Tulku Sang-ngag | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

A Variety of Stupas

August 22, 2016 by Holly

An excerpt from a teaching called Cosmology of a Stupa by Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche

Stupas can be roughly divided into two categories – Theravada or Hinayana stupas, and stupas in the Mahayana tradition. There are further subdivisions of those stupas, with different shapes and designs.

In the Hinayana tradition, there are stupas that are roughly in the shape of the Buddha’s body, some in the shape of his robes, some in the shape of his alms or begging bowl, and some in the shape of his throne or in the shape of a staff. There are different renditions.

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In the Mahayana tradition, there are eight principle stupas. At the time after the Buddha was cremated, his relics were divided into eight piles and given to eight different great kings who made stupas for those relics. According to the great teacher, Nagarjuna, there are eight principle stupas that perform eight different functions.

These eight principle stupas in the Mahayana tradition commemorate the great deeds of the Buddha’s life, from the time when he was born till his passing into nirvana. For example, there is a stupa that commemorates his birth, that moment just after his birth when he took seven steps in the four directions. Each time he took a step, a lotus flower blossomed under his foot. And so, there is a stupa that commemorates the birth of the Buddha.

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There is a stupa that commemorates the fact that the Buddha studied a whole variety of topics in his youth and mastered them all. There is another stupa called the auspicious many-gated stupa. The Tashi Gomang stupa celebrates the fact that the Buddha descended back down from Tushita Pure Land, where he was teaching his mother.

In the Vajrayana tradition, the tantric vehicle, there are specific stupas that accomplish particular purposes. For example, there are the four main types of stupas for pacification. Some are to magnetize. Some are to increase, increase prosperity and merit, and others are for more wrathful activities. There are different shapes that the stupa can adopt, but the fundamental meaning is the same – stupas represent the enlightened body, speech and mind of the Buddha. The stupa primarily represents the enlightened mind of the Buddha.

Stupas and the Enlightened Mind

March 25, 2016 by Holly

Stupas

An excerpt from a teaching by H.E. Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Sedona, Arizona on May 14, 2003. Tulku Sang-ngag is a renowned Stupa Builder and Vajrayana master. In addition to the many stupas he has helped to build and consecrate in the US, Kunzang Palyul Choling was very fortunate to have Tulku Sang Nang guide the construction of the Amitabha Stupa, to consecrate it, and to teach on the meaning of a stupa to the Sangha.

The enlightened mind of the Buddha

Before offering this Dharma teaching on the meaning of the stupa, I would like first to offer homage to the Three Jewels – the Supreme and Unsurpassed Guide, the Buddha; the teachings that the Buddha taught, the Holy Dharma; and the followers of the teaching, the Sangha. I offer homage to those three. And then to the Unsurpassed Guide, my personal teacher, who is the embodiment of all of those three in one single form. I am offering this teaching on the meaning of a stupa in accord with Jetsunma’s wishes.

That which is known as a stupa is called a “chorten” in Tibetan. A chorten means a receptacle of offerings. A stupa actually represents an outward expression of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech and mind. First of all, we have the Buddha’s mind. The Buddha’s mind is such that it is non-composite phenomena. It has neither shape nor color, but it is all knowing. It is cognizant and lucid and yet you cannot identify it as being anything whatsoever. The Buddha’s mind is unelaborated cognizance.

In order to address the predicament that all sentient beings find themselves in, to tame those beings and bring them on the path to enlightenment, the Buddha has manifested in two specific forms in an effortless manner. In a non-artificial and natural manner, he manifests in two types of bodies. That state of the pure potentiality of enlightenment, that is the state of being a Buddha, is something, which is beyond any kind of representation. It is beyond having color or a shape or a size or any kind of form. That authentic state of enlightenment, which is yet to manifest, is the genuine stupa. It is the genuine stupa of basic space, “cho kyi ying,” which means the sphere of Dharma, the sphere of pure potential. That is what is known as the authentic stupa before the onset of manifestation. It is the potentiality. It is the actual state of enlightenment that we are talking about before it is actually manifest.

The state of basic space, the Dharmadhatu, manifests a display of appearances, which are spontaneously present, complete, and perfect. Because that basic space is an unhindered display of dynamic energy, a variety of stupas manifest in the four directions in order to benefit beings.

