What are Buddhist relics, 'stupas'?

Secrets of the Dead: Bones of the Buddha - full documentary HD

Buddhist Stupa: What we know about Buddhist burial mound reliquaries

(Bodhisattva) Everything anyone needs to know about stupas might be found here. Stupas are some of the oldest structures venerated in India [and Central Asia long before that]. Until a thousand years ago the entire region of the Indian subcontinent from Afghanistan (ancient Gandhara) to formerly Buddhist Bangladesh was dotted with thousands of stupas, large and small. Sacred relics (sarira) are placed inside of them.

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka: Worship, Heritage, Wars

Now only a few survive that are also in very bad condition. Why were these stupas made in the first place? What is the significance of stupas in Buddhism? What role did they play in the spread of Buddhism? Why is this stupa different from that one and that one and this one? How are they different from each other apart from basic structural differences? Why have abandoned stupas in India been continuously targeted by treasure hunters for centuries? What was placed in stupas that is of such interest to the treasure hunters?

Ancient stone caskets that stored the Buddha’s relics | Sanchi Stupa, India

NOTE: The Buddha did not "die," which means rebirth. He ended samsara.

CHAPTERS

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:18 - Origin of stupas
• 3:55 - Types of stupas
• 6:18 - Architecture of stupas
• 11:52 - Rituals, pilgrimage, perambulation
• 15:46 - Global expansion and evolution of stupas

Celtic noblewoman Lady of Vix burial mound

Let's find out more about stupas and understand their significance so that the world can appreciate and preserve them better. Origin of stupas, different types, architecture, significance, and global expansion and evolution of stupa architecture. This is a comprehensive video on the subject. #Buddha #Stupa #Buddhism

• Bones of the Buddha; Bodhisattva; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha's Bones: burial mound stupas

Look what I found, Coolies! - Yes, Sahib, you are a genius to dig up sacred religious monuments.

Bones of the Buddha

What are Buddhist cremation "relics"?

(PBS Documentary) The mystery surrounding the bones of the [historical] Buddha dates back more than 100 years ago. When colonial estate manager Willie Peppe set his workers digging at a mysterious "hill" (Piprahwa Stupa) in Northern India in 1898, he had no idea what they would find. Just over 20 feet down, they made an amazing discovery: a huge stone coffer [like the amazing Bimaran casket's steatite container], containing five reliquary jars [with rare spiritual relics known as Śarīras], more than 1,000 separate jewels, and some ash and bone.

• Discovery of arrowheads suggests human achievements occurred much earlier than believed

The Buddha in gold (British Museum)

One of the jars bore an inscription that appeared to say that these were the remains of the Buddha himself. This seemed to be the most extraordinary find in Indian archeology. But doubt and scandal have hung over this amazing find for more than 100 years. For some, the whole thing has to be an elaborate hoax [employing countless artisans to recreate ancient treasures, fraudulent archeologists, fake workers, and corrupt Indian and British politicians]. For others, it is no less than [one of] the [eight or so] final resting place[s] of the leader of one of the world's great religions, a sage who passed into final nirvana 2,600 years ago. For the doubters, suspicion focuses on a key figure from the time, disgraced German archeologist Dr. A. Anton Fuhrer. Renowned historian Charles Allen sets out to solve this extraordinary mystery [for PBS] once and for all. #BuddhaBones #BuddhaAshes #BuddhaRelic #Buddhism

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Ancient shrine that may hold the Buddha's skull bone found in crypt (Live Science)

Bhutan (Peterwescarey/flickr.com)

The history of buddhas on earth (Bhumi) and on the human plane (manussya loka) in general is very strange and prehistoric. We have the historical Buddha as our source of information about prehistoric buddhas (seven recent among 28 named in this incredibly long cycle or recent cycles, kalpas, of time). The Buddha in prescribing burial practices of noble ones (Aryans, arhats) detailed an ancient Central and North Asian custom of dolmens, tumuli, kurgans, barrows, long barrows, chortens, burial mounds or what are known in Buddhism today as stupas. The Buddha, after passing into final nirvana, planned for his mortal remains to be divided among great rulers of that time. He chose a very rural and out-of-the-way place at which to pass. His attendant Ananda was shocked that he would leave the world in such a spot, until the Buddha revealed to him that in the distant past, this spot (Kushinagar near modern Gorakhpur, India) was once the center of a prosperous kingdom in super-ancient times. Moreover, it was between the current kingdoms of great kings.

