Study on Buddhist Temples and Stupas

This assignment delves into the study of Buddhist temples and stupas, exploring their importance in Buddhist culture and architecture. It discusses the significance of these structures in conveying Buddhist teachings and values, as well as their historical and cultural context. The assignment also touches on the symbolism and spiritual practices associated with Buddhist temples and stupas, providing a comprehensive understanding of their role in Buddhist tradition.

Essay
(With reference to three specific examples, analyse how the Buddha image and the stūpa
relate to each other)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Buddhism is known to be a practice which leads to enlightenment or awakening of the
buddhahood. The practice of meditation helps an individual in being familiar with self and true
reflection of nature. It provides a chance to awaken in enhancing qualities such as awareness,
wisdom and kindness. It can be identified that Buddhism does not believe in worship of a god or
creator of beings (Boucher, 2015). The practical and straightforward approach helps in individual
in choosing the right paths and be fully responsible for actions and behaviour which will directly
impact experience which has been availed by an individual.
Before occurrence of the image of Buddha, Stupas were viewed as an object which leads
to clarity of picture relating to this religion. The Stupas is place where monks cremated along
with his relics and disciples which were presented in an stylised manner. There is a close relation
between Buddha and Stupas they were utilised frequently by them in the second century to exert
their authority on Buddhist people who did not possess same amount of knowledge as them. This
essay attempts to analyse relation between Stūpa and image of Buddha to each other taking
assistance from certain examples.
MAIN BODY
Buddhism can be defined to be a 1000 year old practice which has originated due to the
dynamism in the political, economic and religious life of people. The backdrop of religious
ordered helped in development of Buddhism and its expansion in the south Asian region.
Whereas Stūpa is known to be a scared Buddhist monument where monks and nuns are cremated
along with the place to practice meditation.
The story of Buddha origins from a place near India where a man named as Siddharta
Gautama was born. Born as a prince he soon realised that these experiences does not provide him
with happiness (Shiping, 2012). When he confronted himself with suffering and illness he tried
to identify answers for the same. He began his spiritual journey through meditation to look for
answers for recurring problem in a life of a person. It is after the discovery of suffering and
illness that Gautama Buddha left his royal responsibilities and ventured on a one way path
towards enlightenment and began a journey through forest. Over the next 6 years, Buddha met
numerous people who are good at meditation and gained mastery in the same. On this journey he
discovered that it is essential to show a path to other as mind itself did not possess capacity to
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reach to its full potential. He further explored the potential of mind in benefiting all human
beings.
Soon after Buddha attained enlightenment, during that time all mixed feeling and ideas
were settled at their respective places and all the section of time beautifully turned into a bliss
(Chien and Shiu, 2012). The awareness and timelessness attracted people belonging to different
castes and professions throughout northern part of country. He always believed in questioning
his teachings and gaining answers through their own distinct experiences and this school of
through have turned in philosophy of Buddhism.
The understanding of spiritual career of Buddha will help in identifying cause behind
building of Stupas. These are known to be architectural structure which involves cremation of
remains of saintly people. In Buddhist tradition origin of Stūpa can be related to the
Mahaparinirvana Sutra. It is an ancient text which describes the last days which are lived by
Buddha and states that remains of Buddha prior to his eternal rest were taken to 8 parts of the
country and cremated in form of Stupas. The reason is that follower of Gautama Buddha were
exposed to a question of what to do with his remains. Following trends of cremating significant
figures in form of Stūpa Buddha's remain into 8 sections in the kingdom where Buddha had
travelled awarded with a portion of his relics. In the late 3rd century it is believed that The Great
Mauryan Emperor further distributed to relics to more than 84,000 portions and have built Stūpa
over each so that Buddhism could be expanded.
Stūpa are known to be possess essence of Buddha and his protective powers. They tend to
symbolise path which leads a person from ignorance to enlightenment (Amerasinghe, 2011). The
mound (anda) which are being formed with the help of stones and possess a circular platform
(medha) on its top. The mound or dome is being combine with an cone like figure and there are
four gateways (Torana) signifying major events of his life such as birth, sermon, enlightenment
and nirvana. The importance of Stupas were later enhanced due to its clergy-laity practices and
increase in Mani-folds by Mauryan emperor. These architectural symbols are known to be places
with which people are able to tap their own enlightenment and a place to meet, meditate and talk
about their philosophies. The rise in importance of Stupas lead to construction of monasteries in
various regions. There were people who were benefited on financial grounds as well such as
merchants, artisans and monks had a fair share of income due to Stupas. They accompanied
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various market activities and social interactions which had emerged to be extremely beneficial
for communities.
