Yogyakarta Day 2: Thursday, August 3, 2017
Mendut Temple with giant banyan tree. This smaller temple for the Sailendra royal family was built on a direct line between Borobudur and Mt. Merapi.
On my second day in Yogyakarta, Indonesia I took tours to the Buddhist sites of Borobudur, Pawon, and Mendut.
Borobudur isn’t the only temple in this region. The Sailendra Dynasty also built smaller family shrines and temples for the royal family, including two that we visited after seeing Borobudur. The first was nearby and is called the Pawon Temple (Candi Pawon). It is under renovation and is small but nicely designed. Other than some relief sculptures, there wasn’t much to see.
Candi Pawon, a small temple under renovation near Borobudur.
There were some souvenir stands around this temple, so I looked through them and found a nice small brass model of a stupa. You can take the top off and see the Buddha inside. I also bought some wooden wayang puppets with a base to hold them, and hope that they can be kept safe while traveling.
Puppets on sale at the gift shop at Pawon Temple. I bought some wooden puppets and a bronze Buddha stupa.
We traveled another short distance to the Mendut temple. All three temples are in a line, all pointing toward Mt. Merapi. The Mendut Temple was more interesting – a large cubic monument with statues of the Buddha inside and nicely carved reliefs around the outside. What was most impressive was a huge banyan tree next to it with multiple root streamers descending from its branches and a gigantic trunk. It was probably the single largest tree I’ve seen, even bigger in sheer size than a redwood tree. All of this was situated in a green parkland with beautiful lawns.
Giant banyan tree at Mendut Temple, one of the largest trees I’ve ever seen. People were swinging on the hanging roots like Tarzan. For a sense of scale, look at the people underneath it.
Mendut was built in the early 9th Century and is the oldest of the three aligned temples (with Pawon and Borobudur). According to one inscription, it was built during the reign of King Indra of the Sailendra Dynasty. Lost for hundreds of years in the jungle, it was rediscovered in 1836 and restored between 1897 and 1925. The large statue of a seated Buddha in the central chamber is flanked by other lesser Buddhas, including Avalokitesvara, who is known as Gwan Yin Pu Sa in China.
Mendut Temple, front view. You climb up the stairs to the central chamber, which is relatively small.
On the way back to the car, a lady insisted that I buy souvenirs and was the most irritatingly persistent person I met in Indonesia. I decided to buy another stupa, this time made of stone, to give as a present. I guess her persistence was rewarded. My driver told me that I could go inside of the monastery that is part of the Mendut temple, so I did.
A seated Buddha statue inside the chamber of Mendut Temple near Yogyakarta, built in the 9th Century by the Sailendra Kingdom.
It is a modern monastery, no more than a hundred years old at most. The grounds were quiet and peaceful, with several small temples with various statues of the many forms of the Buddha. There were winged angels, a temple with a pathway through it shaped like a giant Buddha head with elephants supporting it, a giant bell and gong, some grotesque figures that seemed to be laughing at each other (“What are you laughing at??”). Some of the Buddhas were sitting in lotus position, some reclining. Some were coated in gold leaf, some white, and some carved from gray volcanic stone. I spent more time there than I should have, but it was very enjoyable and I was about the only person around – the monks were back in the living areas behind the monastery. It was all very photogenic.
Relief panel of Avalokitesvara, the female Buddha of Boundless Mercy, carved on the outer walls of Mendut Temple.
I can’t say I am an expert at how Buddhism is practiced here, whether Mahayana or Theravada. From my previous research and classes, southeast Asia and Indonesia practice the Theravada school, which is closer to the original teachings of Siddhartha in following the Dharma, or Path to Enlightenment, as compared to the form of Buddhism practiced in China and other parts of Asia that emphasizes reaching Enlightenment (Nirvana) through the intervention of boddhisatvas. But sources I’ve read said that Borodudur and Mendut are Mahayana Buddhist sites. It is complicated by the fact that Buddhism has almost died out on Java except for this monastery. Yet people do travel here for festivals, walking from Mendut to Pawon to Borobudur and circumambulating through Borobudur on their way to Enlightenment.
I climbed back into the car and we drove off to find lunch on our way to Mount Merapi.
The gardens and lawns at Mendut Temple, which are beautifully maintained and serene.
Guardian of Mendut Monastery.
Giant gong bell at Mendut Monastery. It would have been amazing to hear this ring.
Buddha head pathway with elephants.
Buddhas inside a temple at Mendut Monastery.
Golden Buddha at Mendut Monastery. I don’t know why I’m suddenly reminded of Indiana Jones . . .
The Mendut Buddhist Monastery near Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
White Buddha statue at the Mendut monastery near Yogyakarta.
Inside the Buddhist monastery at Mendut.
What are you laughing at? I’m not sure what these statues are supposed to be doing, but they seem to be having a good time doing it.
The Elements Unearthed 