Borobudur - Vincent Lim Zu Wee 1006110

Borobudur is a ninth-century Buddhist temple in Indonesia. The monument has six square platforms topped by three circular platforms. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues and a main dome on the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues inside perforated stupas. Originally, it was probably plastered white, and painted in bright colours. There must have been a substantial monastery for the monks who looked after the structure and the pilgrims.

Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist kingdoms and the Javanese conversion to Islam. There is no record of who built Borobudur or its actual purpose. There is no foundation inscription, no way of dating beyond the paleography of the workers’ inscriptions, and no further mention of the sanctuary until 1709 AD. There is also no central altar or sanctuary in this temple. Instead, the galleries that ring the structure are covered with nearly three thousand bas-relief panels carved into the stone. The point of the pilgrimage was that the stupa allowed the pilgrim to mimic a journey from base life through to enlightenment. (There are strong parallels here with the mazes found in many Christian churches and cathedrals.) Borobudur was hidden for centuries under volcanic ash and jungle growth. It is built as a single large stupa, and when viewed from above takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala.

In 1973, a plan to restore Borobudur was created.The Indonesian government and UNESCO undertook the complete renovation of the monument in a restoration project between 1975–1982. This colossal project involved around 600 people to restore the monument. Over one million stones were moved during the course of restoration, like pieces of a massive jig-saw puzzle. Thirteen hundred carved panels were taken apart and individually cleaned, cataloged and treated for preservation. After the restoration was finished, UNESCO listed Borobudur as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

Retrieved from:http://quezi.com/6640

Borobudur ( Goh Shir Pei - 1200132 )

Borobudur is  located in Indonesia's Central Java province, Borobudur is also a Mahayana Buddhist pagoda relics in Indonesia.

There is the lagest Buddhist building in the world when 9th century .On the end of June 2012, Guinness World Records recognized Borobudur as the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

When volcanic eruptions, the building is sinking and forest cover it around a millennium , almost a thousand years until the early 19th century, the building has been cleared.

For the first time during the repair, people discovered it that even into a straight line of it and two other Buddhist temples, it is Mendut and Pawon. From the local legend, The three temples of architectural and decorative craft belonging to the same period,  so they speculated that the three building is represent to the religious practices of some untraceable on that time.

There is no written record of who is the builder of Borobudur, and we can’t find out the reason why people build this building. After a reasonable speculate, Borobudur may be built in AD 800. Javanese rumors that  Gunadharma is the architect of the Borobudur, but there are no any evidence to prove it.

Why is this pagoda will be abandoned is still a mystery . Some people are speculate , in the 15th century Javanese are changed to be the Muslims and abandoned the pagoda at the same time.

When the British rule in 1811-1816. Cornellius and his two hundred men are spent two months in the jungle to carve out a road leading to the Borobudur.

When 1835, Kudu’s chief executive of Netherlands name Hartmann are continue the work of Cornellius, eventually to explore the whole pagoda.

When 1842 Hartmann survey the whole pagoda, but people do not know what he have discovered . Later, the Dutch East India appointed by the Government engineer FC Wilsen to exploration, in a 1853 report, he mentioned a hundred times the Big Buddha at Borobudur .

 Retrieved from:

  Wikipedia,(2012 July 31),Borobudur.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

Borobudur

Borobudur is a famous Buddhist temple near Central Java, Indonesia.
Borobudur is constructed in the 9th century.
The name Borobudur is believed to have been derived from combination of "Boro" and "Budur".
In Sanskrit, Boro comes from "Vihara" which means temple (monastery) and Budur has the same meaning as "Beduhur" which means top.
Therefore, Borobudur means a monastery on the top of a hill.
Borobudur is often described as the world's largest Buddhist stupa.
It consists of six square terraces. On the top of it there are three circular platforms.
It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
Stairways are provided for people to access this monumental stupa.

Each level of Borobudur represents the stages оf human life.
The lowest level of it represent Kamadhatu - the world of desire. It illustrate scenes from human life subject to Karma, the cycle of birth and rebirth.
It is decorated with 160 reliefs showing ugly scenes of human desire.
Rupadhatu - the world of forms, symbolizing human beings that have set themselves free from lust but still tied to appearance.
The reliefs begin to tell the story of the Buddha's conception and birth.
The four top levels of Borobudur represents Arupadhatu - the world of formlessness.
It symbolizes men that have freed themselves from lust and appearance.
Arupa is the top that symbolizes nirvana, where Buddha is residing.
The stupa is empty as it symbolizes the escape to Nirvana, the final goal of Buddhism.