People in the late 3rd century who started practising Buddhism aimed to refined Sputa so
that it teaching could be reflected (Tingzhu, 2011). But it is still very unclear on how practices
are carried out and the manner in which it is related to Stūpa in an detailed manner. It can be
identified in present scenario that Stūpa carries a major impact in popularising Buddhism in the
country. The rich teaching and philosophies are spread with the helps of these architectural
structure present in distinct section of the country. Stupas marks their presence in distinct nation
such as Nepal, Burma and Sri-Lanka and renowned with their own distinct teaching and
philosophies. It can be said that the practice of building Stupas is definitely popularised by
Buddhism as it never opposed to teaching of Buddha. The followers and people involved in
Buddhism are able to achieve enlightenment and develop on spiritual grounds.
Their are many stories related to image of Buddha and Stupas. Stupas are considered as
one of the most important part of Buddhism and one can find many examples/stories about
connection between both of them. A monk told a story about an old person at a teaching which
was focused on relation between Buddha and Stupas. He told that an old man wanted to become
a monk at the age of 80 but family members did not take him seriously. He then went to a monk
and ask him to teach meditation at monasteries. Monk denied him by saying that they he cannot
practice it because he is very old and he has to do some work like cleaning at monasteries which
he cannot do. When old man did not get a chance to practice meditation then he went to a garden
and start crying.
Buddha has the power to feel the pain of people so he went to this old men and asked him
what happen (Fogelin, 2012). He told complete story and said that his negative deeds are the
prime reason that he cannot become now. Buddha used his super power and then told old man
that he can become monk. This old man was a fly in previous life and one he went to a cow dunk
which was near to Stupa. He went through near a Stupa and this make him eligible for being a
monk because all of his sins got vanished when he came in contact of Stupa. This story is a
perfect example which shows that in the eyes of Buddha, Stupa was a very holy object. Buddha's
image and Stupas are directly connected with each other because according to Buddha, this holy
object can even purify a person who has committed big sin like murder of father etc. If Buddha is
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saying such a big thing then it means that he knew importance of Stupas and this is why his
remaining were kept at eight different places which are now known as Stupas.
This story, first example, was told by a senior monk who is known for giving lecture on
Buddhism (Byrne, 2011). Their are 8 Stupas in today's world. When Buddha died, his disciples
cremated him at 8 different places and these places are now known as ''Stupas''. Earlier Stupas
were not directly connected to Buddha but when his disciples find that how much preference
does he give to Stupas then the places where they cremated him and store his belongings where
names as ''Stupas''. According to Cristian Violatti, Buddhist monk consider Stupas as living
presence of Buddha and they think that it it his protective power. Buddha died long time ago but
his living energy is still present in Stupas. This proves that along with Buddha, Stupas are also
considered as an important part of Buddhism.
One of the biggest confusion which most of the people have is how can Buddha stories
have Stupas in it when 'Stupas' were after he died. Different people have given different
explanation for it but the most popular and realistic is that earlier Stupas were made by wood in
early time and after death of Buddha, they were rebuilt by using strong material so people can
worship and meditate here. But there is another question which is ''how can Stupas are
considered holy before Buddha were cremated in it''. According to the story told by the monk,
Buddha said that they old men was eligible to become monk because he came in contract with a
Stupa. This means that according to Buddha, Stupas were already holy and this can be consider
as the main reason that after cremating Buddha at 8 different location, these places were as
Stupa.
Buddhism give high importance to meditation and they consider it as one of the main
way of worshipping. According to monks of Buddhism, if mediation can be done at a place
where there is a high disturbance (What is Buddhism? 2018). A starter will get distracted to
various things if he will meditate at a noisy and disturbing location. Nowadays, Stupas are used
by monks for worshipping because they consider that living energy of Buddha is present their.
They meditate at these places because they feel like they are meditating in-front of Buddha.
Gautam Buddha travel to eight location when he was alive. He did meditation at these locations
and after his death, his disciples decide to cremate him at these place (Lawler, 2012). When
Ashoka the great King, got influence by the Buddha's thoughts and adopted Buddhism then he
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order to open these Stupas and made 84000 portions out of it. It is difficult to decide that whether
it is true or not because some monk argue that Ashoka did it while some do not support them.
But one thing is sure that Buddhism without Stupas is unimaginable. Their is a strong
connection between image of Buddha and Stupas. If most of monks feel that Buddha is still
present in these Stupas then it means that this location is full of positive energy and it is right
place to understand teachings of Buddha. Another important point which can be analysed from
above discussion is that Stupas were present at the time of Buddha but they were not made up of
sustainable material. Architectural development of the Stupas happen after Buddha left this
world.
Before Buddhism, all the great teacher were either buried in mounds or cremated. But
after sometime, a new trend got started when they were buried in a meditative position. A mound
is made above them which shows that they are covered by earth and meditating. All the Stupas
are covered with a dome shaped which represent that Buddha is meditating and sitting in
padmasana i.e. lotus position. Some monk have a viewpoint which is 'Stupa as a body of
Buddha'. Ashes of Buddha are present in Stupas, Buddhism monk believe that Buddha is present
in Stupas and his positive energy assist them at the time of meditation (Ming and Chien, 2011).
One of the monk once told a story, second example, about a person who was various kind of
issues relating to meditation. Once he visited a Stupa and started meditating their. He felt a
surprising positive energy and did not face any kind of problem while meditating. This person
later become a monk and stayed at Stupa. Their are many stories about which proves that
Buddha may not present in this world but his ashes are still so powerful that they can make other
people feel Buddha's presence at Stupa.
If one is saying Stupa is body of Buddha then it is not completely wrong. Above story
shows that when there are special positive energy at Stupas and normally this type of energy at a
location when living presence of powerful person is present (Stūpa, 2014). Various pilgrimage
activities happens around Stupas because monks believe that Buddha is present in these Stupas.
One can find some similarities between Hindu dharma and Buddhism like worshipping by going
a some fixed holy location but they also to focus on other areas which does not matches. It these
things are evaluated in right manner then they can assist in understanding that why monk feel
that energy of Buddha is still present at Stupas.
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Hindu temples can be found at millions of location and they did not have ashes of god. At
most of places, the god who is worshipped has even do visited their. But in Buddhism, Stupas all
present where Buddha has visited and significant events like enlightenment of Buddha happened.
This proves that body of Buddha may has covered into ashes but his positive and holy present
can still be felt in Stupas and this why Stupas are sometime addressed by the name of Buddha.
One of the key question which arises from the evaluation is why people compare Hindu Dharma
and Buddhism (Kovaeva, 2016). These two thinking have many similarities like Hindus believe
that the place where their god was born is holy place and god is still present their. They are use
mantras at the time of workshopping and meditating and their temples also have dome over the
head of god. These similarities are their because Gautam Buddha was from India and he travelled
around neighbour countries.
Stupa is considered as blessing to the people who are following the principles. According
to Buddhist monks, when winds blow and touches Stupa then it get purified. If this wind will
touch any object, animal, flies or human being then their negative karmas will also get purified.
Stupas has power to give better life to a soul. Stupa also have bell, if the sound of these bells will
get into the ears of a person then his/her all sins include very heavy one like killing own mother
and father get purified. These beliefs prove that Stupa can only get so much power if Buddha is
present in it. Buddha had practised meditation at these location and his positive energy is still
present in Stupas. The story/example of the person who was facing issues while meditating
proves that any Stupas have power and presence of Buddha cannot be denied at these places.
Stupa is considered as a blessing to Buddhism (Shonin, Van Gordon and Griffiths, 2014).
Many people do not believe that how can one's negative deed get purified by hearing the sound
of bell. The person, in the story, had done some serious bad karmas and this was the reason that
he could not concentrate at the time of meditation. But when Stupa has power to purify heavy
negative karma then they can resolve small troubles which this man was facing. Their is process
which need evaluation in order understand the power of Stupa and whether they can be
considered as body of Buddha. Some secret relic mantra has to be spoken at in the Stupa, when
sound of the bells which are offered at the time of speaking mantras goes in the ears of a person
then he get purified. Understanding and evaluation these unbelievably powerful sounds not easy.
Some monk argues that even dreaming of Stupa or remembering it can enlighten a person.
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The person who went to Stupa of meditation had left never by monastery where he was
practising meditation. Initially this man thought that he could only meditate in Stupa or around a
place which is near to it. But after some time, when he left monastery, he was able to mediate
only by remembering his experiences in Stupa. This example proves that Stupa are so powerful
because of living presence of Buddha in it.
Although there are many famous followers of Buddhism but one of most successful king
of early time, King Ashoka, is known as great promoter and follower of Gautam Buddha. His
story is another popular example which will show connection between Buddha image and Stupa.
When King Ashoka was in power and decided to start following Buddhism by getting affected
by principles of Gautam Buddha then he took a decision that he will promote Buddhism in whole
world (Keown, 2013). After learning various things about Buddha, he make a call that he will
construct Stupas so he can make a place where living presence of Gautam Buddha can be felt
and monk can meditate. He knew that Stupas will play crucail role in increasing the popularity of
the principles of Buddha and they will assist Ashoka in creating a god like image of Buddha.
This, third, example clearly states that Stupas and Buddhism are interconnected. Ashoka
could have used some other way of promoting Buddhism but his main idea was to make 84000
portions of 8 Stupas so more people can get benefited by it. The connection between Stupas and
Buddha's image is so strong that when Buddhism was going down and Hindus Dharma was
getting more popular in India then at that time Stupas were destroyed or no one was their to care
about them. If Buddhist monk would have got success in saving Stupas which were constructed
by Ashoka then Buddhism would have more popular across the globe. Still many people only
follow principles of Buddha because they know that Stupas has some super power and third
place is best for meditation.
Their is no doubt that mantras given by Buddha was very powerful and effective. But
when these mantra are spoken in Stupas then they can give surprising results. Buddhist monk
often argue the eight heavy negative deed can be purified in some mantras are recited at Stupa
and the sound of the bell rang at time comes in the ear of the person who have serious sin
(Batchelor, 2012). Ashoka was responsible for killing many people, he knew that if he want to
purify himself then he has to make sure that promote Buddhism and do something that can purify
other people who have take part in doing heavy negative activities. He knew Stupas and Buddha
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image are inseparable and if people will visit Stupa then they will automatically get knowledge
about Buddha and his teachings.
The example of Ashoka clearly shows that all the people who are interested in Buddhism,
understand that Stupas are very important part of Buddhism and if someone want to learn
something from Buddha itself then they knock the door of Stupa. All the above examples are
enough to understand the link between Buddha and Stupas. Follower of Buddha are continuously
increasing because people want to find the reason behind why they are facing ''dukh'' in their life
and how they can overcome it. Whenever a person join a monastery then monk always take that
person to Stupas so he can feel the living presence of Buddha and get blessing from Buddha.
Stupas has power to purify a person and meditating at this place can deliver unexpected results.
Buddhist monk believe that protective powers of Buddha is still present in those main 8 Stupas
and visiting or even thinking about them can purify a person and take him to right path ( Safran,
2013). If someone want to understand own inner potential and get better life in next birth then it
is believed that they should visit Stupa and take blessings from Buddha.
CONCLUSION
At the end, it can be concluded that relation between image of Buddha and Stupa is very
strong. Some people argue that Buddha is still present in Stupas. One can find stories about
Stupas when Buddha was alive but at this time, Stupas where made by wooden and they were
made again by Ashoka and some other followers. They basically contain ashes of Buddha and a
dome is made over it. Some monks still argue that finding power of mantras which are given by
Buddha is still need to be explored and they think that Stupas can purify a person because
protected power of Buddha is present in 8 most important Stupas. These eight places are
important part of the life of Buddha because at one place they he was enlightened while at other
he talked about four truths.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Amerasinghe, P.S.L., 2011. A Study on the changing architecture of Buddhist temples in Sri
Lanka.
Batchelor, S., 2012. A secular Buddhism. Journal of Global Buddhism, 13. pp.87-107.
Boucher, D., 2015. Sutra on the Merit of Bathing the Buddha. Buddhism in Practice. pp.59-68.
Byrne, D., 2011. Thinking about popular religion and heritage. Rethinking cultural resource
management in Southeast Asia: Preservation, development, and neglect. pp.3-14.
Chien, H.O. and Shiu, S.C., 2012. The Application of Buddhism Art in General Education of
University in Taiwan-Take Sanchi Stupa As Example. International Journal of Arts &
Sciences. 5(5). p.39.
Fogelin, L., 2012. Material practice and the metamorphosis of a sign: Early Buddhist stupas and
the origin of Mahayana Buddhism. Asian Perspectives, 51(2). pp.278-310.
Keown, D., 2013. Buddhism and human rights. In Contemporary Buddhist Ethics (pp. 67-89).
Routledge.
Kovaeva, B., 2016. Lidzhi Amikov, Building Stupas.
Lawler, A., 2012. Time ticks away for ancient Afghan monasteries.
Ming, S.C. and Chien, K.H., 2011. A study of the development of contemporary monasteries in
Taiwan. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 12(3). pp.401-419.
Safran, J.D., 2013. Psychoanalysis and Buddhism as cultural institutions. Crossroads in
Psychoanalysis, Buddhism, and Mindfulness: The Word and the Breath. p.187.
Shiping, L., 2012. An Analogy Analysis of The Newly-Excavated Pottery Building Decorated
with Xianglun (Xianglun Taolou) and The Hall of Buddha (Futu Ci) of China. Palace
Museum Journal. 162(4).
Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W. and Griffiths, M.D., 2014. The emerging role of Buddhism in
clinical psychology: Toward effective integration. Psychology of Religion and
Spirituality, 6(2). p.123.
Tingzhu, Y., 2011. Seven-Buddha Pagoda Group of Xingfu Temple in Song Dynasty. Cultural
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Online
Stūpa. 2014. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.ancient.eu/stupa/>.
What is Buddhism? 2018. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.diamondway-
buddhism.org/buddhism/>.
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