| Foreword | The Origin of Stupas | |||
| How to Contribute? | Symbolism | Project Expenditures | Project Update |
On the Origin of Stupas:
The first Stupa came about through Ananda, One day Ananda was going for alms. He came to a family who were building a house with many doors. Considering the shape and number of doors he thought, 'Maybe these people are making a residence for the Sangha.' Then he thought to himself: 'What would bring more benefit? Is it to make a spiritual monument such as a stupa? Is it to make a statue of the Buddha? Or is it to make a residence for the Sangha?'
He took the alms given by the family and went back with the question in his mind. When he saw the Buddha he told him what he had seen.
He said, "There are people making a building. I thought maybe it was a residence for the Sangha. Would it be more beneficial to make a temple for the Sangha, or to make a stupa the size of a Myrobalan fruit?"
He went on, "Any stupa must have a central axis called a 'life tree'. A needle could serve for this purpose. A stupa always has an umbrella on top. That could be a small flower. So which would be more beneficial - building such a stupa, making a statue of the Buddha, or building a residence for the Sangha?"
The Buddha answered, "If someone were to build a huge temple that would accommodate hundreds of thousands of Sangha, and if the same person were to make offerings to the Sangha for day after day for years; or, on the other hand, if that person were to make a small stupa the size of a Myrabolan fruit, and a statue of the Buddha the size of that fruit, making the latter two would be more beneficial. Both the stupa and the statue represent the Buddha's mind and body, and since a Buddha has limitless qualities, any worship, any offering made to these two miniatures would be more beneficial."
When Buddha was talking about the benefit of constructing stupas and statues there were many beings, human and non-human present, and it was from this time on that beings began making stupas and statues.
Another incident concerning the origin of stupas happened when the Buddha was at Rajgir. At this time he was addressing about five-hundred bhikkshus and seven thousand two hundred Bodhisattvas. At that congregation the Bodhisattva Maitreya put a question to the Buddha. Maitreya asked, "In the distant future there will come a time when it will be very hard for people to practise Dharma. Due to the enormous number of negative forces and many types of interference they will not be able to practise as they would like. What conducive factors will be needed to ward-off and pacify all these negative forces?"
The Buddha explained that five factors would be needed. If these five factors were present, people would be free of interference from negative forces and they would live long.
These five factors are:
· To give Dharma with the intention of helping others;
· To give sentient beings a sense of security, or freedom from fear. This means to save beings whose lives are at risk, and provide them with security and peace of mind;
· To reflect on the four immeasurable thoughts (Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity);
· To repair old stupas or to commission or construct new ones;
· To maintain Bodhicitta, the universal altruism to want to achieve the state of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
Of these factors spelt out by the Buddha, one is repairing old stupas and making new ones. If one is able to do that, it will bring a lot of benefit to oneself and others in the future.
| Foreword | The Origin of Stupas | |||
| How to Contribute? | Symbolism | Project Expenditures | Project Update |