The Symbolism of The Early Stupa
The Symbolism of The Early Stupa
BUDDHIST STUDIES
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A. K. Narain
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
EDITORS
Alexander W. Macdonald
Universite de Paris X
Nanterre, France
Ernst Steinkellner
University of Vienna
Wien, Austria
Bardwell Smith
Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesota, USA
Jikido Takasaki
University of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Robert Thurman
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Roger Jackson
Volume 7
1984
, oi* y
Number 2
CONTENTS
I. ARTICLES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
7
41
67
95
117
137
143
169
185
3.
4.
5.
239
by Peter Harvey
I. Introduction
In this paper, I wish to focus on the symbolism of" the
Buddhist stupa. In its simplest sense, this is a "(relic) mound"
and a symbol of the Buddha's parinibbdna. I wish to show, however, that its form also comprises a system of overlapping symbols which make the stupa as a whole into a symbol of the
Dhamma and of the enlightened state of a Buddha.
Some authors, such as John Irwin, 1 Ananda Coomaraswamy, 2 and, to some extent, Lama Anagarika Govinda, H have
seen a largely pre-Buddhist, Vedic meaning in the stupa's symbolism. I wish to bring out its Buddhist meaning, drawing on
certain evidence cited by Irwin in support of his interpretation,
and on the work of such scholars as Gustav Roth. 4
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///. Relics
Before dealing with the stupa itself, it is necessary to say
something about the relics contained in it. T h e contents of a
stupa may be the reputed physical relics (sariras or dhatus) of
Gotama Buddha, of a previous Buddha, of an Arahant or other
saint, or copies of these relics; they may also be objects used by
such holy beings, images symbolising them, or texts seen as the
"relics" of the "Dhamma-body" of Gotama Buddha.
Physical relics are seen as the most powerful kind of contents. Firstly, they act as reminders of a Buddha or saint: of
their spiritual qualities, their teachings, and the fact that they
have actually lived on this earth. This, in turn, shows that it is
possible for a human being to become a Buddha or saint. While
(59
even copies of relics can act as reminders, they cannot fulfill the
second function of relics proper. This is because these are
thought to contain something of the spiritual force and purity
of the person they once formed part of. As they were part of
the body of a person whose mind was freed of spiritual faults
and possessed of a great energy-for-good, it is believed that
they were somehow affected by this. Relics are therefore seen
as radiating a kind of beneficial power. This is probably why ch.
28 of the Buddhavamsa says:
T h e ancients say that the dispersal of the relics of Gotama,
the great seer, was out of compassion for living beings.
Miraculous powers are also attributed to relics, as seen in a
story of the second century B.C. related in the Mahavamsa
XXXI v.97-100. When king Dutthagamani was enshrining
some relics of Gotama in the Great Stupa at Anuradhapura,
they rose into the air in their casket, and then emerged to form
the shape of the Buddha. In a similar vein, the Vibhahga Atthakathd p. 433 says that at the end of the 5000 year period of the
sdsana, all the relics in Sri Lanka will assemble, travel through
the air to the foot of the Bodhi tree in India, emit rays of light,
and then disappear in a flash of light. This is referred to as the
parinibbdna of the dhdtus. Relics, then, act both as reminders of
Gotama, or some other holy being, and as actual tangible links
with them and their spiritual powers. T h e Mahavamsa XXX
v.100 says, indeed, that there is equal merit in devotion to the
Buddha's relics as there was in devotion to him when he was
alive.
70
71
72
is found as a decoration in ancient Indian Buddhist art. Purnaghata designs, for example, were among those on the dome of
the Great Stupa at Amaravatl.-'The purna-ghata is also an auspicious symbol in Hinduism, where it is probably equivalent to
the golden kumbha, containing amrta (the gods' nectar of immortality), which emerged at the churning of the cosmic
ocean. 10
T o decide on the symbolic meanings of kumbha in Buddhism, we may fruitfully look at further uses of the word
kumbha in sutta similies. At S.V.48 and A.V.337, water pouring
out from an upturned kumbha is likened to an ariyan disciple
getting rid of unskilful states, while at Dhp. v.121-2, a kumbha
being gradually filled by drops of water is likened to a person
gradually filling himself with evil or merit. In this way, the
kumbha is generally likened to the personality as a container of
bad or good states. A number of passages, though, use d full
kumbha as a simile for a specifically positive state of being. At
A.11.104, a person who understands, as they really are, the four
ariyan truths, is like a full (puro)kumbha. Miln.414, with Sn. v.