North Asian style stupa burial mound topped by statue of buried person? (Abdul Mohammadi)

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How many millions of years old could they be?

If he had passed away within any of these, that king would have enshrined the precious relics in one great dolmen in stupa. Instead, many got the chance to do so by partitioning them, with one going to the celestial devas (in "heaven") and another going to the partitioner, who saw to their care. These were not the first stupas as many might think. It was an ancient custom all the way to Ukraine. Modern Tibetan Buddhists know this and visit secret ancient sites of other buddhas and arhats in Central and North Asia, rumor has it. Sadly, archeologists argue and do not recognize all discoveries of treasure within them unless they accord with preconceived notions of where they should be located. So the ones in Afghanistan and outside modern India get shorter shrift. This is most shockingly true as exposed in the movie Bones of the Buddha, where a stupa or dolmen ("portal tomb") was opened, its treasures looted and taken to England, and rather than being clawed back by the Indian government or Buddhists was allowed to be passed on from the British excavator (looter) to his son, who keep this priceless Buddhist treasures in his little cottage in England, much of it under his bed. Ancient Scythians and other tribes all over Central and North Asia built these funerary sites, reliquaries, mounds to enshrine significant individuals. Originally, they were topped with statuary figures rather than the pagodas that came to be in South, East, and Southeast Asia.

Giant prehistoric dolmens in the Caucasus built with advanced technology

Stupas everywhere in the land of Pagan (Bagan), Burma (Myanmar).

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Gold container of the Buddha's relics

(Universe Inside You) Aug. 14, 2024: Join us in fueling our mission to create insightful videos backed by thorough research by supporting us on Patreon or PayPal: universeinsideyou (paypal.com/donate...). All support can help UIY dive even deeper into topics that matter, enabling them to produce engaging content that informs and inspires. By contributing, one is not just backing a project, one is empowering a wealth of knowledge to be shared. Stand with UIY as they strive to bring meaningful videos to life. Every contribution counts. Discover a world of creativity at this art and merchandise shop: teespring.com/stores/universe... Join on: Instagram: universe.inside.you Facebook: universalloving. For Spanish-narrated videos, visit UIY's Spanish channel: universe inside you español #universeinsideyou

On my way to Mandalay: Buddhist Burma (video)

Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Ben the Man (text); Erikssc; Visbeek

Samantha in Pagan/Bagan, Burma, land of Buddhist shrines and temples (Visbeek/flickr.com)

(Erikssc) A tour of the three most popular tourist destinations in Burma: Bagan (Pagan), Inle Lake, Yangon (Rangoon) for those curious about this newly opened Theravada Buddhist country.

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Mahamuni, Shwedagon Pagoda (1marco1polo)

Bagan, formerly "Pagan," is an ancient Burmese city from the 9th-13th centuries.

It was once the capital of Burma and is currently one of the Southeast Asian country’s main spiritual tourist attractions for adventure travelers.

It was formerly the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, where Theravada Buddhism was and continues to be the main religious tradition in this part of Burma, next to Thailand, China, and Laos.
 

The area, now known as the "Bagan Archaeological Zone," occupies an impressive 26-square-mile area. Marco Polo described Bagan as one of the finest sights in the world. Despite centuries of neglect, looting, erosion, regular earthquakes, not to mention shoddy restoration efforts, this temple-studded plain remains a remarkably impressive and unforgettable vision:

Bagan’s kings commissioned more than 4,000 Buddhist shrines and temples. On a visit to Shwesandaw Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex that contains a series of five terraces, topped by a cylindrical reliquary (stupa), which has a jewel-studded umbrella. The pagoda was built by King Anawrahta in 1057.
 

During visits to Bagan, bicycles can be rented that allow one to ride up alongside any Buddhist temple. As Bagan’s most famous sunset-viewing spot, Shwesandaw Pagoda is a graceful white pyramid-style pagoda with steps leading past the terraces to the circular stupa on top, with 360-degree views.

It’s located roughly midway between Thatbyinnyu and Dhammayangyi temples. The temple allows a view of the 4,000 shrines and temples scattered across the sacred plain. The Dhammayangyi in the center is a very large square, a single-story pyramidal temple with six monumental ascending exterior terraces.

