Reflections on a journey well traveled

 a few photos of the glorious sculptured, life giving and life supporting rice paddies

entering Pura Kawi

a close up of a Balinese woman making an offering in the paddies of Tampaksiring ; ancient site- Kawi

majestic fields of life- RICE

As I close out this blog (until traveling/volunteering recommences in Nov. or Dec.2011) I thought  I would try to convey for my benefit as well as yours how this experience has impacted me.

It's all innate.

It is about  reaffirmation. 

I too struggle with duality.  Coming of age during Vietnam + Watergate as well as ascribing to the world's fate through
the eyes of Hannah Arendt (a pessimistic view of the human condition and the evils in which we are conditioned, by biological  limitations + destiny).

Yet, the more I sense our cumulative seduction by consumerism, technology and external desires I have been heartened to reevaluate and experience a worldwide phenomenon, albeit ....grassroots, underground and counter culture.
The great leap forward......... evolutionary wise to a more humane world.......... not by necessarily wholesale rejection of technology, but certainly an embracing of an internal voice and spirit to live on our planet with greater respect toward Gaia, nature and the species that inhabit it.

And this is my reaffirmation.  With spirit guiding me I would like to honor the sacredness of life, moment to moment.
The Balinese are not "backwards" or "primitive".........( in  fact I believe we will begin to re-evaluate the language we use for indigenous peoples, as it is too are paternalistic,  condescending and simplistic.)  I have witnessed a culture that values the inner life and living each day with others,  They are Awake and respectful to this conscious identity that is sacred.

Somehow, the seduction and primacy of technology has superceded the connection, the heart connection between human to human.  This has been our evolution in the past 10,000 years.  We need to re-establish Real Humanity.
Or we will destroy the "human" in "being".

travelin' woman

Tegalalang- beautiful terracing outside of Ubud

I am off to the desert to see it in bloom.

Borobudur and Prambanan (or the country mouse comes to the city) Yogyakarta,Java

where i eat my breakfast each morning at the Phoenix

 

 

For the first time in my life, EVER i feel like a country mouse entering the city.  I have been living so simply, in such simple environs that as i leave my car service and arrive late in Yogyakarta to the swanky Phoenix Hotel.....and am met by the most adorable door men and women in incredible fashionista outfits i go to get my bag (s)! hahahahahaahaha
Philly.......... it's the Georges V of Yogyakarta!

musicians at breakfast (the most sumptuous buffet, all different cuisines)

 

originally a private home built in early 20th C, architecturally art nouveau and Indricsh (Dutch)

well i laughed......... walked through the marble foyers and it took about 39 seconds to retrieve my city mouse 'tude.  (not really).   it was really cute............. but you can't take the New Yorker outta this  girl! 

  Prambanan Temple - `built 856 AD

 

 

Mataram Kingdom (Hindu) was the largest kingdom in Java beginning in 732 AD.  Prambanan tells the  love story of a powerful man named Bandung Bondowoso who wants to marry a princess.  The Ramayana is also told in the reliefs.

the barong (protector)

the Brahmin bull (caste)

 There have been many earthquakes in this region therefore the hundreds of temples that used to surround the 4 major temples..... are now rubble.  In fact, because of the earth's restructuring this site sits amongst a "park".  Very very different from Angkor Wat, which lies "in situ" in the jungle.
The setting is a bit disconcerting but the architecture is sublime.

upside down lotus flower

the original story of Ramayana; Sita is abandoned by Rama, pregnant...... she goes to the priest

always restoring

Both sites sit at the foothills of Merapi, the volcano that was erupting as I arrived in Indonesia  (several hundred perished) and i got to see the immense destruction they are still cleaning up from and rebuilding.  Tourism is just now returning to the area.

what a way to travel (Bike in front) like tuk-tuk

 
 I have alluded several times before in this blog about Angkor Wat, Siem Reap Cambodia. (the largest HUGE ancient city both Hindu and Buddhist  9-14th C).  Do not leave this earth without seeing this Astounding  feat of humankind. (i was there right after 9/11.....i had the place to myself for a week)

Now I enter Borobudur, the largest Buddhist * (everything Mahayana Buddhist is conflated with Hindu ritual,gods and myth) site. lt was built in the 8th C.  

reliefs tell the story of Siddharta becoming Gautama (Buddha)

the lowest level literally and figuritivly is Desire

 There are 10 levels, one begins at the bottom and walks clockwise around and climbs each level as it follows Siddhartha's life from palace prince to seeing the beggars and the sickness outside of the palace,  seeing reality,to seeking enlightenment under the bodhi tree to becoming the Buddha.  
I had a wonderful guide.  We discussed it all.
And then there was a lot of silence.  And i moved around and around in a state of wonder and sweet air. 

 The carving was intricate and beautiful.  Most of the reliefs are still under the supportive stones.  (1460)  The Buddha statues are sublime...... of course over the years the heads have been pilfered and or destroyed.  But only 3% of what I see is Not Original material..... extraordinary!

always cleaning the ash away from the latest eruption; it clogs the drainage,  they remove each stone and mark it

there are 504 stupa; there are 432 Buddha statues inside the stupa

This site was originally restored by Raffles (under the British) unearthed in the jungle. In 1973 Unesco took over the conservation and continual restoration due to volcanic eruptions.  I am sorry my pictures do not convey the grandeur and symmetry of the temple.  please go on line to see a greater sense of scale.
I meditated on the 7th level......... and felt the spirit of Borobudur.  I sent out love and compassion and healing to those in need...... friends and the people of Japan.

it is 269 meters high

travelin' woman