721-2, sees one who has perfected his recluseship (an Arahant,
surely) as being like a full kumbha, which makes no sound when
struck: his speech is not boastful, but he teaches Dhamma. At
A.I. 131, a person of wide wisdom (puthupanno), who bears in
mind the Dhamma he has heard, is like an upright kumbha
which accumulates the water poured into it. T h e implication of
these passages is that the stupa dome, if known as a kumbha and
even decorated with purna-ghata motifs, would be a natural
symbol for the personality of someone who is "full" of
Dhamma: a Buddha or saint. While the Hindu purna-ghata contains amrta, the Buddhist one contains Dhamma, that which
brings a person to the amata and which in the highest sense
(Nibbana) is this "deathless" state.
The above symbolism neatly dove-tails with another indication of the dome's meaning. As stupas developed, they sometimes came to have interior strengthening walls radiating from
the centre, as in figure 2. As the stupa dome, in plan, is circular,
the impression is strongly given of the Dhamma-wheel symbol.
This symbolises both the Buddha and the Dhammateaching,
path and culminationin a number of ways. For example, i) its
regularly spaced spokes suggest the spiritual order and mental
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ister justice. T h e shading tree thus became an insignia of sovereignty. When the ruler moved about, it came to be represented
by a parasol. The parasols on a stupa, then, while being an
emblem of sovereignty, also connote a sacred tree. Indeed, a
second century B.C. relief from AmaravatI depicts a stupa
which, in place of the yasti and parasol discs, has a tree with
parasol-shaped leaves (figure 6).
Of course, the Buddhist sacred tree is the Bodhi tree, 1S so
the yasti and parasols on a stupa must symbolically represent
this, itself a potent Buddhist symbol. This idea is re-infbreed by
the fact that, in Burma, free-standing parasols are sometimes
worshipped as Bodhi tree symbols, and the metal parasols on
stupas sometimes have small brass Bodhi leaves hanging from
them. That the yasti and parasol-discs represent a Bodhi tree is
also supported when we examine the structure immediately
below them on a stupa. Figure 1 shows that, at Sand, this is a
cubical stone, surrounded by another vedika, or railing. Now
these two features are reminiscent of ones found at pre-Buddhist tree-shrines, which had an altar-seat at their base, and a
railing to surround their sacred enclosure. In Buddhism, descendants of the original Bodhi tree became objects of devotion
for, as in the case of physical relics, they were a tangible link,
with the departed Buddha and his spiritual power. Such Bodhi
trees were enclosed by railings in the same way as the previous
tree shrines. As the style of the stupa developed, the cubical
stone structure expanded in size and came to incorporate the
vedika in the form of a carved relief on its surface, as in figure 4.
The important point to note is that Bodhi tree shrines developed into more complex forms, as seen for example in figure 7;
as this happened, the superstructure of stupas mirrored this
development, as seen in figure 8. This is clear evidence that the
superstructure of a stupa was symbolically equated with a
Bodhi tree and its shrine.
The Bodhi tree, of course, as the kind of tree under which
the Buddha attained enlightenment, became established as a
symbol for that enlightenment, in early Buddhism." Like the
lotus, it is a symbol drawn from the vegetable kingdom. While
both, therefore, suggest spiritual growth, the lotus emphasizes
the potential for growth, whereas the Bodhi tree indicates the
culmination of this growth, enlightenment.
