See also:Tibet
Bibliography
Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen, ed. and trans. The Treasury of Good
Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon.London: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 1972.
Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen. The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies
in History, Myths, Rituals, and Beliefs in Tibet.Kathmandu,
Nepal: Mandala Book Point, 1998.
Kværne, Per. “The Canon of the Tibetan Bonpos.” Indo-Iranian
Journal16 (1974): nr. 1, 18–56; nr. 2, 96–144.
Kværne, Per. “S ́akyamuni in the Bon Religion.” Temenos 25
(1989): 33–40.
Kværne, Per. “The Bon Religion of Tibet: A Survey of Research.”
In The Buddhist Forum,Vol. 3, ed. Tadeusz Skorupski and
Ulrich Pagel. New Delhi: Heritage, 1995.
Kværne, Per. The Bon Religion of Tibet: The Iconography of a
Living Tradition.London: Serindia, 1995. Reprint, Boston:
Shambhala, 2001.
Martin, Dan. Unearthing Bon Treasures: Life and Contested
Legacy of a Tibetan Scripture Revealer, with a General Bibli-
ography of Bon.Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2001.
Snellgrove, David, ed. and trans. The Nine Ways of Bon: Excerpts
from the gZi-brjid.London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Reprint, Boulder, CO: PrajñaPress, 1980.
CHRISTIANK. WEDEMEYERBOROBUDUR
Borobudur is a monumental structure that was erected
in the Kedu plain in south central Java, on the foun-
dation of an older shrine of unknown form. Con-
struction began about 790 C.E., and alterations
continued to be made until approximately 850 C.E.
From above, Borobudur resembles a MANDALA, in that
it consists of a large STUPA(burial mound) surrounded
by three round terraces, on each of which are more
stupas (108 in all); farther from the central stupa are
four square terraces. In profile, the monument resem-
bles a mountain, since the transition from each terrace
is marked by a staircase rising to the next.
Reliefs (1,350 panels) illustrate texts, such as JATAKA
and AVADANA tales, the Mahakarmavibhan ̇ga, the
LALITAVISTARA, the Gandavyuha,and the Bhadracari.
Niches atop the walls of the galleries contain BUDDHA
IMAGES. These images exhibit different hand positions
according to their location on the monument. These
hand positions, or mudra, symbolize the conquest of
illusion, charity, meditation, dispelling of fear, and
teaching. The seventy-two stupas on the round ter-
races, which are hollow, contain images whose hand
positions symbolize the Buddha’s first sermon in Deer
Park at Benares.
This combination of stupa, mountain, and mandala
was never replicated elsewhere, but its influence is vis-
ible in Cambodia and through that intermediary in
Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). No inscriptions sur-
vive to tell us what the monument signified to the Ja-
vanese, but the ten relief series suggest that it may have
functioned to enable selected individuals to pass sym-
bolically through the ten stages on the PATHto be-
coming a BODHISATTVA. The form of Buddhism
followed by the builders of Borobudur emphasized the
role of bodhisattvas, but was less esoteric than later ex-
pressions in Java and Sumatra wherein such deities as
Vajrasattva and Trailokyavijaya were emphasized. The
bodhisattvas Mañjus ́rand Samantabhadra play key
roles in the texts narrated on Borobudur. These deities
were also popular in East Asia at this time.
The monument’s construction coincides with a pe-
riod during which a dynasty known as the S ́ailendra
(mountain lord) dominated central Java politically.
Around 830 C.E. a Buddhist queen married a Hindu
king of the Sañjaya line. The great Hindu monument
of Loro Jonggrang at Prambanam was constructed be-
tween about 830 and 856. Narrative reliefs depicting
the Ramayanaand Krsna texts on Loro Jonggrang may
have been motivated by the desire to present a Hindu
response to Borobudur.See also:Huayan Art; Indonesia, Buddhist Art inBibliography
Gómez, Luis, and Woodward, Hiram W., Jr., eds. Barabudur:
History and Significance of a Buddhist Monument.Berkeley,
CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1981.
Miksic, John N. Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas.Berke-
ley, CA: Periplus Editions, 1990.JOHNN. MIKSICBSAM YAS (SAMYE)Founded around 779 C.E., Bsam yas (Samye) was Ti-
bet’s first monastery. Although a few temples of wor-
ship had been built earlier in Tibet, Bsam yas was the
first fully functioning monastery. Upon its completion,BOROBUDUR