Religious Vesak 2555 BE 2012: Celebrations at Borobudur

On May 6th 2011, the colossal Borobudur Temple celebrated of Buddhism’s most momentous ritual ceremony: the Vesak Day.

The event is preceded by a ritual to obtain holy water from the pristine springs at Jumprit in the Temanggung district. The holy water will then be kept in the small Mendut Temple near Borobudur. The following day, the ritual ofigniting the Vesak torch, whose flames are taken from the natural eternal flames at Mrapen in the village of Grobogan, in the Purwodadi district, Central Java.

Photo by Triesti Ayu Prabawati

The Magnificent Borobudur Temple is widely known as the world’s biggest Buddhist monument. Based on historical books, this designed Gupta architecture temple built in the 9th century during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty and thousand workers were needed to build this huge temple and was built without using any kind of cement or mortar. Miraculous! There are around 500 statues of the Buddha sit calmly and peacefully in this temple.

After Chanting and praying, as the main ritual, The Buddhist monks in their typical clothing dominated by red and yellow walk around the temple for three times and then they will release of over 1,000 Puja lanterns into the sky, this ritual is known as Pradaksina.

Thousands devotees from around the world, congregate at The Magnificent Borobudur Temple to take part and witness the spectacular Vesak Day. This Buddhist holiest ceremony is an opportunity for Buddhists who bring joy within them to meet together and learn more about how Buddha attained the supreme wisdom and compassion of Enlightenment.

Candles are essential for Vesak ritual, it’s represent the Dhamma. This candlelight is not merely as an offering to the Buddha but it has its sacred meaning as a symbol of respect to The Buddha and wisdom or light to see the reality of existence.

 

The statue of Buddha sits peacefully on a lotus throne. This statue is a symbol of A Symbol of the Enlightened One, a symbol of a Belief System and a symbol of hope. Buddha is also known as Siddhartha Gautama is a prince from northern India who lived around 563 to 483 BC. His wise teaching of suffering and evil has brought many people from around the world to follow His path.

 This is the picture of one of Buddha’s relics.

 

Various offering such as Candles, Flower and Joss Sticks from devotees are placed to an altar right in the front of Buddha statue.

 

This man is one of those thousand devotees who are ready to release puja lantern.

 

This Buddhist monk carried a bowl of holy water to be poured over the shoulders of the Buddha. This ritual is a reminder for Buddhists to purify their own minds from greed, hatred and ignorance.

 The sacred puja lanterns released to the sky and the moon right above those two lanterns perfectly gives the meaning to the ritual as a symbol of enlightenment for the entire universe.