ལས་རྣམ་པར་འབྱད་པ intro.10

intro.10

The design of the Borobudur on the island of Java in Indonesia is thought to include pictorial representations drawn from the Karmavibhaṅga.¹⁰ According to Lokesh Chandra, the monument is a physical model of the Buddhist path to awakening in terms of the four sambhāras or accumulations of merit (puṇya), wisdom (jñāna), tranquility (śamatha), and special insight (vidarśanā) according to the Lalitavistara,¹¹ while skillfully integrating and harmonizing other textual traditions. The lowest or most basic level of religious merit (puṇya), which must be accomplished before one can ascend to the higher levels of the path, is represented by Borobudur’s so-called hidden base, which features reliefs depicting stories from the Karmavibhaṅga that illustrate the law of karma.