Entering the Dharmadhātu Studies in Asian Art and Archaeology Continuation of Studies in South Asian Culture Edited by Marijke J. Klokke VOLUME XXVI The titles published in this series are listed at www.brill.nl/saaa Entering the Dharmadhātu A Study of the Gandavyūha Reliefs of Borobudur By Jan Fontein LEIDEN • BOSTON 2012 Cover illustration: Sudhana enters the kūtāgāra (third gallery, main wall). See also p. 72 and Fig. 19 in this volume. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fontein, Jan. Entering the Dharmadhatu : a study of the Gandavyuha reliefs of Borobudur / by Jan Fontein. p. cm. — (Studies in Asian art and archaeology ; v. 26) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-21122-3 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Buddhist relief (Sculpture—Indonesia—Magelang—Themes, motives. 2. Bas-relief— Indonesia—Magelang—Themes, motives. 3. Borobudur (Temple : Magelang, Indonesia) 4. Tripitaka. Sutrapitaka. Avatamsakasutra. Gandavyuha. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in Asian art and archaeology ; v. 26. NB1280.F66 2012 730.9598’26—dc23 2011046581 ISSN 1380-782X ISBN 978 90 04 21122 3 (hardback) ISBN 978 90 04 22348 6 (e-book) Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. bibliographical notes v CONTENTS Acknowledgements . vii List of Illustrations . ix Bibliographical Notes. xi Introduction . 1 A Short History of the Identification of the Gandavyūha Reliefs of Borobudur. 2 Textual Variants of the Gandavyūha and the Reliefs of Borobudur. 9 THE GANDAVYŪHA RELIEFS OF BOROBUDUR Second Gallery, Main Wall: Prologue (II-1—II-15). 17 Second Gallery, Main Wall: Pilgrimage, First Series (II-16—II-72). 27 Second Gallery, Main Wall: The Pilgrimage, Second Series (II-73—II-128) . 53 Third Gallery, Main Wall (III-1—III-88). 69 Third Gallery, Balustrade (IIIB-1—IIIB-88). 103 Fourth Gallery, Balustrade (IVB-1—IVB-84) . 123 The Gandavyūha: Text and Image at Borobudur. 149 Comments on the Reliefs of the Second Gallery, Main Wall. 153 Comments on the Reliefs of the Third Gallery and the Fourth Balustrade. 163 Fourth Gallery Main Wall: The Bhadracarī Reliefs (IV-1—IV-88) . 171 Comments on the Bhadracarī Reliefs. 199 Epilogue. 209 Appendix: Note on the Reliefs of the Second Balustrade. 241 Bibliography. 249 Index. 255 vi bibliographical notes acknowledgements vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this study of the Gandavyūha reliefs of Borobudur, I have profited in many differ- ent ways from the works of the scholars who preceded me in the study of Borobudur and the Buddhist scriptures that have been illustrated in the bas-reliefs sculpted on its walls. First and foremost I wish to acknowledge my great debt of gratitude to the late Dr. N.J. Krom (1883- 1945) and my late teacher Dr. F.D.K. Bosch (1887-1967), both professors of Leiden Univer- sity. Their pioneering studies on the Gandavyūha reliefs have been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for me. As most of the Borobudur studies by these two eminent scholars were written in Dutch, the results of their research have for a large part remained inaccessible to the international community of scholars of Borobudur. It is my hope that the translation into English of selected key passages from their studies may finally grant them the international recognition their pioneering work so clearly deserves. Although not dealing specifically with the bas-reliefs of Borobudur, the much more recent studies of the Gandavyūha by Phyllis Granoff, Tilmann Vetter, and Douglas Osto have added much to my appreciation of the rich store of Avatamsaka lore that inspired the architects and sculptors of the monument. I would be negligent if I did not recognize here the immense help I received from the Gandavyūha translations into western languages by other scholars. The first is a German translation of Buddhabhadra’s Chinese translation (T.278), Das Kegon Sutra, Das Buch vom Eintreten in den Kosmos der Wahrheit by Dōi Torakazu (Tōkyō, 1978). During my student days in Japan I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of this gifted translator, a dis- ciple of the distinguished philosopher Nishida Kitarō (1870-1945) and a dedicated student of Avatamsaka Buddhism. Like Dōi’s German translation Thomas Cleary’s English transla- tion, Entry into the Realm of Reality (Boston and Shaftesbury, 1989) is based upon a Chinese translation of the entire Avatamsaka-sūtra of which the Gandavyūha forms the conclud- ing chapter. By translating the entire sūtra both authors have provided their readers with a unique insight in the wider context of the Avatamsaka