Borobudur is built as a single large stupa. Its form, essentially a truncated pyramid crowned by a cone, combines the symbolism of Mount Meru (the centre of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology) with that of stupa —— earth and heaven, existence and Nirvana.
There are 72 small bell-shaped stupas encircling the main one on the upper terraces, and lower down there are still more.
All contained statues of the Buddha seated in the yoga pose and differing from one another only in significant gestures of the hands —— teaching, turning the wheel of law, casting down evil or simply meditating.
Most visitors are not allowed to enter the stupa at the top,
not that there is nothing to see - it is empty as it symbolizes nothingness(ultimate goal in Buddhism).


Reference:

Hugh Honour & John Fleming. (2005). A World History of Art (pp. 244-246). London. Laurence King Publishing.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2012, July 16). Borobudur.
Retrieved 2012 July 31, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

Borobudur temple history. (n.d.). Borobudur Temple is one of the wonders of the world.
Retrieved 2012 July 31, from http://www.squidoo.com/borobudur-temple-is-one-of-the-wonders-of-the-world

kstanvideo. (2011, Feb 15). Borobudur: A Forgotten Buddhist Kingdom.
Retrieved 2012 July 31, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbv8_5h_rwU

UNESCO/CLT/WHC. (n.d.). Borobudur Temple Compounds.
Retrieved 2012 July 31, from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/592/

By: Fan Jie Yun 1200355

The Matrix (in Greek mythology)

Neo:

In The Matrix —— 

• He is a computer programmer at day he and works as a hacker at night time
• H went through hero’s journey of being The One, the saviour of the world 

In Greek Mythology ——

• In Greek, Neo means new, young and fresh

Morpheus:

In The Matrix —— 

• He is the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar
• He is determined to save the world and helps Neo along the way to fight 

In Greek Mythology——

• The God of Dreams
• He has the ability to transform into human form and appear in our dreams


Trinity:
In The Matrix ——

• She works as a hacker and computer programmer
• Crew member of the Nebuchadnezzar
• She is in love with Neo

In Greek Mythology ——

• A God that exists as three persons — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
• God of Fertility according to Christian theology

The Oracle:
In The Matrix ——

• She is an elderly woman
• She has accurate powers of precognition
• She gives comment to guide Neo

In Greek Mythology ——

• A young woman who was host of the spirit of Delphi
• Priestess who acted as a third person between man and God

Zion:
In The Matrix ——

• The last city where human being survived on the Earth after a nuclear war between
humankind and computer program

In Greek Mythology ——

• The kingdom of God where the righteous will be saved after the destruction of the Earth



Reference:

The Matrix Mythology. (n.d.). The Matrix Mythology and Characters Homepage. Retrieved 2012 July 29, from  http://www.matrixmythology.com/

The Matrix. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved 2012, July 29, from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix 


By: Fan Jie Yun 1200355

Thank you for the text on Matrix and the Cave.

Yes, you basically get the issue of the Cave--when you come out of the real you see the ideal . The Matrix is a Socratic/Platonic story.

Now keep going on the research....follow the names. Who is Morpheus in Greek mythology? and the Oracle? and where is Zion? and what does Neo mean?  and what is the Trinity?

How do these names relate to the hero's journey?

The Matrix

 1.  1. How the Matrix fits the monomyth?

The main character in The Matrix, Thomas Anderson a.k.a Neo plays the role of hero. He went through the hero’s journey, from ignorance to knowledgeable, which fits the three main stages of monomyth —departure, initiation and return. 

Departure: Neo receives a call to adventure while he falls asleep. He receives a message that asked him to wake up and to follow the white rabbit. He finally accepts the call to adventure by follow a woman that has a white rabbit tattoo on her arm. Neo then meets Trinity and she leads Neo along the way to seek the answer that Neo has been looking for. He undergoes a rebirth process after he is connected to wires and tube which bring him to another world.

Initiation: Neo undergoes a series of trials. He receives training to uncover his potential. After he met Oracle, an old woman who helps the freed humans with her foresight and wisdom, he starts his hero’s journey — to discover the truth. Neo fights together with his crew member along the way. He even decided to risk his own life in order to save Morpheus.

Return: Neo wakes up from the matrix programme and returns to the real world. He said that he is going to show all the people a world without controls and rules, a world where anything is possible.

2.   2. How The Matrix fits Plato’s Allegory of the Cave?

In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes a scene that all prisoners have their legs and necks chained. They can only see shadows reflected on the wall and they don’t know what is going on at the world outside. Hence they believe what they see in the cave is the reality. Only a prisoner that was freed from the cave know the truth after he struggling through confusion and pain.