The state of the Buddha’s mind is such that it has the 32 qualities of enlightenment. They are the ten powers and the ten states of fearlessness and so on. Those 32 qualities of the enlightened mind of the Buddha manifest outwardly as the 32 characteristics of a physical stupa. They are actually a physical representation of those internal qualities of the Buddha’s mind.

Blessings of a Stupa

July 9, 2012 by Holly

An excerpt from the teaching “Cosmology of a Stupa” given by Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche

Swayambhu

You might wonder, “Is this tradition of erecting stupas something that stems from the historical Buddha Shakyamuni?” If you really investigate it, you will find that actually, there were stupas that appeared prior to Buddha Shakyamuni. During the time of the third Buddha, Dipankara, there were numerous stupas erected.

There is a long history of stupa making in this world. For example, there is a very famous stupa in the Kathmandu Valley at Svayambhu. Svayambhu means the “Spontaneously Self-Arisen” stupa. During the time of the second Buddha, Marme-dze, that stupa was said to have dwelled in the sky on the top of the mountain. It was floating in space. And then during the time of the third Buddha, Dipankara, the stupa went below ground. And then during the fourth Buddha, Shakyamuni, the most recent Buddha, this stupa emerged so that half of it was out of the ground and half of it was still in the ground.

This stupa in Svayambhu is truly a miraculous stupa. It is famed as being an amazing stupa. In the sixth Nepalese month, which would be the fourth western month, there is a great celebration on the full moon. After that, you can actually see a reflection of the stupa in the sky. Whether you are Buddhist or non-Buddhist, everyone can witness the appearance of this stupa in the sky.

Stupas were also created during the lifetime of Shakyamuni Buddha. In fact, the very text for consecrating stupas came from words spoken directly by the Buddha. It is known as the “Sutra of the Twofold Purity.” Of the various teachings that that Buddha gave, some of them came directly out of his topknot. Others emanated. And some were spoken orally. This is one of those teachings that was an oral transmission, and is considered to be a very sacred practice for consecrating land.

This teaching on how to consecrate land is called the “Twofold Purity Practice” because one of the two recipients of the teaching was a child of the gods known as Vimala Ratna, and the other was a human known as Sakya Chandra.

Here is the background of this Brahmin, Sakya Chandra. Initially he was a great practitioner of the Tirtika tradition who held a bit of animosity towards the Buddhists. One day this Brahmin received a prediction from a deity saying that in seven days his life would come to an end. This really perturbed him and he set about looking for some way to protect himself from that fate – some kind of method or practice. But he couldn’t find any.

He started to run out of options. His search led him to consider going to the Buddha. He reflected on that. He wondered if he should do that or not, because prior to that time, he had been so antagonistic towards the Buddha. He had been an enemy of the Buddhist teachings. He was at a crossroads, wondering what to do. But then he thought, “Well, Buddhists are compassionate and maybe they will take pity on me, and I can get some advice on how to get out of this predicament.”

He decided that he would go to see the Buddha, and so he went off to the Jetavana Grove where the Buddha was teaching a group of people. When he got close, he saw that there were lots of people attending the teaching. He felt very self-conscious. He was thinking, “Gosh, I was an archenemy of the Buddha’s teachings. Now I am walking right into the center of this enormous audience of people while the teaching is going on. I can’t do that.” He lost his courage and scurried off behind a wall and started crying about his fate. The Buddha finished teaching, and said, “Over there is a wall and behind that wall there is a person who is very upset. Bring him to me.”

The Buddha said to this fellow, “You have something to tell me. What is it? The clock is ticking.” And this guy says, “Well, in seven days I am predicted to pass away. Is this actually true that I am going to pass away in seven days? Is there anything that I can do?”

The Buddha said, “Yes, in fact, it is true. But it gets worse. After you pass away, you are going to take on numerous bad rebirths and finally, you are going to plummet into the lowest hell realm.”

Sakya Chandra was already freaked out about dying, and now in addition, he had to worry about all those negative rebirths. He was so completely overwhelmed that he passed out.

Finally when Sakya Chandra revived, the Buddha said, “Actually, there is something that you can do about this situation. There is a method that you can employ to counteract this whole thing. You don’t have to actually experience this. You just need to employ this method.”