T h e structure underneath the royal/Bodhi tree symbol
76
77
78
79
80
HI
82
83
84
85
Figure 1
86
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
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Figure 5
87
88
Figure 6
Figure 7
Mm
Figure 9
Figure 10
89
90
Figure 1 1
III
It
CATTARO
CATTARI
CATTARI
IOOH)PADA
SAMMAPPADHANANI
SATIPATTHANANI
Figure 12
S Y M B O L I S M O F T H E EARLY S T U P A
91
ABBREVIATIONS
A.
Ahguttara Nikdya
D.
Digha Nikdya
Dhp. Dhammapada
M.
Majjhima Nikdya
Miln. Milindapanha
S.
Samyutta Nikdya
Sn.
Sutta-Nipdta
Thag. Theragdthd
References to Pali texts are all to the Pali Text Societies editions.
NOTES
* First given at the Eighth Symposium on Indian Religions (British Association for the History of Religion), Oxford, April 1982.
1. "The Stupa and the Cosmic AxisThe Archaeological Evidence,"
South Asian Archaeology 1977 (papers from the Fourth International Conference of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe; Naples, Instituto
Universitario Orientale Seminaro di Studi Asiatici, 1979) pp. 799-845; and
"The Axial Symbolism of the Early StupaAn Exegesis," in A.L. Dallapiccola
(ed.) The StupaIts Religious, Historical and Archaeological Significance (Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1980) pp. 12-38.
2. Elements of Buddhist Iconography, Cambridge, Mass., 1935, re-published
by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
3. The Psycho-Cosmic Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa, Emeryville, California, Dharma Press, 1976.
4. "The Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa," in A.L. Dallapiccola (ed), op.
cit.
5. Hasting's Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (Edinburgh, T. and T.
Clark, 1910) Vol. Ill, p. 657.
6. Op. cit.
7. Ibid.
8. M. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass.
9. D. Mitra, Buddhist Monuments (Calcutta, Sahitya Samsad, 1971) p. 204.
10. B. Walker, Hindu World (London, George Allen and Unwin, 1968)
Vol. II, p. 132.
11. S. Yoe, The Burman, his Life and Notions (London, Macmillan and Co.,
1910) pp. 158-9.
12. G. Roth, op. cit., p. 184, points out that in the Mulasarvdstivddin Vinaya Ksudraka-vastu, it is said that a Tathagata's stupa should have 13 parasoldiscs, that of Arahants should have 4, that of Non-returners 3, that of Oncereturners 2, and that of Stream-enterers 1.
13. While the A.ivattha treenow known as the Bodhi treewas the
species of tree under which Gotama is said to have become enlightened, the
Mahdpaddna Sutta states that the six previous Buddhas were each enlightened
under different species of tree (D.I 1.2-8).
92
J I A B S VOL. 7 N O . 2
14. Early carved stone reliefs sometimes briefly depict the Buddha's life
by showing symbols for the key events in his life: Bodhi tree (enlightenment),
Dhamma-wheel (first sermon), and stupa (parinibbdna). Examples of such
reliefs, from the second and third centuries A.D. are illustrated in D.L. Snellgrove (ed.), The Image of the Buddha (Paris, UNESCO, 1978), p. 38.
15. "The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis."
16. S.P. Gupta, The Roots oj Indian Art (Delhi, BR Publishing Corporation, 1980) pp. 246-269.
17. The Stupa in CeylonMemoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon,
Volume 5 (Colombo, 1946).
18. L. Ledderose, "Chinese Prototypes of the Pagoda," in A.L. Dallapiccola (ed.), op. cit., p. 239
19. Ed. C.B. Cowell and R. Neil, Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, 1886, p. 244.
20. J. Irwin, "The Axial Symbolism of the Early Stupa," p. 21.
21. Op. cit., p. 38.
22. See note I.
23. "The Axial Symbolism of the Early Stupa," pp. 14 and 28.
24. Ibid, pp. 2 2 - 3 .
25. "The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis," p. 826.
26. They can also be seen as equivalent to Indra's vajra. This is shown in
the Ap.stamba Srautasutra VII,10,3 (as cited by A. Gail, "Cosmic Symbolism of
the Spire of the Ceylon Dagoba," in A.L. Dallapiccola, op. cit., p.260), where it
is stated that, when the \ed\c yupa is raised, it is said:
"Rend open the earth, split the heaven-cloud, give us rain water. . . ."