In The Matrix, only a few people who are connected to the Matrix know what is happening in the real world. The people that have not been disconnected from the virtual world live inside a computer programme are the prisoners. Neo, after he is struggling to adapt the brand new environment, he is introduced to a transformation of life after he meets with Morpheus and agrees to follow him.

By: Fan Jie Yun    1200355
      Goh Shir Pei   1200132

Reference:

Nassim Haddouche. (n.d.). Plato’s cave in Matrix. Retrieved 2012 July 22, from http://languagelearningresourcecenter.org/anglais/read_films/matrix/themes/resources/platos_cave.htm .

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2012, July 09). Neo (The Matrix). Retrieved 2012 July 22, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_(The_Matrix) .

Khnopff71. (2008). Yahoo! Answers. Retrieved from 2012 July 23, from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080302134714AAnxlZV

Richard Dance. (2011, June 16). The Hero’s Journey in Film. Retrieved 2012 July 23, from http://herojourneyfilm.blogspot.com/2011/06/chapter-14-matrix.html

Group 1

1.1. Is the story a hero's journey? Try to describe it as a hero's journey and see if it fits the template.
This story is a hero’s journey.

DEPARTURE
• Marcus Aurelius asks Maximus to give Rome back to the people.

• Maximus refuses - he wishes to return home to his wife and child.

• Maximus asks advice from Cicero; he treasures the statuette (magical gift) during this stage of the journey.

INITIATION
• Proximo forces Maximus to learn the art of the gladiator until he transforms to the leader and best of the best.

• Proximo lures Maximus to Rome, where he will have a chance to confront Commodus.

• Lucilla tempts Maximus to meet with Senator Graccus; Cicero and many of Maximus' gladiator allies die.

• Maximus has an opportunity to fight Commodus in the arena.

RETURN

• In the final battle, Maximus gets his revenge by killing Commodus.  

• Maximus stands, unsteady, as the vision of the wheat field once again comes to him, his wife and son waiting for him.

2. What did you learn about Rome from this movie? Do some research on the characters. Are they real people from history? Is the film accurate in historical detail? And architectural detail (for example, the Colosseum/ Flavian Ampitheatre)? 

The film is loosely based on historical events.  Some deviations from historical fact were made. 

•    • Marcus Aurelius died of plague at Vindobona, and was not murdered by his son Commodus.

•    • Commodus is accurately represented as being a tyrant lacking the love and respect of the people.

•    • Commodus was strangled by the wrestler Narcissus in his bath, not killed in the arena.

•    •  Commodus reigned for several years, unlike the brief period shown in the film.

•    • Maximus, the real hero of the film, in reality is a fictitious character. 

The designs of amphitheatres at Capua, Verona and Pompeii were similar to those of Rome. The Colosseum was over 160 feet high with eighty entrances. The Colosseum was covered with an enormous awning known as the velarium. It was attached to large poles on top of the Colosseum and anchored to the ground by large ropes. About two hundred yards from the amphitheatre stood a smaller temple which served for the ordinary rites and sacrifices.

3. What was happening to the Roman empire during the period of Commodus' rule? And what eventually caused the decline and downfall of the Roman Empire?

Commodus was liked well by the lower class people and the soldiers for most of his reign but was loathed by the senate due to overtaxing. He gave the outward appearance of a generous and stable reign but soon power corrupted him and he committed many perverted acts and ensued on a reign of terror. Commodus believed that his reign had ushered in a golden age for Rome and did a number of things to show off his so called greatness. Commodus was the last Antoinne emperor and, after him, the Roman Empire began its long decline. 

The Major Causes for the Downfall of Roman Empire

•Decline in MoralsEmperors like Caligula and Nero waste money on lavish parties where guests drank and ate until they became sick. 
• Political Corruption The Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's private army), and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became more influential, perpetuating the cycle. 
•Public HealthMany of the wealthy had water brought to their homes through lead pipes. The wealthy death rate was very high.

4. Is this film propaganda for a certain set of ideas or a way of life? Did the writer, director and actors intend for you to have the reactions that you have expressed here? Aren't you just a bit suspicious and critical of the film and the black and white division between Commodus and Maximus? Such a bad and nasty Emperor and such a loyal gladiator! One is a 'good Roman' and the other is just out for himself? Doesn't it all seem a little too simple? So, again, is this film propaganda for an idea of loyalty? To answer this, look at which country produced it and when it was produced. How is the film 'constructed' to provide a lesson to the audiences of that country of its origin? Is it really about Rome, or about the country it came from? What was happening in that country in the years just before it was created?

Propaganda is deftly used through subtle innuendo in the characters of Marcus Aurelius (father) and his evil son Commodus, to draw a parallel with George Bush (Snr) (father) and George Bush (Jnr) (son). Because the character roles in Gladiator are so blatant and glaring, it seems plain George Bush (Jnr) (son) will be elected the President of the United States of America. The script-writers of Gladiator already know the corrupt background of the N.W.O. Bush family. George Bush (Jnr) has “already been chosen”   as the new President.

