Boudhanath Stupa is the largest and most famous Buddhist Stupa in Nepal. Boudhanath Stupa is a religious center for Buddhist people which is located the center in Kathmandu. This largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal lies about 8 km to the east of downtown Kathmandu. It is located on flat land and encircled by houses & monasteries, where Rinpoches reside.
The tale about the Bouddha Stupa is significant, and it is unimaginably moving. Hearing it, you will truly comprehend the advantages of circumambulating it, cleaning it, and clearing it the entire day and night. The stupa was worked by a mother, Jadzima, who took care of her chickens.
They were a very poor family, I think. She needed to fabricate a stupa, without a doubt, so she approached the ruler of Nepal for authorization to get the land. Regularly, the lord wouldn’t give such consent, however some way or another, possibly because of her karma, the ruler stated, “OK, it tends to be finished.”
This just slipped out of his mouth. This is the reason the Tibetans call it “Jarung Kashor Chörten.” Jarung is “it very well may be done,” and kashor is “slipped out of the mouth.” That’s the name of the Boudhanath Stupa. Chörten implies stupa.
This colossal Stupa is set on concentric ascending terraces in the powerful pattern of a Mandala. Boudhanath Stupa is the center of Tibetan culture in Nepal. The stupa, well known as Khasti, is also known as the World Heritage Site. The 36-meter-high Stupa of Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in South Asia.
Boudhanath Stupa
Boudhanath also called or spelled Baudhanath, Bodnath, Boudha, Khāsa Chaitya, and is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world. Boudhanath “Boda” means “Buddha”, “Buddhist”, “Wisdom”, and “Nath” means “master”, “God”, etc. It consists of a triple base and a 27m diameter stone dome on which Buddha’s wisdom eyes are drawn overlooking the four sides.
From the top of the tower, a flag called “Tarucho”, reminiscent of a universal flag, hangs in all directions, creating a unique atmosphere. The massive Boudhanath stupa, which dominates the northeastern horizon of the city center is 11 km away. It is one of the largest semi-spherical stupas in the world and the most sacred Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. It is said that Buddha’s bone (Stabil) is buried in the center.
The influx of a large number of refugees from Tibet to the area led to the construction of more than 50 Gumbas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) around the stupa. Since 1979, Boudhanath has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, since it is part of the Kathmandu Valley site. Along with the temple and stupa of Swayambhunath, it is one of the most popular sites among tourists visiting the Kathmandu area.
The stupa proper – a golden quadrangular tower that rises 36 meters above the level of the square where it is located – rests on a huge Bahal. A great white platform with three levels in the form of a mandala. Approximately circular, 120 meters in diameter, it was inspired by one existing in Gyantse, in Tibet.
The platform occupies the center of a large circular square, surrounded by houses inhabited by Tibetan families and souvenir shops. The square is always traversed clockwise, following the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The temple is the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal.
The stupa lies on the ancient trading route from Tibet, which enters the Kathmandu valley through the village of Sankhu in the northeast corner. Passes through Boudhanath and proceeds to the oldest and smallest Cā-bahī stupa called “little Boudhanath”.
There it turns south, towards Patan, crossing the river Bagmati, not passing through the center of Kathmandu, a city of foundation more recent than the route. The Tibetan merchants rested and offered prayers in Boudhanath for many centuries. And when Tibetan refugees arrived in Nepal fleeing the Chinese invasion in the 1950s. Many decided to live near that sacred place, which is said to be the tomb of the Kassapa Buddha.
It is believed that the circumambulations around the stupa after a sin allow others to atone for their sins. The stupa had to be repaired in 2015 after the strong earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015 and destroyed the structure above the dome.
Buddhist stupas are sacred Buddhist sites that attract a large number of tourists because of their architectural beauty. The stupas are important both in the development of the Buddhist religion over the centuries and in the preservation of the heritage of religion. The stupas are found in different countries in Asia where Buddhism is widespread.
Bouddhanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal was renovated by Licchavi rulers in the eighth century. The Mandala design in Boudhanath Stupa is a copy of the one in Gyangtse in Tibet. There are more than 45 Buddhist monasteries in the area. The Bouddha Area Preservation & Development Committee runs an information center.
The Boudhanath Stupa is located in the area of the ancient trade route to Tibet where Tibetan merchants rested and offered prayers for many centuries. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around Boudhanath Stupa.
Hence, a complete township has developed around Bouddhanath. The Boudhanath Stupa is said to entomb the remains of a Kasyap sage venerable both to Buddhists and Hindus. Smaller stupas are located at the base. Gompa monasteries, curio shops, and restaurants surround Bouddhanath.
Because of its location and size, it seems much larger than the Swoyambhunath Stupa. This largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal, the same hemispherical dome symbolizing the emptiness from which everything emanates. On top of this largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal is the harmonica painted on each side with the eyes of the Buddha symbolizing awareness, and above the spire with its 13 stages to the canopy.
At ground level, there is a brick wall with 147 inches and 108 images of the meditational Buddha. Early morning and evening are the times to visit Bouddha to join the residents in kora (walking the pilgrim’s circuit, sometimes with Tibetan pilgrims on their hands and knees) Surrounding the stupa there are different monasteries belonging to different Buddhist sects.
Many tourists like to visit the Stupa for sightseeing and shopping for Tibetan handicrafts. During the full moon, Boudhanath is host to special religious activities. The Boudhanath Stupa stands on the massive three-level mandala-style platforms surrounded by colorful private family houses. The basic feature of this great stupa is very much like that of the Swoyambhunath stupa except for its final display.
It is much bigger than the Swoyambhu stupa and lies on the valley floor whereas the former one stands on the hilltop. This largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal is said to have been built in the 5th century A.D.
The site is considered very much like Mecca for Tibetan Buddhists and every year tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the Himalayan region visit the Boudhanath Stupa. According to a very popular legend, a long time ago the Kingdom of Kathmandu was under a terrifying draught.
King Dharma Deva was very worried. An astrologer advised him that only the sacrifice of an ideal man with 32 virtues in front of the dry royal water spout could make rainfall in the country.
So the following night he commanded his son to go to the dry water spout inside the royal palace compound at midnight and behead the person shrouded in a white robe without looking at him. The Prince obeyed his father, but, to his great horror, he found it was none other than his father.
Many people believe that Boudhanath Stupa was constructed in the fifth century, but definite proof is lacking. The stupa is said to entomb the remains of a Kasyap sage who is venerable both to Buddhists and Hindus.
One legend has it that a woman requested a Valley king for the donation of ground required to build a Boudhanath Stupa. She said she needed land covered by one buffalo’s skin and her wish was granted by the King. She cut a buffalo skin into thin strips and circled off a fairly large clearing. The king had no choice but to give her the land.
The mother passed away after she finished up to the vase, the vault-like structure. She had four children, and they finished the remainder of the stupa. After they completed it, they all stood up before it and made supplications. Everybody produced a desire.
When they were supplicating, every one of the buddhas and bodhisattvas consumed into the stupa, which is the reason the name of the stupa is additionally “Widely inclusive.” It’s additionally called wish-satisfying. Why? Since it is powerful to the point that the desires of anyone who makes supplications to the stupa are satisfied.
Particularly when you see the stupa for the absolute first time, whatever you petition God for, it will succeed. Indeed, even from the plane; the first occasion when you see it, you should do your best supplication. One Brazilian pious devotee, a Kagyu, knew this story.
When she saw the stupa out of the blue, she made a supplication to have the option to fabricate religious communities. When she returned, everything occurred. She made arrangements and had the option to assemble. There are different stories like this.
Anyway, when the siblings were remaining before the stupa, the most established sibling made a supplication, “May I become a Dharma lord in Tibet, the Snow Land.” The following sibling heard his petition and stated, “May I become a priest to enable him to spread the Dharma.”
The following child made the supplication, “May I be an abbot to pass on the ancestry of appointments in Tibet.” And the following one made a petition, “May I become a ground-breaking yogi when there are hindrances to spreading Dharma in Tibet.”
In the following life, at that point, the most seasoned sibling turned into the Dharma lord Songtsen Gampo in Tibet; he was the Dharma ruler who had two princesses who brought the statues of Shakyamuni Buddha – one is present at the Jokhang and the other at the Ramoche. He did incredible exercises to profit every conscious being, and I think he additionally fabricated the Jokhang.
The second sibling turned into a priest in Tibet [Padma Gungtsen]. The third sibling turned into an abbot [Shantarakshita], and the fourth sibling progressed toward becoming Padmasambhava. When they were building the principal religious community in focal Tibet, Samye, amid the day the general population would manufacture, and afterward around evening time spirits would tear it down.
One of the clergymen proposed that they welcome Padmasambhava from India. When he came he showed as a divinity called, I think, “Controlling the Three Realms.” This god snared the spirits and repressed them, making them vow to progress toward becoming Dharma defenders. So they remained around him on the mountain to secure the Dharma in Tibet.
Along these lines, Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet has spread and been safeguarded for a long time, thus numerous creatures have realized the way and turned out to be illuminated.
What’s more, along these lines, Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism has spread everywhere throughout the world. Indeed, even in the West, a large number of thousands of individuals consistently can pursue the way to edification, make their lives important, and discover harmony and joy.
Counting us: we get the opportunity to rehearse the lam-edge and can do sanitization consistently, in this way winding up ever nearer to freedom from samsara and edification by gathering the three primary parts of the way to illumination and, what’s more, the tantric stages to enable us to accomplish edification rapidly.
Every one of these open doors that we and numerous others have in our regular daily existence, this advantage, has originated from Bouddha Stupa.
What is a stupa?
A stupa is a Buddhist monument generally constructed to commemorate certain events in the life of a Buddha. To keep important sacred relics and to bury the remains of monks and other holy personalities related to Buddhism. The construction of stupas dates from the 2nd or 3rd century when they were mainly mounds of earth used to bury the Buddha.
Most of these stupas wear out over time. The most durable stupas were built for the first time during the 4th century. There are five types of stupas based on the functions for which they are created. The stupa’s relics serve as Buddha and the place of burial of the disciple.
The stupas of objects that house objects of sacred importance to Buddhism that belonged to the Buddha or his disciples. The memorial stupas are constructed in memory of the important events of the life of a Buddha or that of his disciples. The symbolic stupas symbolize various religious components of Buddhist theology and the votive stupas are constructed in the sites of the most visited stupas.
Various forms of stupas can be found all over the world, from India and China to Russia and America. After all, they were built together with the spread of Buddhism. The variety of stupas, their forms, and their purposes should not confuse us.
Their appearance, on the one hand, reflects the Buddhist teachings practiced in the area. On the other hand, local color and architectural preferences found their embodiment in it. The variety of Buddhist schools and trends found expression in the appearance of stupas, pagodas, Suburbans, and chortens.
But their essence remains the same: on a symbolic level, to show practitioners the path to Liberation and Enlightenment. To allow them to make offerings, to help cleanse themselves from negative impressions, and to increase positive, nurturing merit and wisdom.
A stupa is composed of 5 elements, each of which represents one of the cosmic elements: a square base (earth), a hemispherical dome (water). A conical needle (fire), a crescent moon (air), and some discs concentric or chakras.
It is said that it was also an abstract form of representation of the crowned Buddha and meditating on a throne. Since initially and until the contact with Alexander the Great and the Hellenic culture, the anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha were forbidden. In China, Korea, and Japan, the stupa evolved as a pagoda, which, although with a different form, shares the 5 symbolic elements.
Buddhist Stupas: Miracles and Facts
The stupa is an unusual architectural structure, which has strict geometric proportions, characteristic decorations, and complex content. The builders of stupas say that a properly constructed stupa protects the world from wars, has a beneficial effect on the surrounding area, people, and animals.
Lyuli, who live near stupas, is convinced of this from their own experience. Stupas were built in India, Nepal, Tibet, and other countries. There are modern stupas in Russia, Spain, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, and the USA. And stupas continue to appear around the world.
It is an architectural structure, it is a monument, it is an ancient form of burial, as well as a method of working with harmful energies of the area. A repository of relics of great teachers and help in Buddhist meditation practice. For us, the main thing is how stupas are related to us, the inhabitants of the modern world, embraced by their cares and passions.
For us, a stupa is, firstly, a symbol of the spread of Buddhism in the world. And secondly, a concentrated positive energy that we can use. Next, to the stupas, we can make good wishes for the benefit of all. They will surely come true, perhaps not immediately, not the next day, but when conditions are ripe, it all depends on what wishes they are.
If we think about making wishes, we build our future. And by making wishes near the stupa, we multiply their strength. Therefore, it is good to make really important wishes that will benefit all. We can also bypass the stupa in a clockwise direction and repeat the mantra OM MANI PEME HUNG – a wish of happiness to all beings.
What is Boudha?
The title of Buddha (Sanskrit term बुद्ध buddha “awakened”, passive past participle of the verbal root budh-, “awaken”), refers to a person having, notably by his wisdom. He who achieved enlightenment, that is, attains nirvana (according to the Hinayana or transcends the duality samsara.
Buddha is not a name but a title. He is given to a Buddhist who comes to true knowledge and is enlightened with it. Only he is freed from the eternal suffering of the world and the eternal cycle of rebirth, according to the beliefs of the Buddhists. After the death of his present body, he will find eternal happiness in nirvana.
The first Buddha was Siddharta Gautama. He lived in the Himalayas about 2500 years ago, is the founder of Buddhism and a great role model for all Buddhists. For Buddhists, it is the first of three jewels.
They are the pillars of Buddhism. Especially Mahayana Buddhists believe that many people can be Buddha. They believe that every person has the opportunity to be Buddha and only needs to develop it. Siddharta Gautama has exemplified the path to the realization of Buddhahood.
A stupa in Nepal is said to speak to the blessed personality of Lord Buddha. Each progression demonstrates the best approach to illumination. Everybody thinks about the “enormous eyes” yet what do the various parts mean?
Give us a chance to see the engineering of Boudhanath Stupa from the top and what it symbolizes.
- PINNACLE
This is the image of Mt. Sumeru which is the King of Mountains. The extraordinary “mountain over the mountains” lies at the focal point of the universe and is accepted as the home of divine beings.
- UMBRELLA
UMBRELLA is viewed as the defender of three gems; Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Simply over the umbrella lies a floated shade said to speak to the air.
- LOTUS
It symbolizes self-advancement, illumination, and virtue, since it is established in the mud, develops from filthy water, and without getting messy rises as an image of magnificence. It speaks to illuminated creatures, for example, Buddha himself and Bodhisattvas.
- THIRTEEN STEPS
The thirteen stages symbolize the thirteen conditions of Bodhisattva’s ground for the edification or “Bodhi” subsequently the name of the stupa. The triangular shape speaks to the flame.
- TWO BIG EYES
In the stupa, there are goliath sets of eyes watching out from the four sides of the primary pinnacle. These are the Buddha eyes and shrewdness eyes. The eyes of the Buddha in the stupa symbolize the all-powerful capacity of the Buddha.
- NOSE
The nose symbolizes Nirvana. It is additionally said to speak to the Nepali character for the number 1, symbolizing solidarity and the single direction to achieve edification.
- HARMIKA
It symbolizes the eight respectable ways. The eight honorable ways incorporate:
- Right view
- Right idea
- Right discourse
- Right activity
- Right vocation
- Right undertaking
- Right care
- Right reflective focus
- Petition FLAGS
The banners attached to the stupa vacillate in the breeze and is trusted that they convey mantras and supplications heavenward. The petition banners have 5 hues with the centrality of each.
White shading symbolizes immaculateness, the primordial being Green shading symbolizes harmony, security from damage Yellow shading symbolizes magnificence, riches Blue shading symbolizes information, arousing/edification Red shading symbolizes love, sympathy.
- Arch
The arch is the image of the universe or the vase of the fortune Mandala. It contains the gems of illumination, the water of time everlasting, and votive contributions to the divinities.
- MANDALA
The square Mandala portrays natural dimensions. The mandala is spoken to as an outer articulation to help discover the universe inside. Frequently, the mandala joins images or physical portrayals of the Buddha to demonstrate the change of the otherworldly adventure. In this manner, it is considered as the house of Lord Buddha.
- TWO CIRCULAR PLINTHS
The 2 roundabout plinths supporting the half of the globe of the stupa just beneath the arch over the stages speaks to water.
- THREE DECREASING PLATFORMS
The base of the stupa comprises of three huge stages, diminishing in size. These stages symbolize Earth, and from here you can watch out at the mountains while tuning in to the serenades of the lovers doing kora which is strolling around the stupa asking.
- THE DHYANI BUDDHAS
Four of the Dhyani Buddhas mark the cardinal focuses as in every Tibetan mandala, with the fifth, Vairocana, cherished in the inside (in the white half of the globe of the stupa). The five Buddhas additionally speak to the five components (earth, water, flame, air, and space/ether), which are spoken to in the stupa’s design.
The Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu was restored after the earthquake.
The Boudhanath stupa of Kathmandu (Nepal), one of its most iconic monuments, has been restored after the 2015 earthquake. It is one of the first Nepali heritage treasures recovered after the tragedy that devastated the country.
The reconstruction work has allowed recovering the upper part of the structure, in which the eyes of the Buddha are located, which was completely demolished after the earthquake. The works have been possible thanks to a local initiative that managed to raise 2.1 million dollars. Most of which were destined to the gold with which the upper pinnacle is covered.
After 30 kg of gold received from Tai Seetupa Rampochhe of Palpung Monastery of Kannada, India. The renovation work was easy. About 60 million rupees of manual labor have also been contributed to the renovation.
As soon as the renovation is completed, 19 cabinets of the stupa have been kept in a safe condition in the stupa area. During the renovation, these boxes were removed from the area and placed in the Buddhist Ghyang Guthi. What those boxes contain nobody knows.
When the Buddhists raised the sound that these boxes should not be opened, the box is kept in a dark area. These sealed boxes are built in Tibetan artisans, but there are some commonly known tags.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Boudhanath stupa is a wonder in itself that offers peace and serenity to each of its visitors. It doesn’t discriminate between the religious difference. Neither it discriminate between the skin color not which cast you belong. It welcomes everyone with its open arm. It keeps an eye on everything and everyone. The stupa teaches us to be pure in mind and the heart. It keeps us wise and keeps protecting us.
So that’s all you have to know about Boudhanath Stupa. If you think we missed a few points, then please make sure to write to us. Like and share our content.
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