The several names of a Stupa

An important Bhuddhist structure, the Stupa, is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics. The word ‘stupa’ is a Sanskrit word, in Pali, the language that Gautama Buddha used for teaching the Buddhist religion, the related word is ‘thupa’.  In the Thai language, it is more commonly known as ‘chedi’, which is related to the Pali word, ‘cetiya’.  In a more colloquial Thai, or the northeastern dialect, it is also know as ‘pra that’, which is related to the Sanskrit word, ‘dhatu’, for which the Sinhalese’s name for the stupa, “dagobah’ is derived from.  In Tibet, the stupa is known as a ‘chorten’.  In Koren, Vietnam, China and Japan, they are known as ‘Tap’, ‘Thap', 'Ta', and 'To', respectively.

 

Shwegaddon Pagoda, Myanmar

In Myanmar, the stupa is more commonly known as ‘pagoda’, the general English term for tiered tower with multiple eaves. According to wikipedia, the word is first attested for in English in the period c. 1625–35; introduced from the Portuguese pagode, temple, from the Persian butkada (but idol + kada temple, dwelling.)  Another etymology, found in many English language dictionaries, is modern English pagoda from Portuguese (via Dravidian), from Sanskrit bhagavati, feminine of bhagavat "blessed" bhaga "good fortune."

The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on many diverse forms as details specific to different regions are incorporated into the overall design.  After his conversion to Buddhism in the third century BC, King Ashoka had several thousand stupas build across the Mauryan empire. According to Brahmi, Kharoshti, Pali and Sanskrit edicts Ashoka The Great  founded 84,000 stupas all over the south Asia.

 

Advanced engineering techniques and knowledge, for example the use of lightning conductors, were used and shared across cultures in their construction. Numerous stupas across South and Southeast Asia have been standing undamaged for a thousand years or two.

A stupa is essentially made up of a square base, a hemispherical dome, a conical spire, a crescent moon, and a circular disc, representing the five purified elements which constitute the fabric of manifest existence.  The elements are earth, water, fire, air and space. The shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace, and the base is his throne.

To build a stupa, transmission and ceremonies from a monk is necessary.  Which kind of stupa to be constructed in a certain area, is decided together with the teacher assisting in the construction. Some times the kind is directly connected with events that have taken place that certain area.  All stupas contain a treasury filled with various objects.

A very important element in every stupa is the Tree of Life. It is a wooden pole covered with gems and thousand of mantras, and placed in the central channel of the stupa.  It is placed here during a ceremony or initiation, where all the participant hold colorful ribbons connected to the Tree of Life. Together all make their most positive and powerful wishes, which are stored in the Tree of Life. In this way the stupa is charged up, and will start to function.

There are eight kinds of stupas which are related to major events of the Buddha’s life, however, a ninth, the Kalachakra Stupa’s symbolism relates to Tibetan Kalachakra Tantra, is created to protect against negative energies.  A Kalachakra Stupa was built in Karma Guen, Benalmádena city, Spain in 1994.

If it had not been for King Ashoka

The visit of cvltvre's colleagues to India prompted me to reread the few books I had about that great country, especially one written by John Keay, "India Discovered: The Recovery of a Lost Civilation".

My favorite chapters were "Thus Spake Ashoka" and "Black and Time-Stained Rocks", about how James Prinsep, a British official sent to work at the mint in Bengal in 1819, who was key to the deciphering of then unknown scripts found on impressive polished sandstone pillars and boundary stones scattered over an area so wide it was challenging to imagine who had done such a remarkable feat.

from flickr, photographer: Sunaina Suneja.

Nowadays, we know that these remarkable pillars and edicts were left by King Ashoka two thousand years ago, forgotten until it caught the intrigue of British enthusiasts in the early nineteenth century.

King Ashoka (304 BC-232BC), who had signed these edicts as "Devam Piya Priyadasi Raja", was grandson of Chandragupta (also known in ancient Greece as Sandracottus), founder of the Mauryan Empire.

Ashoka was a terrible warrior, and in his rage for the murder of his mother, he not only murdered his half-brothers who had schemed against him, but also killed some 100,000 people of Kalinga. However, once the war was over, the sight of such destruction sickened him to the heart and turned him to pursue ahimsa (non-violence) and thus became the greatest patron of then relatively new religion of Buddhism, building temples, hospitals, universities, irrigation systems, sending monks to many parts of the world to spread its teaching.

King Ashoka convened the Third Buddhist Council, led by his brother, an ordained monk, in 250-253 BC. He also sent his own son and daughter to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to spread the teachings of Buddha where it has never faded out as it had in India soon after his death. Historically significant for Thailand (where I am from) was sending of Sohn Uttar Sthavira, a royal monk and many other with sacred texts to Suvannabhumi (Burma and Thailand) around 228 BC.

The following entry in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great) explains how important King Asokha was for Thai culture:

"One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka Maurya was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Throughout Theravada Southeastern Asia, the model of ruler ship embodied by Ashoka replaced the notion of divine kingship that had previously dominated (in the Angkhor kingdom, for instance). Under this model of 'Buddhist kingship', the king sought to legitimize his rule not through descent from a divine source, but by supporting and earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha. Following Ashoka's example, kings established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom. Many rulers also took an active role in resolving disputes over the status and regulation of the sangha, as Ashoka had in calling a conclave to settle a number of contentious issues during his reign. This development ultimately lead to a close association in many Southeast Asian countries between the monarchy and the religious hierarchy, an association that can still be seen today in the state-supported Buddhism of Thailand and the traditional role of the Thai king as both a religious and secular leader."

