Coming in 2010: Candi Mendut: Womb of the Tathagata

Introduction: Early Site Developments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Chapter I: A Descriptive Survey of the Temple                                                              

The Left Staircase Wing - The Right Staircase Wing - The Fields on the Front Porch - The Fields on the Sub-basement - The Reliefs along the Cella Footer - The Fields on the Cella Partition Walls - The Fields at the Corners of the Cella - Exterior Walls of the Vestibule - The Vestibule’s Interior -  Inside the Cella - The Cella Roof                                                                                                                           

Chapter II: Mendut’s Environs                                                                                        

Site Coordinates and Orientations in Central Java - Caṇḍi Pawon    

Chapter III: Mendut’s Organizing Principle                                                                  

Vāstuśāstra and Buddhism - The Mañjuśrīvāstuvidyaśāstra - The Paramaśāyikin and Mantrayāna Buddhism - The Paramaśāyikin at Caṇḍi Mendut                                                                                            

Chapter IV: The Reliefs on the Foot of the Cella                                                        

The Wings To Enlightenment - The Circle of Letters - The Wings To Enlightenment at Caṇḍi Mendut                                                                           

Chapter V: The Reliefs on the Exterior Partition Walls                                            

The Principal Deities on the Exterior Partition Walls - Sarvanivaraṇaviṣkambhin - Maitreya - Tārā, Cundā or Mahāpratisarā - Samantabhadra - Kṣitigarbha - Avalokiteśvara - Vajrapāni - Mañjuśrī - Tārā, Cundā or Prajñāpāramitā - Akaśagarbha - Gaganagañja or Padmapāni - The Principal Deities and the Squares of the Vāstupuruṣa-maṇḍala                                                                           

Chapter VI: Inside the Vestibule                                                                                     

Chapter VII: Inside the Cella: A Detailed Hypothesis                                              

The Śaiva-Siddhāntist Salvation Pantheon - The Mantrayāna Salvation Pantheon - Comparing the Siddhāntist Śaktis and Mantra-Buddhist Devīs - Testing the Hypothesis - Modifications to Moens’ Initial Hypothesis - Counter-hypotheses                                                                                                                

Chapter VIII: Astrological Symbolism of Mendut and Pawon                            

The Celestial Doors to the Otherworld and Rebirth - Illumination of the Interior Space at Caṇḍi Mendut - Illumination of the Interior Space at Caṇḍi  Pawon -  Borobudur-Mendut Alignment - The Celestial Tree - The Head of the Kālapuruṣa - The Javanese Sun-Door - The Celestial Symbolism of the Staircase -  Proceeding Down The Pathway -  The Vāstunāga of the Site                                                                                                        

Chapter IX: Dimensional Symbolism of the Javanese Temple                    

Critical Considerations -  A Statistical Analysis - The Asta Kosala Kosali - Determining the Javanese Measurement Unit -  Borobudur’s Head, Body and Foot - The Four Axes of the Galleries at Borobudur - The Latitude of the Site - Caṇḍi Mendut’s Dimensions -  Measurement Symbolism at Caṇḍi Pawon -  Dimensional Symbolism at Caṇḍi Plaosan 
                                                                                                                                                  

Chapter X: The Javanese Temple as Heaven’s Mirror                                           

Indra’s Paradise - The Apsaras and Gandharvas - The Starry Road to Indra’s Heaven -  As Above, So Below - Tārā and Soma -  Ratu Kidul: The Goddess of the Southern Sea                                                                           

Appendix A: The State of Old Mataram by Jeffrey Sundberg                                                                     

Appendix B: Glossary of Sanskrit Words                                                                

Appendix C: Bibliography                                                                                            

Index                                                                                                                                     

This work by Mark Long continues his creative dimension of understanding the caṇḍis of Indonesia as cosmic symbols of sovereignty that encode astronomical perceptions of the auspicious. In his study of the Borobudur, [1] along with Caesar Voûte, he blazed a new trail of inquiry, and found answers for resolving some long-sought doubts. Mark Long’s present work on Caṇḍi Mendut is yet another milestone that deserves serious attention as it provides materials required for conducting a detailed study of the Mendut temple, as well as a number of points in need of further investigation. This is a book that will provoke and inspire scholars to rethink many issues.

