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PRESS RELEASE
No: 067/V/2007/PEN
CELEBRATION OF VISAKHA BUCHA DAY IN BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, CENTRAL JAVA,
ON 1-2 JUNE 2007
To celebrate the Visakha Bucha Day, Indonesia in cooperation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam will be organizing an Imaging Buddha Collaborative Performance in Borobudur Temple, Central Java, on 1-2 June 2007. The performance will showcase dances by artists and dancers from the six countries depicting the story of the Lord Buddha’s life from his birth to his enlightenment and demise.
The celebration is a follow up of the Borobudur Declaration and the Borobudur Plan of Action which was signed by Indonesia and Indochina countries on 28 August 2006 in Yogyakarta. The cooperation is aimed to enhance cordial relationship among those countries that have taken place for such a long time especially since the reign of the Buddhist Kingdom of Sriwijaya in Indonesia, through preserving and promoting the Cultural Heritage Sites that exist in each country. In fact, the upcoming event in Borobudur Temple is a concrete implementation of the two said documents.
President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially open the celebration of Visakha Bucha Day on 1 June 2007 which will be attended by high dignitaries from Indonesia and overseas, including Ministers of Tourism and Venerables from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. On that day, apart from the performance, there will be a launching ceremony of Guide Book on Trail of Civilization and the signing of Commemorative Cover of Trail of Civilization which will also be presided over by the President. On the following day, 2 June 2007, the event is open for public and free of charge.
As for Borobudur, it is the biggest Buddhist Temple in the world which is located in Central Java. The colossal Temple was built by the Sailendra Dynasty, between 750 and 482 AD, a full three centuries before Angkor Wat. The name “Borobudur” is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit words “Vihara Budha Uhr”, the Buddhist Monastery on the hill. The Temple structure is comprised of 55,000 square metres of lava rock erected on a hill in the form of a stepped pyramid of six rectangular stories, three circular terraces and culminating in a central stupa, forming its summit. From above, it is clear that the entire Temple is in the form of a titanic lotus, Buddha’s sacred flower.
For more information about the above event, please contact the Embassy at 02-2523135-40 ext 176.
Bangkok, 15 May 2007
BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, CENTRAL JAVA
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