Sarah Chang

Ancient World
Legacy Project
Research Paper: Stupa
The Stupa: A Reminder of the Human Declination
The stupa is a monument that signifies a sacred space for
worship and meditation. Often, miniatures called votive stupas are
made for an individual who wants their own sacred space, or to
possess a personal connection, such as enclosing a relative/mentors
ashes. The Newark Academy Online Database, World History in
Context, states, You will find that the stupas are built to represent the
five elements of life the ground square base represents earth, the
large canopy represents the air, the round dome represents water, the
cone shape of the stupa represents fire and lastly, the volume of the
stupa represents space.

This excerpt directly encompasses my

eternal truth: the human connection with nature. I chose this eternal
truth because it is relevant to both the Ancient World and this present
era. It embodies many aspects of our culture today, whether we notice
it or not, and will definitely continue to be a large part of our society,
for as long as we live on this Earth.
1 "Stupas." World History In Context. Accessed May 3, 2015.
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=WHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&disp
layquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&u=livi93754&currPag
e=&disableHighlighting=false&di.

This particular artifact does not have a name; its number in the MET
collection is 1982.460.4, and is a member of Gallery 253. It is made
out of brass and is 8 and 5/16 inches, made approximately in the 13th
century, and the artist is unknown. There is no known historian
commentary on this individual piece, due to the fact that it is just one
of the millions of votive stupas made in the Ancient World. However,
some historians have made claims on the votive stupa as a general
idea. A Tibetan scholar, Jhunu Bagchi, states, TheTibetanwordfor

votivestupaischoten,meaningareceptacleforofferingsandimplyingsupport
forpeopletoexpressdevotionandconnectiontotheBuddhamind.2
The Buddhism religion tells the journey of an individual named the
Buddha, who experienced enlightenment and began a whole new life
preaching his beliefs to his followers. Despite the Buddhas death, his
teachings began to catch on, and as the world began to hear about this
brand new religion, demand for a connection with the Buddha
drastically increased. The Newark Academy Online Database, World
History in Context, states, According to legend, King Ashoka, the first
king to embrace Buddhism (he ruled over most of the Indian
subcontinent from c. 269 - 232 B.C.E.), created 84,000 stupas and

2 Bagchi, Jhunu. "The History and Culture of the Plas of Bengal and Bihar, Cir. 750
A.D.-cir. 1200 A.D." Google Books. Accessed May 15, 2015.
https://books.google.com/books?
id=J7RKoMeAtpUC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=historians: votive
stupas&source=bl&ots=y64q0YWtjX&sig=_EJ4ujj7BWY3YA0B1yU318X_vDM&hl=en&s
a=X&ei=SU9VVcLUIM38yQTG3IDwBw&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=historia
ns: votive stupas&f=fals.

divided the Buddhas ashes among them all.

During the time period,

there was also a lot of stress on the other existing religions. For
example, the Crusades Wars are taking place, which results in general
turmoil for Christians and Muslims. In England, Jews are hunted down
and suppressed. Meanwhile, in central western Asia, a new religion is
blossoming; a religion that preaches peace, equality, and a connection
with nature. Also, Tibet is gaining a lot of respect and popularity
through political power and influence. The Silk Road has begun to
spread from China to Tibet. The Buddhist Tibetans befriend the
Mongols, specifically Genghis Khan, in an attempt to make China aware
of Tibets power. Buddhist monasteries rule over Tibet as a viceroy for
Genghis Khan. The title Dalai Lama, pertaining to Buddhism, is
founded; dalai meaning ocean (referring to vast knowledge), and lama
meaning superior. An ultimate Dalai Lama, known to be a reincarnation
of a famous bodhisattva, is found as a Mongol Prince, and he reigns
over Tibet. As inferred from all these given facts above, Tibet has
grown popular and powerful through the spread of Buddhism.
Neighboring countries and forces, such as the Mongols, have realized
that in Tibet, an opportunity was born: Buddhism, and that they
needed to take advantage of that right away. Buddhisms popularity
3 "The Spread of Religions: Buddhism." History Reference Center. Accessed May 3,
2015. http://web.a.ebscohost.com/hrc/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=13e070de-b28a-4423b76dd5bb0c57fc69@sessionmgr4003&hid=4209&bdata=JnNpdGU9aHJjLWxpdmU=#db=k
hh&AN=28535647.

boomed during this era, which ultimately was the driving force in the
creation of the votive stupa. It is unknown who acquired this artifact.
This artifact is important because it marks the beginning of Buddhism.
The few Buddhist monasteries in the area have gained power over
Tibet, and the religion caught on, if not through popularity, then
through political dominance. Although historians do not know for sure
that Buddhism was even popular among the general population of
Tibet, the creation of a votive stupa proves that the religion was in high
demand and the Tibetans wanted to mark their own sacred space with
their own stupa.
The eternal truth of the human connection with nature is prevalent in
all ancient cultures, but it is one of the pillars of Buddhism. An excerpt
from the Buddhist Sutras, a quote from Mahamati the Bodhisattva,
proves this claim. As to the Nirvanas discriminated by the
philosophers: there really are none. Some philosophers conceive
Nirvana to be found where the mind-system no more operates owing to
the cessation of the elements.

This portion of the Buddhist Sutras is

saying that Nirvana is impossible to achieve without the elements. A

major part of the Buddhist tradition is being at one with nature and
yourself, and this quote and the stupa exemplifies this. If Nirvana is
unable to be achieved without a connection to nature, then it speaks
for itself that the human connection to nature is a vital part of
4 "A Buddhist Bible: The Lankavatara Sutra: Chapter XIII. Nirvana." A Buddhist Bible:
The Lankavatara Sutra: Chapter XIII. Nirvana. Accessed May 15, 2015. http://sacredtexts.com/bud/bb/bb20.htm.

Buddhism. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the structure of the

stupa represents the 5 elements of nature: You will find that the
stupas are built to represent the five elements of life the ground
square base represents earth, the large canopy represents the air, the
round dome represents water, the cone shape of the stupa represents
fire and lastly, the volume of the stupa represents space.

The stupa

objectifies the very things that humans need to connect with in order
to reach Nirvana.
The eternal truth of the human connection to nature is still alive today
but just not well. Our society today has impacted nature so
negatively, with pollution, that our only connection to nature is to harm
it. There are many media accounts, propaganda, and organizations
that preach help save our Earth, but I believe that the messages that
speak the loudest are the ones that come from the common people at
the expense of nature. For example, a video on YouTube shows a
compilation of Old Spice commercials in which the theme is nature
(link provided in footnote, and shown in Weebly).

These commercials

are obviously made to be funny, but instead, they show the core of our
5 "Stupas." World History In Context. Accessed May 3, 2015.
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=WHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&disp
layquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&u=livi93754&currPag
e=&disableHighlighting=false&di.

6 Marica, Liviu. "Old Spice Commercials: Smell As Great As Nature Is." YouTube.
February 6, 2015. Accessed May 15, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=s_UqmPiSvA8.

societys views and opinions on nature today. In the video, there is an

assortment of nature-related scenarios, but with a contemporary twist.
For example, the first scene is a man on an island, sitting on his
reclining boulder, pressing a rock-chiseled remote, and the rock
microwave beeping and producing mini pizzas. This is a perfect
example of how our perception of nature has changed. We have
become less aware and more self-centered about us pertaining to our
surroundings, which ultimately ends up in the destruction of our
environment. Another modern-day exhibit of culture that relates to my
eternal truth is an online gallery, with pictures of how the Earth has
been impacted by our footprint (link in footnote and in Weebly).

There

is photo after photo with birds covered with gulf oil, trees burnt down
by acidic rain, layers of smog in nature reserves, and the list goes on.
The human race needs to become aware of the impending doom that
is the state of our planet. What has changed since the Ancient World
that our respect for our environment has diminished so drastically?
While researching, I typed modern-day media pertaining to human
connection to nature, and all the results were titled POLLUTION. It is
terrible to think that in the Ancient World, and still in areas like Tibet
and Nepal, votive stupas were created to worship and revere Earth,
nature, and the gifts they provided us. Now, we completely disregard
7 Gray, Irina. "Pollution Pictures." Environmental Pollution. Accessed May 15, 2015.
http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/pollution-pictures.html.

our habitat, live with our fancy gas-operated cars and electricityoperated houses, depend on smartphones, laptops, tablets, and the
internet; our entire lives are based on man-made extremities that also
happen to be extremely harmful for the environment. So, I conclude
with this: take a message from the votive stupa and enjoy the
outdoors. Realize that we inhabit this planet and take advantage of a
gift every day: the gift of natural life.

I have completed this essay in accordance with the Newark Academy

Honor Code:

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