E L E M E N T S  >
 
COMPONENTS

S T U P A   C O M P O N E N T S


The elegant main Swedagon stupa,
Rangoon, Burma.

CONE = FIRE + BUDDHA + PAÑÑA

The cone is both an extension and an encasement of the central pillar we looked at in origins. It is generally the most vertical bit; it is the bit that ‘rises up’ the most. On page 20 we looked at the idea of ‘religious aspiration’ and the cone is that which most goes beyond the conditioned universe (the base and the sphere) and which goes most towards the point. The purpose of the stupa is to raise the point, to make it highly visible so we remember it. This is done by emphasising different components and sometimes the cone is barely visible and sometimes the stupa is almost all cone (pages 38 – 41).

The cone can be examined in three parts:

3)  umbrella or crown

2)  tower

1)  reliquary

1) THE RELIQUARY

This sits on top of the sphere and is the ‘box’ part of the stupa which holds the cremated remains of the saint, and/or other relics. The reliquary can be thought of as a shrine. It provides a physical, tangible link to the goal, to ‘the point’ of the religious life. A shrine is often the focus of religious practice; a place of worship, purification and sacrifice. Both the sphere and the cube relate to our terrestrial experience – the realm of this earth body. The remains of the saint are taken from the funeral fire and placed in the reliquary, safely enshrined, conceptually, above or beyond the universal sphere that we know. Ancient sacrifices were often made using fire, and the use of flame on a shrine – most often as candles – is still common in many religions, including Buddhism. The shrine is the home of the eternal flame, the divine light; a symbol of both clarity and purification. When contemplating the enshrined relics we can imagine the remains of the teacher, the Buddha, also included. In this image is the reminder of his blameless life (sila), his wisdom (pañña) and his liberation (nibbana), all of which we can aspire to. His example is like a flame, illuminating the darkness of the mind, a steady light free from the winds of desire.

An unusual tiered cone with repeated alcoves housing Buddha images of gradually decreasing size.
The reliquary is clearly visible here resting on the dome of the Dhauli Peace Pagoda in Bhubaneswar, Central East India. This is a quite modern stupa and the treatment of the tower and umbrellas is worth noting.