New Year 2007

I was in Thailand since November, and am now in Mexico, have a lot to write about but no time.

Just to mark the new year, I would like to post the following text by
Mettanando Bhikku sent to me by an old friend I met in Bangkok. Happy New Year to all!

THE YEAR AHEAD: Buddha's blessings for the 'double James Bond year 2-007'

Nothing in the world takes place without meaning; and there are always reasonsbehind every event. This belief is shared by most religious traditions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and others. Hinduism, in particular, deeply holds that names and numbers are holders of the elements intrinsic to particular persons and events. Therefore, names are very important.

Following this line of thought, the upcoming year of 2007 can, indeed, be very adventurous, as it does not only mean the 2007th Year of Our Lord, but also the double James Bond Year.

As the curtain on the Year of the Dog 2006 draws to a close, it leaves many items of unfinished business; some will be neglected and forgotten while others will escalate into crises to threaten the world.

As the momentum of the Year of the Dog is being transferred to the Year of the Pig, certain factors will determine the course of life of millions on the rollercoaster's rails of public conspiracy, concealment, surprises and adventures. 2007 will be a golden year for those who believe in the Chaos Theory, wherein humankind is moving closer. On the bright side, 2007 will be a good year of creativity, heroism and bold international operations.

In spite of the upcoming uncertainties and adventures, the teachings of the Lord Buddha will be the refuge and security of mind for millions. Since the Buddha said explicitly that the mind is the leader of all things, when the mind is beautiful, life is also beautiful. Beauty of life depends on the beauty of mind. Having said that, it does not mean that problems are to be seen as a part of the beauty. When problems are solved we add more beauty to our lives. The more beauty we add to our lives, the more beauty we add to the whole world.

The key to success in life is wisdom; that paves the way to proper approaches to problems, the so-called dukkha in Buddhism. The word is often mistranslated in English as ''suffering'' or ''pain''. This leads to a pessimistic interpretation of Buddhism as a whole. In practice, Buddhists tend to have a dread of dukkha and are inclined to let go of dukkha as they feel that it is the only way possible. Etymologically, dukkha has nothing to do with pain or suffering. It actually means ''a bad space'', which is a technical term employed by craftsmen to describe a phenomenon when two objects which are supposed to fit in with each other fail to do so. The idiom, ''To put a square peg into a round hole'', appropriately describes
the original meaning of the word dukkha.

Therefore, dukkha should neither be seen as something frightening or worrisome. Rather, the Buddha told us that dukkha is a challenge that we all should strive to overcome. The way to achieve this potential is neither through fate nor arbitrary means, but via a systematically approached set of principles called the Four Noble Truths. These Truths mandate the detection of dukkha and its root cause(s), which then permits their eradication based on the practical protocol it suggests: the Fourth Truth, which is the Eight-Fold Noble Path.

Dukkha if left unattended becomes a catalyst for decadence of all kinds: mental, personal and social. The best way to deal with dukkha is by protection: identify its future trends and nip it in the bud before it can trigger further decay.

Through the lens of the Four Noble Truths, reality is a dynamic network of causality, a complex chain of cause and effect. Nothing came to existence without cause and when an effect is produced, it simultaneously affects other phenomena to rise.

2006 has seen many unfinished dukkhas, both at the global and national levels.

Regarding environmental issues, governments of many countries, especially the European Union, are aware of the looming disaster of global warming. The trend of climatic change is clear, and it is getting worse every year. While EU countries are trying to impose a ''green tax'' on their people to curb the continuous rise of greenhouse gases, the United States has remained quiet even though its energyconsumption is proportionally triple that of other developed countries.

Terrorism and the crisis in Iraq still remain unresolved issues of the world, not to mention the building up of nuclear capabilities of North Korea and Iran, which can easily tip the military balance of the world forever.

Domestically, more social unrest is looms for Thailand. Drafting of the new constitution can easily spark off another political crisis, whereas the investigations into corruption cases by the government is hardly leading to any clear conclusion. The influence of the deposed prime minister lingers on in many institutions and can cause further instability for the government at any time.

Consider the meaning of 007: a licence to kill. But the licence to kill also implies the opposite: the licence to preserve and enhance future life.

So, as we approach the ''double James Bond year'' when all uncertainties are possible, Buddhists can have no greater blessing than the Dharma. With ''Life is Beauty'' well established in our hearts, all dukkha can be systematically solved with hope, courage and creativity. It is a good time to renew our way of thinking for the good of our health and beauty in our heart. Always look to the bright side of life!

Mettanando Bhikkhu is a Thai Buddhist monk and a former physician. He studied at Chulalongkorn University, Oxford and Harvard, and received a PhD from Hamburg. He is special adviser on Buddhist affairs to the secretary-general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

Stories about uncommon common people of Thailand

As I start to get into the hang of writing for this blog, I've come to realize somewhere along the way that history didn't need to be just stories about the big and famous, leaders of of the nation, or important events. Records of common happenings might just as well reveal a lot about a culture's pysche.

This story linked and quoted below from Bangkok Post, is for a friend of mine who reads my blog on and off. I hope he's reading this one.

Life-giving library

Why would a young, successful businessman feel empty and suicidal after reaping a profit of more than 10 million baht from his direct-sales business? And what did he do with that money?

He sought solace in the Lord Buddha's dharma, or teachings.