The Introduction is really revealing and helps us to see through the reconstructions of the monument. The Dutch scholars seem to be the reincarnations of the Śailendra architects who have recreated their ancient glory in a marvelous manner. The author is doing a puṇya by bringing to moderns the charm of the spirit of the Śailendra monarchs. It has evolved several ideas in my perception of the restoration of monuments.

Chapters One and Two presents complete descriptive inventories of the reliefs and overall designs of Mendut and Pawon based on the reports of early investigators. They are solid contributions, done with meticulous care.

Chapter Three makes for fascinating reading. The author has introduced a new dimension to the whole caṇḍi in its role in the life of the Javanese. It is important in that it correlates Mendut with the vāstupuruṣa-maṇḍala and its integral relationship to the heavenly bodies. All the Javanese caṇḍi should be studied using this basic principle as a guide.

The vāstu-maṇḍala of 81 squares was derived from the architectural tradition, which was common to all Indic expressions of thought, ritual and devotion. Architectural structures represented our communication with the heavens and thus the role of astronomy became crucial. The stars were arbiters of human destiny; hence the pivotal place of astrology in conjunction with astronomy.

The author firmly establishes the vāstu-maṇḍala of 81 squares within the Mahāyāna Buddhist context by showing how a Buddhist architectural text called the Mañjuśrī Vāstuvidya-śāstra presents this guiding principle under the term caṇḍita. With my permission, Long has revisited my discussion [2] of the term caṇḍita and its relationship with the Javanese Caṇḍi in the light of the Vāstuvidya-śāstra.

Furthermore, the author’s correlation of the Mendut’s reliefs with astronomical concepts and celestial phenomenon is remarkable in that they reflect the world-view of ancient Buddhists. It is a path-making approach to the deeper symbolism of the monuments that were trying to endow life with the supernal blessing of the Heavenly Bodies in the transcendence of contemplation. These temples were roots whence life could be enriched. We have to know a Life greater than our own for charismatic assurance.

Dyāvā-pṛithivī ‘Heaven and Earth’ were the cosmic androgyne, wherein arose all creation as a continuous flow. Time in modern reckoning is devoid of “Value”. In the Indic world, Time was Kāla (from the root kal ‘to make’, compare Latin calculo) the Maker, an element of primary relevance as the universal creativity. Vital is akin to vat-sa ‘son’, vatsara ‘year’: the son is a yearling when born. A temporal term is used to denote a son; what a tribute of patriarchal society to time.

Chapter Four is interesting because it connects the Caṇḍi to the yoga-puruṣa, to the letters of the alphabet, and to other Buddhist concepts. It is close to the Javanese Buddhist system of analogical thinking: the correlation of the individual to the cosmos, and to the body as the stūpa-prāsadā. The connection that the author establishes between the ‘37 wings of enlightenment’ (bodhipakṣya dharmas) of Buddhism and the 37 small reliefs along the cella footer is significant. The 37 bodhipakṣya dharmas are detailed in several Buddhist texts, beginning with the Pali Suttas. Laṅkāvatāra, Lalitavistara, Saddharmapundarīka, Daśabhūmika, and Avatamṣaka, and several other Mahāyana sūtras treat them at length. They are mentioned in the Divyāvadāna, which served as a guiding text for a considerable number of reliefs in the first gallery at Borobudur.

A relevant citation from the Divyāvadāna is as follows: “They realized personal enlightenment (the pratyeka-bodhi of a pratyeka-buddha) having attained 37 bodhipakṣya dharmas that are helpful aids to enlightenment but without a teacher (acāryā), or without any proponents (anupadesaka). This narration should be heard night-long by those who are attached to worldly desires. It is the narrative of charity, of good works (sīla), of heaven, to get out of passions, evil mishaps, and dangers, and for the purification (vyavadāna) of defilements. The lord preached the bodhipakṣya dharmas to nun Prakṛti. (By this pious narration nun Prakṛti attained realization, was elated and delighted).”

Chapter Five examines the reliefs on the outfacing walls of the cella and vestibule and attempts to correlate the figures they contain with the deities that preside over the squares of the vāstu-maṇḍala. The chapter includes a discussion of a newly proposed identification [3] or Mendut’s eight-armed goddess as Mahāpratīsarā, who plays a defense role in the Pañcarakṣa text. It is from the root pratī-sr ‘to attach, assail’. Pratisarāh (plural) are magical vows or formulas to protect from demons, in the Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa, pratīsara (masculine) also means ‘a watch, a guard’.

