REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAGELANG - Buddhist students campaigned for preservation of Borobudur Temple on the sidelines of Vesak 2557 BE (2013) celebration in Borobudur Sub-district, Magelang District, Central Java Province, Saturday.

"We want to invite the public, including Buddhists, to care more for Borobudur Temple, which is a global cultural heritage," Sartikadi, the general secretary of the Indonesian Buddhist Students' Association (Hikmahbudhi) presidium, said on Saturday.

Dozens of students of Hikmahbudhi distributed about 1,000 brochures bearing a text of Saves Borobudur for Civilization to visitor in front of Mendut Temple entrance doors, which is located near Borobudur Temple.

They also placed banners around Mendut Temple, a meditation center for Vesak 2013 celebration held at 11.00 am (local time). Vesak was celebrated at Borobudur ant Mendut Temples.

Sartikadi said Borobudur Temple as global cultural heritage is a tourist attraction and is a sacred place. "We must keep it to be sustainable," he said.

At 09.00 am, the Indonesian Buddhist Council (Walubi)`s monks and some Buddhists from several regions were present at Mendut Temple for preparing the meditation moment of Vesak 2013. They also walked about three kilometers from Mendut Temple to Borobudur Temple for Pujabakti Vesak procession. 

The United Nations of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed Borobudur Temple as a world cultural heritage. This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in Central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa.

The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika