The Buddhist Stupa: Yoga's Sacred Architecture

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The Buddhist Stupa: Yoga's Sacred Architecture

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In every part of the world the landscape has its own distinctive

appearance, shaped both by the forces of nature and the design of

mankind. To the natural scene - mountains, hills, plains, barren

deserts or lush forests - human beings contribute architectural

features of many kinds: mud huts, magnificent pyramids, soaring

church spires or the modern clusters of skyscrapers.

 

Since its beginnings in India, Buddhism has spread over an area

extending from the deserts of Central Asia in the west to the

islands of Japan in the east, and from the icy regions of Tibet

in the north to the sun-drenched tropical island of Sri Lanka in

the south. The natural features of all these regions are very

different, and so are their architectural features. But wherever

you travel throughout this vast area, there is one type of

architectural monument which is everywhere; whether on bleak

mountain tops, in pleasant valleys, in the midst of vast plains,

or even by the seashore. This ubiquitous Buddhist monument is the

stupa.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/tsarang.jpg

 

There is an interesting legend behind the origin of the stupa.

The ancient text 'Maha-parinibbana Sutta' tells us that it was

the Buddha himself who outlined the basic design of the stupa.

The story begins at Buddha's deathbed. When he realized that

death was imminent, Buddha gave instructions about the

disposition of his body. He said that his body should be

cremated, and the relics divided up and enclosed in four

different monuments. These monuments were to be erected at the

following places, marking important milestones in the Buddha's

spiritual journey:

 

1). Lumbini: The place of Buddha's birth.

 

2). Bodhgaya: Where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the

bodhi tree.

 

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3). Sarnath: Where he gave his first teaching.

 

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4). Kushinagar: Place of Buddha's death (parinirvana).

 

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His intrigued disciples naturally asked what form this monument

should take. In reply the Buddha did not say anything, but gave a

practical demonstration. He took his outer yellow robe folded it

in two and two until it formed a rough cube. Then he took his

begging-bowl, which of course was round, turned it upside down,

and put it on top of the robes. 'Make the stupa like this,' he

said. Indeed till today, whatever its geographical location, the

basic form of the stupa retains this elemental character.

 

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Fundamentally, a stupa is essentially made up of the following

five constituents:

 

a). A square base

 

b). A hemispherical dome

 

c). A conical spire

 

d). A crescent moon

 

e). A circular disc

 

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Each of these components is rich in metaphoric content and is

identified with one of the five cosmic elements said to make up

the entire manifested existence. These are earth, water, fire,

air and space.

 

Square Base: This symbolizes the element earth. The phenomenal

world spreads out in the four directions and the square with its

four sides is an appropriate metaphor for the same. These four

directions define the earth and bind it in order. Hence the

square is the perfect symbol to denote the terrestrial world.

Often a stupa would have four gates, one for each direction, and

various deities protecting the specific directions would stand

guard over them.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/torana.jpg

 

The Hemispherical Dome: The main mass of the classical form of

the stupa consists of a solid, hemispherical dome. Early Buddhist

texts refer to this as the garbha, meaning 'womb' or 'container.'

With this reference the stupa as a whole is called the

'dhatu-garbha.' Dhatu is Sanskrit for element. Herein lies the

derivation of the word 'dagoba,' which is the short form of

dhatu-garbha and which is the most usual designation of the stupa

in Sri Lanka. Thus this section of a stupa is an allusion to the

primordial, creative waters. Indeed in all the major cosmologies,

life arose from the archetypal waters, a female symbol of

formless potentiality. The dome by virtue of representing the

womb from which issues all manifested existence signifies this

creative matrix.

 

In a beautiful ritual of devotion, the hemisphere of the stupa is

identified with the golden cosmic egg of Yogic thought called

'Hiranyagarbha.'

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/ht80.jpg

 

Hiranya is Sanskrit for golden and garbha, as mentioned above,

means womb. According to Vedic cosmology, this golden womb was

the nucleus from which all creation evolved. As a matter of fact

it was often the practice to carve small recesses in the curved

wall of the stupa to hold rows of oil lamps, so that the whole

mound may be illuminated at night. The effect was to render the

abstract concept of the golden womb or egg into a visible

reality.

 

The dome is a symbol of both the womb and the tomb. According to

Buddhist thought, before we are invested with a material body our

souls are free and fully alive in the spiritual world. Our

physical conception in the womb follows our death in the

spiritual realm. The womb is thus the symbol of the tomb. This is

the metaphysical counterpart of the historical view that the

stupa evolved out of the ancient funerary mound. In this context

the stupa is often referred to as the 'chaitya,' a word which is

derived from the Sanskrit word for funeral pyre 'chita.'

 

The Conical Spire: This signifies the element of fire. Fire, of

course, always rises upwards. When we kindle a fire it never

burns downwards but always goes straight up. So fire symbolizes

energy ascending upwards. It represents wisdom which burns away

all ignorance.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/chedi.jpg

 

The Crescent Moon: This denotes the element of air. Air has the

capacity to expand. The female of the species shares this

property with air. This is exemplified in the expansion of a

pregnant woman. Indeed the crescent moon is an ancient symbol

denoting femininity since the waxing and waning of the moon is

said to mirror a woman's menstrual cycle.

 

The Circle: The perfect shape of the circle expresses wholeness

and totality. It represents the principle which has no end or

beginning. It thus signifies the element of space.

 

Finally crowning the apex of the stupa is a jewel like shape.

This surmounts all the five elements and hence expresses a higher

state of reality than that characterized by these elements.

 

This protruding jewel is found not only on top of stupas but also

crowns the heads of Buddha-images of all countries and all

periods. This is the ushnisha which sometimes looks like a flame

springing from Buddha's head, and sometimes like a lotus bud

growing there.

 

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This protuberance signifies the Highest Reality, namely the

Enlightenment of the Great Buddha himself. Hence in a sense, the

journey to the stupa's top is a process of spiritual ascension,

where the jewel lying at the end of the quest is Nirvana itself.

 

The identification of the highest point in the stupa with the

highest point in Buddha's image leads us to ponder as to whether

a more deeper correspondence can be established between the stupa

and Buddha's physical body. According to Yogic thought, the five

elements are correlated with the five psychic centers within the

human body. This correlation is as follows:

 

1). The earth (prithvi) is the lowest psychic center. This is

located between the feet and the knees.

 

2). Water (apas) lies between the knees and the anus.

 

3). Fire (agni) lies between the anus and the heart.

 

4). Air (vayu) lies between the heart and the middle of the

eyebrows.

 

5). Space (akasha) lies between the middle of the eyebrows to the

top of the head.

 

Finally above the head is the final seat of enlightenment. This

is identified with the Sahasrara chakra, which is said to be the

seat of pure consciousness or ultimate bliss. This is the Buddha'

s ushnisha.

 

According to the principles of yoga, our composite selves are

made of two superimposing constituents. These are the physical

self, known as the gross body, and the other is the higher self,

which is the microcosm of the universe, known as the subtle body.

The subtle and the gross bodies are both analogues of each other.

We have seen above how the subtle body is presented in the stupa.

 

Illustration :

http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/stupaasbuddha.jpg

 

The Buddha's physical form too finds an echo in the stupa. In

such a visualization, the base is Buddha's legs, the dome is his

torso, and to represent the head a second cubical structure is

added between the dome and the spire. This cube known as the

harmika is exactly at the place where Buddha's eyes should be.

This can be seen in the typical stupas of Nepal where, on each

side of the harmika, a pair of eyes is painted.

 

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/bodnath.jpg

 

Conclusion:

 

There is an amusing story told about an old man who had led a

rather negative and unhelpful life, marked by constant conflicts

over petty matters. Nevertheless, he wanted to become a monk for

good luck. The head monks, however hard they tried, were having

difficulty ordaining him, since tradition decreed that a

prospective candidate for priesthood need to have performed at

least one good deed. Mobilizing all their clairvoyant powers and

searching even his former lives, they could find no good deed.

Not wanting to give up, the compassionate monks then took him to

see the Buddha himself. Now the Buddha's power of clairvoyance

was far more powerful than even the most saintliest of his

followers. Looking back the man's many, many lifetimes the Buddha

finally said, 'Ah! It's all right, you can ordain him - I've

found something good in his past.' 'What is it?' they enquired.

The Buddha replied, 'Long ago, he was reborn as an ant, and he

came with his clan to the great stupa of Bodhnath (Nepal), where

some people had gathered to pay homage to the monument. At the

moment when the head of the family began his pious

circumambulations, our man here was crawling across his boot,

trying to get more crumbs. He was able to hang on to the boot

while the pilgrim made it three times around the stupa! This was

a meritorious deed, good enough to gain a monkhood for him.'

 

In the traditional view, a building needs to satisfy both the

physical and metaphysical needs of man. As an expression of

artistic intent, it will elaborate upon the manner in which

phenomenal world relates to the spiritual one. Architecture being

by nature three-dimensional is eminently suitable to act as a

metaphor, since any construct is bound to be rooted in the

phenomenal world, and then must begin the ascent to the Higher

levels.

 

The stupa by virtue of being the monument of Buddha's choice is

deemed especially sacred as exemplified in the above story. The

spiritual merit of this monument is enhanced no less by it being

a reflection of the Cosmic Man, visualized in the ideals of Yoga,

who resides in each of us.

 

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References and Further Reading:

 

Beer, Robert. The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs:

Boston, 1999.

 

Cooper, J.C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols:

London, 1999.

 

Cummings, Joe. Buddhist Stupas in Asia: Victoria, 2001.

 

Eliade, Mircea. Yoga (Immortality and Freedom): Princeton, 1973.

 

Hamani, Laziz, and Claude B. Levenson. Symbols of Tibetan

Buddhism: Paris, 1996.

 

Landaw, Jonathan., and Weber, Andy. Images of Enlightenment

(Tibetan Art in Practice): New York, 1993.

 

Maxwell, T.S. The Gods of Asia (Image, Text, and Meaning): New

Delhi, 1997.

 

Sangharakshita. The Drama of Cosmic Enlightenment (Parables,

Myths, and Symbols of the White Lotus Sutra): Glasgow, 1993.

 

Sangharakshita. Tibetan Buddhism An Introduction: Birmingham,

1999.

 

Snodgrass, Adrian. The Symbolism of the Stupa: Delhi, 1992.

 

Tresidder, Jack. The Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols: Oxford,

1997.

 

Varenne, Jean. Yoga and the Hindu Tradition: Delhi, 1989.

 

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Nitin G.

http://www.exoticindia.com

 

 

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