The Meaning of the Stupa

 This talk was given in the warehouse at Windhorse:Evolution, December 2005

A circle is an ancient and universal symbol for humanity, indicating wholeness or completeness and defining a sacred space. Rituals which involve walking or dancing around in a circular motion are very common. And a circle with a dot at its' centre is another symbol. In the Indian tradition this dot is called bindu, which means a “ seed” or “drop”. It means the essence. In the Anuyoga of the Tantric tradition bindu means consciousness.

In Buddhism the mandala is an important symbol and at the centre of any mandala is its essence. The centre of the mandala is what's most important and everything else is arranged around that centre, in service to it. If the Buddha is at the centre of the mandala everything else in the mandala emanates from the Buddha and honours the Buddha, is in relationship to him. Looked at from above, a stupa and its surroundings constitute a mandala, a sacred space in which circular ritual occurs. The stupa itself is the dot, the bindu, the essence at the centre of the mandala. The mandala consists of the dot, the circle and a protective square around that. Usually a mandala has four gateways or entrances. In some traditions these symbolise the Four Immeasurables (Brahma Viharas); loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

A stupa symbolises the essence of what our lives are about and it is contained within a sacred and protective space. All of this can be seen in physical terms, but it only has meaning in symbolic terms. There is a physical stupa and a symbolic stupa, a physical space and a symbolic space. Although most people can see the physical object and space, not everyone will be able to see the symbolic stupa and the symbolic space. The world of symbols is the world of the imagination and the symbolism of mandalas and stupas are the language of a refined and receptive imagination.

There are different ways to think about a stupa. You could think about the historical development of the stupa and its architectural story in different cultures. You could think about its significance as a monument to the dead. Or you could look at it purely in terms of symbolism. Because symbolism is the language of imagination and of the non-rational, it is not possible to completely explain a symbol. A symbol has endless meanings. You can always open up to new levels of understanding and new depths of feeling in relation to a symbol. This is true of the stupa too. There is no one neat explanation of a stupa. It is not like a sign; say a no-smoking sign or men at work sign, which has only one meaning.

A symbol doesn't have any one meaning. A stupa doesn't have any one meaning. It has a multitude of meanings and it has many layers of meaning. The meaning of the stupa and the meaning of any symbol is closely connected with the state of consciousness of the person who comes into contact with it. But having knowledge about the stupa or any symbol helps us to become more receptive to its symbolism. It helps us to have a more feeling relationship with it. In the Tibetan tradition there are eight different kinds of stupa, each having its own symbolism centred around different events in the life of the Buddha. We won't go into all of that now. From a Buddhist perspective we consist of body, speech and mind and the stupa and its mandala can be looked at in terms of body, speech and mind too. It is probably most helpful to look at the stupa and its mandala in terms of consciousness and energy.

Consciousness is the sum total of our thoughts, emotions, imaginings, mental images and so on. This consciousness transformed into sound is our speech; speech includes writing, singing, or any mode of communication. Consciousness manifests through our body as activity. The world of created objects, buildings, cars, toys, computers, desks, rupas, is all a manifestation of collective human consciousness. All those things we see around us are what human consciousness looks like in this time and place. You could say that all the created objects and cultivated landscapes that we see around us are symbols of human consciousness. And a stupa is a symbol of human consciousness in a very concentrated form, it is an essence. Depending on which tradition you look at a stupa might symbolise the Enlightened mind; the highest state to which human consciousness can attain. Or it might symbolise stages of refinement or development of consciousness. I think it is more useful as a spiritual aid to see the stupa as symbolising progressive stages of consciousness. I'll go through these stages briefly and then look at the stupa in the context of its mandala and relate it all to body, speech and mind, and consider the significance for us of having a stupa here.

The lowest part of the stupa here is the base and not part of the stupa. It is a plinth for holding the stupa. Then there is a lotus and the first section of the stupa is on the lotus. This first section is associated with the earth element. Earth symbolises solidity, resistance, inertia, and fertility. The next section is associated with water. Water symbolises fluidity, flowing movement on one level, symbolic of action and reaction . The third section is associated with fire. Fire is heat and it rises upwards and is symbolic of inspiration, and aspiration toward an ideal. The next section is associated with air. Air can move in every direction simultaneously. Air is symbolic of radiating energy, compassionate activity, universal loving kindness. The final piece is the flaming drop which is associated with space, where every thing happens. This is the highest point. This is consciousness at its highest or most expansive.

These sections, one on top of the other, rising to a pinnacle, can be seen as a progressive refinement of energy and a progressive development of consciousness. Each level can be associated with a particular kind of activity, and a particular kind of communication and particular states of mind. Another way of seeing it is as levels of awareness and levels of loving kindness. The stupa is an image of each and every one of us. When you look at the stupa you see yourself, you see your friends, you see the people you don't like. The stupa is a symbol of every person. In the stupa you can see what you are, what level of consciousness you inhabit and you can see your potential. Conversely you could say that each person is a stupa. Each person contains within themselves either the potential or the actuality of what the stupa represents. In case this is too abstract for some of you, let's get down to what it means both individually and collectively in terms of body, speech and mind.

Before that though, just a few words about the mandala which the stupa stands at the centre of. When we circumambulate the stupa we are creating a sacred space. It is as if we are drawing a circle in the air with our bodies and the circle defines the sacred space around the stupa. What takes place within that circle is aimed at cultivating the progression of consciousness symbolised by the sections of the stupa. Beyond the circle is the rest of the mandala. The question is what is the symbolic significance of the rest of the mandala in relation to the stupa.