philosophy as it is articulated in the Gandavyūha. I have also greatly profited from the highly useful partial translations of the Sanskrit text of the Gandavyūha by Mark Allen Ehman (1977) and Yuko Ijiri (2005). Whenever possible, I have indicated my borrowings from all of these different sources. Although references to the exact choice of words or expressions used by each of these translators could not always be included for practical reasons, the crucial contributions made by all of them are hereby gratefully acknowledged. I remain, of course, solely responsible for any misinterpretation of their work that I may have inadvertently committed. The present study complements part of my doctoral dissertation,The Pilgrimage of Sudhana (1966), which discussed only the Gandavyūha reliefs of the second main wall of Borobudur. Entering the Dharmadhātu covers the entire set of 460 bas-reliefs which together illustrate the Gandavyūha and the Bhadracarī. Entering the Dharmadhãtu also reflects the results of my lifelong scholarly interest in Boro- budur. In 1947, at the very beginning of my career as a scholar, I had the good fortune to viii acknowledgements make the acquaintance of Dr. Theodoor van Erp (1874-1958), the legendary first restorer of Borobudur. It was this soldier, artist, architect, and scholar who introduced me to the magic world of Borobudur. He awakened in me an interest that I have continued to pursue—albeit intermittently—for more than sixty years. The inspiring example set by Dr. van Erp has made me realize that the ideals of the kalyānamitras, the spiritual mentors who guided the pilgrim Sudhana of the Gandavyūha, have lost little of their relevance in today’s world. My decision to postpone an examination of the reliefs of the third and fourth galleries of Borobudur until my years of retirement from my activities in the museum world has had one sad consequence. Some of my fellow-scholars and close friends, who dedicated years of their lives to the study and preservation of Borobudur and who gave me steadfast encouragement, are no longer with us to read and offer their criticism of the final results of my research. I would like to mention here especially the constant support and sound advice that I received over the years from the late Prof. Dr.A .J. Bernet Kempers, the last Dutch director of the Archaeological Service of Indonesia. I am likewise grateful to my longtime Indonesian friend, the late Prof. Dr. R. Soekmono. As the second restorer of Borobudur he fully deserves to be remembered as a Jīrnnodhāra, or “Restorer of Ruins”, a royal epithet first mentioned in the Singosari inscription of 1273. c.e. I am also deeply indebted to my late friend in situ, the distinguished soldier and diplomat, Air Marshal Boediardjo, who grew up in the village of Pawon, next to Borobudur, and who played a crucial role in the reshaping of the modern environment of the monument. Last but not least I wish to express my profound gratitude to my last kalyānamitra, the late Reverend Father Prof. Dr. P.J. Zoetmulder, S.J., who invited me to conduct research in his extensive library in Yogyakarta for more than one year and who unstintingly shared with me his vast knowledge of ancient and contemporary Java. As a member of the dwindling first generation of post-colonial Borobudur scholars I am particularly gratified to witness the recent growth of interest in the monument far outside its homeland Indonesia and that of its former colonial rulers, the Netherlands. Especially grati- fying is the profound interest in Borobudur expressed by the Japanese Buddhist clergy of the Kegonshū (Avatamsaka sect) of the Tōdaiji temple in Nara, led by its chōrō, or former abbot, the Reverend Morimoto Kōsei. Invigorated by new philological and buddhological research on the Gandavyūha in countries as far apart as Hungary and New Zealand, a solid foundation is being laid for a continuation of the re-appraisal of the many different aspects of this great monument. May the present study contribute to that never ending pursuit. Jan Fontein Newton, Mass., October, 2011 list of illustrations ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS All illustrations are published courtesy of the Leiden University Library. 1. The Buddha in Jetavana (II-1).. 18 2. The Śrāvakas are unable to see the miracles performed by the Buddha (II-2). 21 3. The Bodhisattvas see the Buddha seated underneath the Bodhi Tree (II-15). 25 4. Ratnacūda (XVI) shows Sudhana his ten-storied residence (II-31). 33 5. Sudhana visits King Anala (XVIII) (II-35). 36 6. Sudhana visits the mariner Vaira (XXXIII) (II-41).