| The existence of the Buddhist stupa can be traced back to the beginnings of the Buddhist religion. However, it was not until Sakyamuni Buddha passed into parinirvana that the construction of stupas became a common Buddhist practice. Just before the Buddha passed away he instructed his disciple Ananda, that his relics be placed inside a stupa to be located at the crossroads of a busy highway.;Because of these instructions, the Buddha's cremated remains were placed inside eight stupas built in eight different Buddhist regions of Northern India. Since that time stupas have functioned as symbols of the Buddha's form, his teachings, and in particular, his enlightened mind. The stupa's shape, from its base to the top-ornament, represents the range of the Buddha's teachings, especially the stages of the path which access the dharmakaya.;In the first two chapters the origins of the Buddhist and non-Buddhist stupa are examined. The various historical influences precipitating the stupa's spread throughout South Asia are explored, for example, the reign of the Emperor Asoka. In addition, the different shapes of the stupa, from the massive structures of early Indian Buddhism to the elongated pagodas of East Asia, are surveyed.;The next section concentrates on the stupa as presented in the Tibetan texts, particularly, sDe srid Sangs rgyas rGya mtso's Vaidurya Selpo, and texts by Rongtha, Bu ston, and dNgul chu Dharmabhadra. The Tibetans delineate five general categories of stupas (Tib: mchod rten), with the fifth category, the mchod rten of the Vehicles, including the eight mchod rten. Chapters 5-7 describe the various aspects--location, depiction and dimensions--of the five mchod rten, particularly the eight Vehicle mchod rten.;The last two chapters focus on the stupa's symbolism. Chapter 8 examines general theories on the stupa's symbolism, including non-Buddhist and Buddhist. Chapter 9 delineates the symbolism of the stupa as outlined in the Caitya Vibhanga. This text depicts the stupa as the symbol of the dharmakaya by designating each part of the stupa a particular aspect of the path which leads to the attainment of the enlightened mind. |
