Origin Of Stupa Shape

[camerata]

While in a temple in Japan last week I overheard a tour guide saying that the Buddha said that after his death he didn't want any kind of grave or memorial, so his disciples left his two posessions - his walking cane and alms bowl - to mark the spot of his death. She said that because of this the earliest stupas took their shape from the shape of an upturned begging bowl. Anyone know if this is a generally accepted idea?

[Suthep_Steve]

The basic structure of a Chorten consist of a square foundation symbolizing the earth, a dome symbolizing water, and thirteen tapering steps of enlightenment symbolizing the element of fire. These steps lead to a stylized parasol, the symbol of wind, which is topped in the ethereal sphere by the well-known ‘twin-symbol’ uniting sun and moon, which is the shimmering crown of the Chorten.

Taken from http://www.buddhanet.net/stupa.htm which I googled for.

We were always taught that the stupa represented Buddhas mind hence we place a image of Buddhas body, a text of his speach and a stupa on our shrines to represent Lord Buddhas Body Speach and Mind. Although I have come across the more elemental description in certain esoteric Tibetan teachings.

[camerata]

I think the guide was talking about the very early stupas like the one at Sanchi:

[robitusson]

As site relating to Tibetan stupas.

http://www.stupa.org.nz/

Quoted from the site:

What is a stupa?

The Tibetan word is Chorten, which means "the basis of offering".

It is a symbol of enlightened mind, (the awakened mind, universal divinity) and the path to its realisation.

If you had to use just two words, the best definition I have seen is "Spiritual Monument"

The stupa represents the Buddha's body, his speech and his mind, but most especially his mind and every part shows the path to Enlightenment

"The visual impact of the stupa on the observer brings a direct experience of inherent wakefulness and dignity. Stupas continue to be built because of their ability to liberate one simply upon seeing their structure" - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Every stupa contains at the very least a life tree and holy relics:

"When a great teacher passes away, his body is no more, but to indicate that his mind is dwelling forever in an unchanging way in the dharmakaya, one will erect a stupa as a symbol of the mind of the buddhas" - HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

[sabaijai]

While in a temple in Japan last week I overheard a tour guide saying that the Buddha said that after his death he didn't want any kind of grave or memorial, so his disciples left his two posessions - his walking cane and alms bowl - to mark the spot of his death. She said that because of this the earliest stupas took their shape from the shape of an upturned begging bowl. Anyone know if this is a generally accepted idea?

It's an idea you often hear, sort of a folk tale, but stupa-ologists pretty much accept the theory that they descend from royal funerary mounds, common in pre-Buddhist India. These were mounds built over the site where royals were cremated, and in fact the Sanskrit and Pali words chaitya and chetiya are related to Indo-European root terms describing fire altars. Quite a few books have been written on the topic, most recently Buddhist Stupas in Asia: The Shape of Perfection, now out of print.