The space around the stupa is the protective mandala and as such everything in the space, everything that happens, is related to the stupa, even, you could say, an expression of the stupa. The space around the stupa is part of a process of gradually transforming energy and even of refining energy. And how we approach our life is also a process of transforming energy in both an individual and collective sense. Individually on the level of mind, we are trying to transform our thoughts, emotions and aspirations from being relatively self-centred to being both self and other centred and beyond that to transcending the distinction between self and other. We can elevate ourselves, our work, our life and progress up through the levels of consciousness, symbolised in the stupa, by means of our mental attitude to life.

We could be very resistant and consequently feel very tired and lacking in energy, experiencing the inertia of resistance to the reality of our life. This would keep us on the lower levels of the stupa, on the levels of the earth and water elements. Our life would then be a bit miserable and we would oscillate between feeling depressed and resentful and justifying that to ourselves, And perhaps feeling superior because of how justified we are in being resentful and depressed. And that kind of mental state would be expressed through our complaining speech and in our bodies which would feel sluggish and lacking in energy. That is the earth and water level of consciousness.

I think there are two main things we can do if we find ourselves in this kind of mental state. We can try to change the mental state or we can look for a more suitable environment to live in. Neither is easy. We can try to change the mental state by working on the mind directly through introspection and reflection. Or by working on our speech, through developing ethical awareness. Or by doing something to change our physical state, by engaging in yoga or martial art or something like that. Or it may be that none of that is quite enough and that we are simply in the wrong place or doing the wrong thing and need to find some different way of giving expression to our energy and aspirations. Of course this is not easy. When we are in a state of inertia or reactivity, everything seems impossible and we feel that we are a victim and can't do anything. This is a very difficult state to get out of. Sometimes therapy helps, sometimes talking with friends helps, sometimes a change in circumstances helps, sometimes some external happening shocks us out of it. A death or accident or illness shocks us into activity. But probably most important is recognising when you are in such a state of earth-like inertia and water reactivity and then desiring to move on. That desire can become an intention to do something.

When we are out of that state and in the state symbolised by the fire element, then we are in touch with our inspiration. We are motivated and our energy feels freer and it is easy to engage and even feel joy in our life and in all of our activities. Our verbal expression, our speech, becomes lighter and more friendly and helpful and physically we feel able to move about with a kind of lightness and our tiredness is just tiredness from effort and somehow satisfying. This is a pleasant state to be in and it makes life easier for us. The value of this from a spiritual perspective is that we become more able to reflect on our experiences and on what life is all about. We can begin to penetrate more deeply into reality. The danger is that we feel comfortable and complacent and don't make any effort to reflect or introspect. We are happy and content enough and don't feel any need to think about our life or reflect on the world about us. This level of consciousness,symbolised by the fire element, can be characterised by strong feelings of aspiration towards the ideal, inspiration, contentment but also possible complacency and a kind of refined selfishness.

When we are content and happy and inspired it is very important that we reflect. We need to reflect on our internal world, the fleeting thoughts and feelings, the dreams, the fantasies and we need to reflect on the external world of people, objects and events and how we experience them. As I said earlier, all of our environment is an expression of human consciousness, even a symbol of consciousness and the more we engage with it and reflect, the more deeply we will understand the nature of life, and the reality of life. Reflection and introspection like this can lead us into a vision of reality, an insight into the truth of life. It can lead us to wisdom. And this is where we pass into the level of consciousness symbolised by the air element.

This is characterised by energy that moves freely in all directions. In spiritual terms, this is compassionate activity. It is the Bodhicitta, the mind intent on Enlightenment for the sake of all. This is what wisdom or insight really is. It is the realisation, at a very deep level, that all life is interconnected and that what we do to any life form is done to ourselves. We are part of life, intimately and profoundly part of life, not separate from it. Spiritual ignorance is the egotism which persuades us that we are separate from life and from other people. Wisdom is the insight, the definite knowledge, that we are completely interconnected with all living things, through all time. And the outcome of this realisation or the expression of this realisation is compassion, which is what this level of the stupa symbolises. The air that invisibly nourishes and moves freely everywhere. Like air, there are no boundaries to compassion and no fanfare at its coming or going.

The top of the stupa, the flaming drop, symbolises the heights of human consciousness, the state of Enlightenment. It is a symbol full of mystery and without end. A stupa doesn't end and the flaming drop is there to symbolise its infinity, its continued and constant progression beyond language, beyond time, beyond space, beyond grasping. Your imagination and intuition has to take you to some glimpse of the vast firmament of cosmic consciousness. And this is the essence, this is the central point, from which everything emerges. This is what is at the centre of our lives. Our task as spiritual beings and aspiring Buddhas is to try to maintain an awareness of the connection between the flaming drop of Enlightenment and our daily activities, our daily thoughts and words. How can we do that? How can we bridge the gap between these lofty high ideas of wisdom , compassion, universal loving kindness and our ordinary everyday lives?

I could come up with some answers, both theoretical and practical, but it is really only you who can know what is feasible, bearing in mind your own capacities and abilities and the demands of your life. You need to work out what are the best practical steps you can take to help yourself to fulfil the promise and potential of the stupa. How you can be your own stupa riding up through progressive levels of consciousness and encouraging the release of energy and the arising of wisdom and compassion.