Chapter Six, which focuses on the interior reliefs of the portal, provides re-interpretations for many of the divinities portrayed within, including the portal’s principal male figure, previously identified as either Kuvera, Pañcika or Ātavaka. In my Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography I accepted his identification as Ātavaka, but the yakṣa on the southwest wall of the temple’s antechamber is not him. Ātavaka is not associated with Hārītī either in the Pali texts or in Sanskrit sūtras. His name occurs in the Mahāvyuatti 3377, Mahāmāyūrī 237. I (Ātavaka), Suvarṇamabhāsottama 161.13, and Samādhirāja 43.19 (Āṭavaka). In all the four texts he is listed among yakṣas with no other details except that the yakṣas are protectors.

The male figure is Vaiśravaṇa the lord of riches represented by three treasure pots under his seat. His right foot rests on two of them. Vaiśravaṇa is the King of the Yakṣas. The Ātānatiya-sutta was recited by Vaiśravaṇa for the protection of the Buddha and his followers. It is called rakkhā (‘protective rune’).

It concludes: “this rune, brethren, pertains to your good and by it brethren and sisters of the order, laymen and laywomen may dwell at ease, guarded, protected and unscathed.” [4] For Vaiśravaṇa, who watches over armies for protecting the Dharma (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1248), Amoghavajra provides a dhāraṇi entitled ‘Dhāraṇi of the Devarāja of the North’. Vaiśravaṇa-kalpa by Amoghavajra (T1247) was used in AD 742 to ward off the attack of five kingdoms against China during the reign of Emperor Hsüan-tsang.

The author’s proposal that the astanidhi is depicted on the two sides of the walkway within the vestibule is fascinating. It fits in with the general approach of the Śailendra kings and their perception of the convergence of affluence and valorization as the prime components of the State: nidhi and Dharma in the grand and solid vision of the caṇḍi. The guhyakas are demigods who guard the treasures of Kubera. They may originate from guhā (‘cave’), as treasures were hidden in mountain caverns. As demigods they have been represented as flying.

I am also glad to see Mark Long offer support for the identification of the enthroned royal couple in the vestibule as the founding king and queen of the Śailendra dynasty, based on a hypothesis originally proposed by J. L. Moens. The inscriptions from Nagarjunikanda of the reign of the Ikṣvākus mention the capitol as Vijyapurī, and the site is referred to as Śrīparvata. The Śailendras seem to hail from Śrīṣailam in Andhra Pradesh and hence their dominions are Śrīvijaya of Irjayapurī. The Nagarjunikonda monuments and inscriptions need to be studied to see if they shed any light on the Mendut.

In Chapter Seven, the author presents a concise English summary of the theories of the Dutch savant J. L. Moens concerning the Mendut pantheon and its possible parallels with Śaiva Siddhānta. In my opinion, however, the Mendut is a Buddhist monument and has no pretensions of being correlated to Śaiva Siddhānta. As Indic traditions were linked at the basic level with certain perceptions like Śāktis and Devīs, parallels were natural. The androgynic principle is inherent in nature and is reflected in the whole of Indic thought, which is grounded in natural entities conditional transcendent perceptions.

Chapter Eight once again takes up the theme of the astronomic and astrological underpinnings of the temple and attempts to place what we have learned so far within a much wider context. The author’s suggestion about the relationship between some of the figures on Mendut’s basement and those that appear on examples of the Javanese zodiac cup is brilliant. In Bali, they represent the months and constellations with figures in their astrological charts. Mark Long also gives the celestial symbolism of the two makara heads at the bottom of the staircase and the two rakṣasas supporting them. The astronomy of Caṇḍi Mendut is really provocative and invites re-consideration of all the caṇḍis of Java. I feel that the author has arrived at a reasonable assessment of the monument and its relationships to the cosmos as the macrotheos.

Chapter Nine is indeed well done. The temple is the puruṣa-maṇḍala and the author has demonstrated it well from the Balinese Asta Kosala (= hasta kauśalya, ‘handicraft’).

The book concludes with Chapter Ten, which provides some interesting ideas for further research. I admire the author’s ingenious insight into the meditational, philosophical and astronomical calculations that were the infrastructure of the ancient architects of the sacred structures. I also love ideas that roam in the alleys and side-lanes of probabilities and possibilities and this book provides plenty of avenues for further exploration. Truth itself is ever evolving: how otherwise can it be eternal?

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