THE JEWEL

At the cone’s apex is found the last element to be installed; the point of all the building work, the jewel. A symbol of clarity and purity, priceless above all. It represents the ultimate realisation, not just of the one enshrined, but that which is available to us all. Although often made before the stupa is finished it can not be put in place until all the preparation work has been finished. In our own journey to truth we too must lay solid foundations and a good firm support for liberation. Although the stupa is a place to enshrine the relics it has in fact been built to hold the jewel. It exists to uphold the principle of enlightenment as an ever present possibility. This is the point of a stupa.

Often the jewel is not just a single piece and the whole umbrella construction can quite easily become very complex and ornate. It becomes the focus of much ceremony and celebration at the time of installation.

The picture above is of Swambath Stupa in Nepal, clearly showing the three elements of the cone. Note the eyes painted on the reliquary representing the clear vision and mental clarity of the enshrined saint who is unbounded by time and space, and who occupies all realms.