27. "The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis," p. 836.
28. "The Axial Symbolism of the Early Stupa," p. 18.
29. "The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis," pp. 8 3 1 - 2 .
30. Ibid., p. 826.
31. J. Irwin, "The Axial Symbolism of the Early Stupa," p. 21.
32. Given that "Indra's stake" is closely associated with, and probably
mythologically synonymous with, Indra's thunderbolt-sceptre, or vajra (see
note 26), it is also significant that, at A.L 124, an Arahant is described as
having a citta like a vajira, a term which may mean diamond, or be equivalent
to Sanskrit vajra.
33. M. Spiro, Buddhism and Society (London, George Allen and Unwin,
1971), p. 203 reports that in contemporary Burma, the stupa is often seen as
representing Meru, with the three worlds (kdma, rupa and arupa) represented
by the plynth and two parts of the dome, with the spire representing the
Buddha.
' 34. See note 4.
35. T h e diagram does not depict the rains canopy (varsa-sthdti), said to
symbolise the Buddha's "great compassion." T h e details of the symbolism in
the second text differ slightly, and it also sees the ground as symbolising fila,
and the first platform as symbolising ddna.
S Y M B O L I S M O F T H E EARLY S T U P A
93
FIGURES
1. The Great Stupa at Sand, adapted from A. Volwahsen, Living ArchitectureIndia (London, Macdonald, 1969) p. 91.
2. Lotus medallion design, from a railing on Bharhut Stupa, second
century B.C., in the Indian Museum, Calcutta.
3. Plan of the third century A.D. Nagarjunakonda Stupa, from G. Combaz, "L'Evolution du Stupa en Asie. Etude D'Architecture Bouddhique," in
Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques (Bruxelles, L'Institut Beige des Hautes Etudes
Chinoisses, 1933), Vol. 12 (1932-3), pp. 163-306, figure 71.
4. T h e Great Stupa at Anuradhapura, second century B.C., 54 metres
high.
5. Shwe Dag6n Stupa, Rangoon, 112 metres high, reputedly containing
two hairs of Gotama Buddha, and belongings of three previous Buddhas;
from G. Combaz, "L'Evolution du Stupa en Asie. Les Symbolismes du Stupa,"
in Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques (Bruxelles, L'Institut Beige des Hautes
Etudes Chinoisses, 1936), Vol.14 (1935-6),pp. 1-126, figure 29.
6. Relief of a stupa supertructure on a drum slab, AmaravatI, second
century B.C., British Museum. Drawn from a photograph (figure 24) in J.
Irwin, "The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis" (reference as in note 1).
7. Relief medallion depicting a tree-temple (Bodhi-ghara). Mathura\ second century B.C. Now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Taken from J. Irwin,
"The Stupa and the Cosmic Axis," figure 27.
8. Stupa depicted on gateway of stupa no. 3, Sancl. Drawn by Margaret
Hall, as in J. Irwin,"The Stupa as Cosmic Axis," figure 28.
9. Superstructure of the Great Stupa at AmaravatI, as depicted on a
relief slab originally encasing the stupa. Second century A.D., Government
Museum, Madras.
10. Cross-section of Horyuji Pagoda, Nara, seventh century A.D. Figure
1 (p. 257) in D. Seckel, "Stupa Elements Surviving in East Asian Pagodas," in
A.L. Dallapiccola (ed.) The Stupa (reference as in note 1).
11. Gold reliquary in the form of a stupa. From the Ruvanvali stupa,
Anuradhapura, attributed to first century B.C. Figure 23 in J. Irwin, "The
Stupa and the Cosmic Axis."
12. "Cross section of the ideal Dagoba or Chorten" (showing correspondences to the 37 bodhipaksivadharmas), figure 13 in Lama Anagarika Govinda,
The Psycho-Cosmic Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa (Emeryville, California,
Dharma Press, 1976).
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