In this film, released in the year 2000, Commodus’s sister is called “Lucilla”. (The name of a famous third century Roman Christian martyr).  In propaganda terms, the name “Lucilla” has a close psychological 

resemblance to ‘Laura,’ the wife of the coming new President of the United States: - George / ‘Commodus’ Bush (Jnr).

This film is about the country it came from —— United States and it is political propaganda. 


Fan Jie Yun 1200355
Goh Shir Pei 1200132

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

           The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato makes a contrast of what we perceive and what is reality. Plato establishes a cave in which all prisoners have their legs and necks chained so they cannot move and can only see what is on the front wall. Behind them is a fire and therefore all the things they get to see is only the shadows. Shadow is the only reality that they know and hence they think that the shadow is the most real thing in the world. One of the prisoners is suddenly freed from his chains and he is forced to look at the fire. He realizes that what he sees now are things more real than the shadows after a period of confusion and pain caused by the direct exposure of the light. After that, he is dragged out of the cave where he can look directly at the things themselves. After his eyes adjust to the sunlight, he realizes that the Sun is the cause of all that is around him.

           In this story, the combination of four stages of thought with the progress of human development is shown. We gain knowledge through these stages —— imagination, belief, cognitive and understanding. Plato describes the truth of how we travel the world of knowledge through our lives and understanding, and implies that true knowledge must be obtained the hard way. When we first start facing the truth, the process may be confusing and frightening. But once we have tasted the truth, we won't ever want to go back to being ignorant. 


Fan Jie Yun  1200355

Hi all


Thank you for the blog notes. 

This is a general comment for you all. 

You all seem to like these scenes for more or less the same reason? No one disagrees? No one is really critical of this film? I don't think you are looking at the film with critical eyes. I have four questions for you to answer. You will need to do a bit of research to answer these. Do not copy your answers from the web. Write them from your own ideas. 

1. Is the story a hero's journey? Try to describe it as a hero's journey and see if it fits the template.

2. What did you learn about Rome from this movie? Do some research on the characters. Are they real people from history? Is the film accurate in historical detail? And architectural detail (for example, the Colosseum/ Flavian Ampitheatre)? 

3. What was happening to the Roman empire during the period of Commodus' rule? And what eventually caused the decline and downfall of the Roman Empire?

4. Is this film propaganda for a certain set of ideas or a way of life? Did the writer, director and actors intend for you to have the reactions that you have expressed here? Aren't you just a bit suspicious and critical of the film and the black and white division between Commodus and Maximus? Such a bad and nasty Emperor and such a loyal gladiator! One is a 'good Roman' and the other is just out for himself? Doesn't it all seem a little too simple? So, again, is this film propaganda for an idea of loyalty? To answer this, look at which country produced it and when it was produced. How is the film 'constructed' to provide a lesson to the audiences of that country of its origin? Is it really about Rome, or about the country it came from? What was happening in that country in the years just before it was created?

We will discuss these issues in class next week. Answer them on your blogs before then and be ready with your answers next week. 

Thank you. 

Ray
________________
Ray Langenbach 
Mobile Malaysia: (+6) 012-391-6909
rabbitiasis@me.com

thank you

Thank you,

Ray

Gladiator (2000) - Vincent Lim Zu Wee

3http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=X1UmHfWCw-4

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

In a movie that’s full of confrontations and battles, this moment rises above them all.  To me, Maximus taking off his helmet and showing himself to Commodus is one of the coolest moments in movie history.

Gladiator - GOH SHIR PEI

The scene that most i like in Gladiator is the time after Maximus was dead, his friend is bury his wife and his son's small statue on the arena and said that they will meet each other on the future.

The reason why I like this scene:
It is not just embody the friendship between Maximus and his friend, but it is also indicate that Maximus are finally got the freedom that he want and forever with his family. This is the perfect ending for me.

Gladiator - Fan Jie Yun

The scene that I like the most in Gladiator:
the time when Commodus ask Maximus to reveal himself and tell him his real name after the fight.
"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."
Commodus trembles in disbelief after he heard this.
Praetorians point their spears at the gladiators while the Colosseum crowd chants for them to live.
Commodus then raises his fist and reluctantly gives the thumbs-up signal for not to kill Maximus.

The reason why I like this scene:
Maximus is courageous and brave enough to tell his name and his determination to revenge for his wife and son.
He also gained supports from the crowd by doing this.
And Commodus has to show mercy towards Maximus althought he is not willing to do so.