Besakih [monastery?], (near) Menanga, Propinsi Bali, ID

Raw data

“ In the 1920's a superb bronze bust of the Buddha was found on Sulawesi, one of the larger islands that make up Indonesia. This is the eastern most point that any Buddhist antiquity has ever been found. There is, though, no evidence of an enduring Buddhist presence either on Sulawesi or beyond it; no ruined temples or monasteries, no inscriptions or references to it in the historical records. However, only a few hundred miles south west of Sulawesi is the small island of Bali where archeological, epigraphically and literary evidence shows that Buddhism existed along side Hinduism for about seven hundred years.
Indian merchants first arrived in Bali in about 200 BCE and it was probably these people who introduced Buddhism and Hinduism. A Balinese work of uncertain date called the Nagarakrtagama by the Buddhist monk lists all the Buddhist temples in Bali, twenty six altogether, and mentions that in 1275 King Kretanagara underwent a Tantric Buddhist initiation to protect his kingdom from an expected invasion by Kublai Khan. […] Hinduism and Buddhism both received state patronage although the type of Buddhism that prevailed gradually became indistinguishable from Hinduism. A Javanese Buddhist work from about the 12th century contains this telling verse. "The one substance is called two, that is, the Buddha and Siva. They say they are different but how can they be divided? Despite differences there is oneness". […] My next stop was Besakih Bali's largest and most sacred temple, which is situated on the lowest slopes of the spectacular Gunung Agung volcano. […] Before the 10th century Besakih had been a Buddhist temple but just as Buddhism gradually declined and was absorbed into Hinduism so Besakih gradually became a Hindu temple. The temple itself is laid out in a series of terraces and extends for about a mile up the side of the volcano. I looked for signs of Buddhism, old statues or familiar motifs but could find nothing.” - Dhammika (2008).
Input by: tmciolek, Apr 05, 2013

"The Mother Temple of Besakih, or Pura Besakih, in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia, is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali,[1] and one of a series of Balinese temples." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besakih

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 06 Apr 2013

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Besakih monastery?, ID.

General location of the Besakih monastery?, ID.
Lat -8.3601 Long 115.4607
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2013. 


Google Map link:
 

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-8.3601+115.4607+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Besakih%20monastery?,%20ID)&ll=-8.48766,115.26300&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Besakih monastery?

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Indonesia:Propinsi Bali

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx. Lat -8.3601 Long 115.4607 - based on visual identification of the Mother Temple of Besakih site in maps/satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 06 Apr 2013.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

  • Menanga

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

  • [missing data]

8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Vajrayana? - Dhammika (2008)

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • [missing data]

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • Faded away as a Buddhist place sometime in the 10th century - Dhammika (2008)
  • MBM chrono-tag 0900-32p 0933-66p 0967-99p - tmciolek 6 Apr 2013
  • 0900-32p 0933-66p 0967-99p dated-l

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Architectural, art stylistic

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Known monks and nuns associated with this monastery


19. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

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