纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 059婆罗浮屠佛陀头像（10）（在线收听）

I've now reached the three circular terraces on the top, and at this point the teaching stops, there are no longer any reliefs telling stories, there is simply a series of bell-shaped stupas, and inside each one, a seated Buddha. We are in the world of formlessness, having left behind us and below us the illusory world of representation and reality. And at the very summit of Borobudur, a huge bell-shaped stupa. Inside it, nothing - the void. The ultimate goal of this spiritual journey.

In the next programme we follow the path of the trading ship carved in the reliefs of Borobudur. We move from Java around the Indian Ocean, to finish on a beach on the east coast of Africa. And once again we'll find a great religion, travelling with the traders - but this time it's Islam. I'll be talking about a handful of pottery fragments... but it's amazing what a few broken pots and plates can tell us.