Lawang Sigotaka

Chapter 2

The moon hung low in the sky, a crescent of silver suspended above the dark silhouette of Borobudur. Dimas stood in the shadow of the temple, his gaze fixed on the stars that glittered like jewels in the velvet night. There was a stillness in the air, a silence so profound that it seemed as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting.

He had returned to Borobudur in the dead of night, drawn by an inexplicable force, a need to understand what had been revealed to him earlier that day. The visions that had come to him in the jungle still lingered in his mind, vivid and unsettling. The temple, the tree, the dark presence lurking in the shadows it was all connected, but the connections eluded him, slipping through his fingers like smoke.

As he stood there, the temple looming behind him, Dimas felt the weight of history pressing down on him, the centuries of devotion, of faith, that had been poured into this place. Borobudur was not just a temple it was a cosmic creation, a physical manifestation of a divine vision that transcended time and space. And he was beginning to understand that vision, to see the threads of destiny that tied him to this ancient structure.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, letting the cool night air fill his lungs. As he exhaled, he allowed his mind to drift back, back through the centuries, to the time when Borobudur was nothing more than a dream, a vision in the minds of the Sailendra dynasty.

The Sailendras were rulers of the earth, but their vision reached far beyond the mortal realm. They were obsessed with the cosmos, with the stars that dotted the night sky, believing that the heavens held the key to enlightenment. They saw the universe as a vast, interconnected web of energy, with the Earth as its center, and they sought to create a structure that would mirror that cosmic order a structure that would serve as a bridge between the material world and the divine.

It was said that the Sailendras consulted with sages and astronomers, seeking their guidance on how to align the temple with the stars, how to infuse the structure with the energy of the cosmos. The design of Borobudur was not merely an architectural feat it was a sacred geometry, a map of the universe, with each tier representing a different level of existence, a step closer to Nirvana.

Dimas could almost see it the royal court, gathered in secret, discussing the plans for the temple late into the night. The rulers, draped in silk and gold, their faces lit by the flickering flames of oil lamps, poring over scrolls and charts, their eyes wide with the realization of the enormity of what they were about to undertake. This was not just a monument to their reign it was a monument to the cosmos itself, a place where the earthly and the divine would meet.

As Dimas allowed the vision to take shape in his mind, he felt a deep sense of admiration for the Sailendra dynasty, for their audacity, their ambition. They had looked up at the stars and dared to dream of touching them, of bringing their light down to Earth, and they had succeeded. Borobudur was their masterpiece, a structure that was not just built, but conjured, summoned from the depths of their cosmic vision.

He opened his eyes and turned to look at the temple behind him. In the moonlight, Borobudur seemed almost otherworldly, its stones glowing with a faint, ethereal light. The tiers rose like the steps of a celestial staircase, each level a gateway to a higher plane of existence. Dimas could feel the energy pulsing through the temple, the same energy he had felt earlier, but now it was stronger, more intense, as if the temple was alive, aware of his presence.

He began to walk slowly around the base of the temple, his footsteps barely making a sound on the stone path. As he moved, he ran his fingers along the carvings on the walls, feeling the grooves and ridges beneath his fingertips. The carvings depicted scenes from the Buddha's life, but there was something else there, something hidden beneath the surface, a layer of meaning that eluded him.