Artist: unknown
Title: The Great Stupa/Mount Meru at Borobudur, detail of the lotus
base of the main stupa of Buddha Vairochana
Material: Volcanic rock
Site: Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia
Current Location: in situ
Period/Date: ca. end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century,
under the Shailendra Dynasty
Iconography/Iconology: The lotus, a symbol of transcendance, illustrates
the other-worldly or celestial nature in Buddhism. According to various
Buddhist texts, Vairochana's lotus is said to comprise of a thousand petals.
Each petal is a Buddha-world unto itself. This is yet another reiteration
of the universality of the Buddhist teachings and of the Buddha Vairochana
as the manifestations of all the teachings.
Stylistic Comments:
