – In Search of Self
  • Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East?
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • From Myanmar to the World 2, Caves to Pagodas
  • From Myanmar to the World 1, Overland to India
  • The Rise of Dhamma
  • Lempad of Bali
  • Bagan, City of Temples (Fall of Civilizations)
  • Escape from Tibet

Random Posts

  • Luang Prabang, Laos (Expoza)
  • Planet of the Humans
  • Louis Malle’s Calcutta (India 1969)
  • Drepung Gonba, Tibet (Expoza)
  • Dunhuang, Costumes in the Dunhuang Caves (5 of 8)
  • Bagan in Central Myanmar (Slideshow)
  • Laos (Expoza)
  • Sukhothai, Thailand (Expoza)
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • The Glory of Dunhuang 9, Calling Dunhuang

Related Posts

  • The Story of Buddhism 09, Legacy of Kashmir
  • The Story of Buddhism 08, Orissa A Cradle of Buddhism
  • Drepung Gonba, Tibet (Expoza)
  • The Story of Buddhism 07, The Intellectual Quest
  • Kathmandu, A Threatened Beauty
  • Return of the Lotus-Born Master
  • The Mark of Empire 3, Angkor
  • Discovering Tibet 1: Mysterious Map
  • The Buxa Lamas
  • Nepal, The Great Plunder
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme