Stupa: Difference between revisions

<blockquote>The sacred texts are the verbal embodiment of the Dharma; the stupa is its architectural embodiment. The stupa is the architectural equivalent of the scriptures.... The stupa is seen to embody the Dharma in several ways: it is identified with the Wheel of the Law, which is the symbolic expression of the manner of the Dharma’s functioning as the Law of the cosmos; it embodies the sound of the Dharma; and it incorporates doctrinal codifications in its layout and measurements....</blockquote>

<blockquote>In innumerable texts the Dharma is equated with light: the Buddha’s Awakening is an Illumination, and his preaching of the Dharma is an irradiation of the worlds. The stupa as Dharma is thus a source of light; it is a Beacon of the Law, and in many places it has been a common custom to light up the stupa with a profusion of lamps.... The stupa propagates the doctrine; it shines with the radiance of the Dharma, illuminating the four quarters. The building of a stupa is a renewal of the preaching of the Dharma.  According to a Tibetan text, the stupa is built to allow all creatures to see the Buddha, to hear the Law spoken once again, and to reverence the Community (sangha) which has received the Law and faithfully transmitted its teachings.<ref>Adrian Snodgrass, ''The Symbolism of the Stupa'' (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1985), pp. 366, 370–71.</ref></blockquote>