The Brahmin was so elated to hear this news, that there was something that he could actually do to counteract his circumstance. The Buddha then said to him, “Near here there is a stupa from a previous Buddha. This stupa is dilapidated and run down. What you should do is restore that stupa.” And so the Buddha gave him instructions on how to do that, how to draw the mandalas, what scriptures to write, how to put in the life wood, which is the axial wood that goes into the center of the stupa, how to insert it, and what to write and carve on it.

Then the Buddha declared that not only would his life span be restored, but also he would close the door to the lower realms and eventually reach the higher realms of Akanishta Pure Land, the highest Pure Land, where he would achieve incredible qualities of enlightenment. The Brahmin, Sakya Chandra, went straight away and started to repair the stupa. He didn’t even go home. He went straight there and started the work.

Along with that teaching, the Buddha gave another called the Complete Elucidation on How to Accomplish Everything, as well as the Wheel that Fulfills All of One’s Wishes or Desires. There is a long ceremony and mantra associated with that,. It is a practice that one can perform in order to do that. The Buddha declared that the erecting of a stupa had numerous qualities. It was an efficacious means whereby one could accumulate a massive store of merit and wisdom.

The Buddha said that the individual who erects a stupa is blessed by all the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas. That person receives the blessings of the enlightened ones. If one creates a stupa that is a reliquary for ringsel (Ringsel are indestructible sacred relic pills that appear from the ashes of enlightened beings), then all the bodhisattvas bless that person. One will have the good fortune of seeing the face of the enlightened ones. One will be an object of homage of all the gods, such as Brahma and Vishnu and Indra. All these enlightened beings – the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas – and also the mundane gods will commit themselves to protecting you because you have really enhanced the benefit of those who are on the path to enlightenment.

The image of the Swayambhunath Stupa above came from the Rigpa Shedra Wiki

The Merit of Stupa Building

July 6, 2012 by Holly

Amitabha Stupa in Sedona

An excerpt from the teaching, “Cosmology of a Stupa” given by Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche on the occasion of the consecration of the Amitabha Stupa in Sedona, Arizona

This tradition of building stupas was passed down in India and finally reached Tibet. It was brought to Tibet by the very first Buddhist master to arrive there, Shantarakshita. He was a very great abbot who was the first to teach the Dharma in Tibet. At that time, all of the rituals and all the ceremonies related to building a stupa were translated and established by Shantarakshita. This was prior to the arrival of Guru Rinpoche.

Shakyamuni Buddha taught King Tsaldyor about the incredible benefits that one could derive from both erecting a stupa. There is also a discussion by the Buddha on the benefits of circumambulating a stupa, going around a stupa in order to accumulate merit.

It is said that when building a stupa, if you simply offer a handful of sand and place it in the mortar, that handful of sand is equivalent to offering many thousands of ounces of gold to the enlightened ones. It is equivalent in merit. If you labor at making a stupa, whether for work or play even if you are just sitting there drawing a rendition of the stupa, you make a connection with it. There is contact made and by virtue of having contact, you are connecting with enlightenment, so you receive a blessing. You accumulate merit.

There is a story that illustrates this. In one of the Buddha’s previous lifetimes there were these seven bugs that lived on a leaf of a tree that was beside a lake. And in the middle of that lake there was a stupa. One day, that leaf just broke off the tree, floated down to the water and then was blown around the stupa a few times, and then finally the bugs drowned. But because they went around the stupa a few times, they received a blessing. Traditionally it is said that the seed of liberation was planted in their mind stream. And because there was that seed present, it had to ripen and eventually after a few lifetimes, all those bugs awakened to enlightenment by virtue of the fact that they accumulated that merit.

By seeing a stupa or hearing about a stupa, remembering it, visualizing it, whatever the case may be, any kind of connection will imbue you with a blessing, will connect you to enlightenment. Whether a bug, a human, or an animal without a body just floating through space, any being that comes in contact with a stupa will be blessed and gain merit.

A stupa can be considered an outward symbol that the Buddha’s teachings endure. The stupa is a representation of the Buddha. Even now, the original Buddha’s stupa is still there in Bodh Gaya in Behart, north central India. And it is an object of homage for countless people. Every year, hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of pilgrims visit there to pay respects and to offer prostrations. A stupa, as a symbol that represents the Buddha, is treated as such. Numerous monks and nuns go there to receive ordination, blessings and so on. There are people from Thailand and Hong Kong and Japan, and from all over the world who go there to see that stupa and receive the blessings.

In the past, there have been many stories of relics appearing from these stupas. As mentioned earlier, there is that phenomenon known as ringsel, the small relic pills, which would spontaneously be emitted from the stupa. Sometimes it even rained from the sky in the vicinity of the stupas, such as the stupas in Boudnath and Svayambhu. There are numerous stories. But these days it is not happening as frequently as it used to in the past. This might be because of the change in the times. Due to corruption or degeneration, it is not as frequent as it used to be.

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I really enjoy working with stupas, creating them, helping in their construction. So far, in the States, I have helped with 13 stupas, and all together more than 20 stupas. The reason why is because stupas are really such great phenomena. If you are building a temple or something like that, then it is kind of a mixed bag. There is administration. You have to manage things. It is a great thing to do, but it can be complicated, because you are involved with people and all sorts of things can happen. Whereas with a stupa, right from the word go, everything is very virtuous. It is simple. A stupa is expressly made for virtue, so that people can pay homage, so that they can accumulate merit and receive a blessing.

It is a very simple and very straightforward matter. Right from the onset, it is all about virtue. In the interim it is about virtue and at the end, it’s all about virtue. With other things, you have to manage the money, the people, and the upkeep. With a temple you never know where it is going, but with a stupa, it is straightforward and clear cut.

In their final testaments to the people of Tibet, Guru Rinpoche and Shantarakshita said that the problems of cyclic existence could be remedied through the medium of a stupa, because there are so many different types of stupas that address different problems. For example, when things really degenerate, and we find ourselves now at the time known as the five types of degeneracy. For times of conflict, there is a type of stupa that works as a counteragent to conflict by creating harmony. There are stupas that remedy diseases, plagues, famines, and poverty.

There are a wide variety of stupas to address all the different problems that we have in this world. For example, if a country is suffering from intense poverty, then you would erect a Dzambala palace stupa, which is similar to the palace of Dzambala itself; and because of the law of interdependence, we have created the auspicious interdependent coincidence for poverty to be alleviated and to create wealth. This is how these stupas actually function – through the law of interdependence.

There are all kinds of stupas that work with different situations. There is the stupa that represents the enlightened body, speech and mind. For beings who wish to achieve complete awakening, who aim for realization of absolute truth and liberation, then one of those types of stupas would be created and homage paid to it.

It is in light of the fact that there are so many virtues, so many great qualities connected with the stupas that when I heard that the sangha here had made so many stupas before and wished to make some more, that I was completely overjoyed. I really rejoice in this kind of activity. It is my favorite thing to do. It is the thing I feel the most enthusiasm towards. Out of all the different things that I can do, I love creating stupas and helping with their construction.

Actually, last year, I thought that I would change the way I do things and concentrate on my work in Montana, and not go around too much. But when I heard that there was a stupa to be made, I couldn’t help myself. I feel that whenever it is related to a stupa, I am always available. I want to commit myself to helping develop this stupa. I feel very strongly about it. I am full of enthusiasm. I have made this commitment now.

All of you who are engaged in the work of erecting the stupa, please remain in your commitment to that. Don’t deviate from your commitment. And also, all of your work should be imbued with love and compassion for all beings. It should be motivated by that precious bodhicitta. That is really of primary importance. Then the merit and wisdom will be beyond measure.

Whether you are working to build the stupa or made an offering or whether you simply rejoice in such good activity and the presence of a stupa like that, if you are motivated by compassion and love, and if compassion completely infuses your whole being and you make aspiration prayers that all beings benefit by the presence of having a stupa there, then the merit and the blessing can’t be measured. That is very important. Our lives are very short. We could pass away at any time. But the stupa is something that really endures. So, it is incredibly meaningful to relate to the stupa. It is something that remains present in this world. It could be hundreds of years, thousands of years; it could be a very long time. All during that time, beings are receiving blessings, and merit is accumulated. One’s aspiration prayers are constantly being fulfilled. It is enduring, ongoing phenomena. The effect of it is immense and the implications are incredible.

If you want to multiply your virtue endlessly, connect with a stupa. I am completely rejoicing and thank everybody who is involved with that.