Oriented toward the east, the Dhammayangyi's brickwork is finely crafted -- perhaps the finest in Bagan. More

Trip to Burma? Six years ago, art student Veronika Scott accepted a challenge from her college professor: Design something to "fill a need" in the US, even on Detroit streets (CNN).

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Obama abolishes last major restrictions on US travel to Cuba

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pres. Obama sent an unmistakable message to Americans ahead of his historic trip to Havana: "Cuba is open for business." Punching fresh holes in the generations-old U.S. embargo, Obama's administration removed the last meaningful restrictions on travel, putting a Cuba vacation within reach for millions of Americans over the coming years. The sweeping changes also clear a path for Cuban athletes to one day play Major League Baseball and other professional sports.

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Buddhist Pyramids (photos)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly; Steven Barringer (zoisiv71/flickr.com)

Buddhist pyramid, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center, Taiwan (Zosoiv71/flickr.com)

  

Close up of steps as in ancient Mexico

A stupa, dagaba, or pagoda is an elaborate reliquary, a Buddhist burial mound, often the center of a temple complex.

Pyramid (thailand-delights.com)

It holds holy relics (that of the Buddha, a great arhat, or a famous teacher). 

 

Its dimensions and proportions are symbolic, geometrically representing the shape of the cosmos or this "world-system" (galaxy?) as a mandala in concentric circles, squares, walls, spaces, and levels.

Thai Buddhist temple (Ska09/flickr)

Although traditional stupas from Afghanistan (formerly on the northwestern frontier of ancient India in a region known as Gandhara) down to Sri Lanka (the teardrop Buddhist island off the southern tip of India) are milky white and breast- or bell- shaped, they are also found on pyramidal bases  as shown here.

Stupa (yasithaishanthaphotography/flickr)

The more elaborate they have become, the more they appear to be pyramids -- likely in function (mysterious energy generation) as well as aesthetics, which must stand out to hovering spacecraft (vimanas) operated by "shining beings" from space (akasha devas), whose emanations are such to light up an entire grove.

 

Pyramidal base with steps -- similar to those the devas helped the Aztecs and Olmecs build in ancient Mexico at Teotihuacan -- Borobudur, Java, Indonesia (Shubh M. Singh/flickr.com)

Bells (TrevThompson/flickr)

The largest and most elaborate stupa sits at the center of the largest Buddhist temple complex yet discovered at Borobudur in Java, Indonesia. 

 

It runs a close second to one in the jungles of Cambodia known as Angkor Wat, "the Temple at Angkor." This was once the center of the city of Angkor with a million inhabitants and a very complex water-distribution system, the jewel of the ancient Khmer empire.

Angkor Wat (Alexey Stiop/livescience com)

Its suburbs sprawled 150 square miles (400 km²) into the Southeast Asian jungle with ornate bas relief covering the stone walls with Hindu and Buddhist imagery of space nymphs, devas (light beings), yakshas (ogres), and very significantly nagas (reptilians, flying serpents). Its obsession with the latter seems to have precipitated its downfall, much as happened in the jungles of Central America with their stone monoliths and Mesoamerican pyramids.

• US underground: Alaska's buried pyramid near Mt. McKinley is real (Linda Moulton Howe)

Bell/breast-like dagoba, Thanthirimale, Sri Lanka (Dev Wijewardane)

One explanatory diagram (zhaxizhuoma.net)

Ancient American Archeology (Edgar Cayce)

A number of academic archaeology textbooks rudely dismiss [America's most famous psychic] Edgar Cayce’s pronouncements about ancient history. Cayce was, to them, a “cult archaeologist” -- unworthy of further investigation.

...Despite the claims of archaeologists, the history of ancient America put forth in Edgar Cayce’s readings has never been tested. Edgar Cayce, America’s famous “Sleeping Prophet,” gave 68 “psychic readings” between 1925 to 1944 that provided information on America’s Mound Builders and ancient American history.

• Top 10 Edgar Cayce predictions
  

These readings have never been thoroughly analyzed and have been largely forgotten. For the first time, Cayce’s statements about ancient America are genuinely compared to current archaeological evidence.

The authors relate that they began with a skeptical point of view but the weight of the evidence eventually showed Cayce’s accuracy. Incredibly, nearly everything Cayce related about the Mound Builders and the patterns of migrations to ancient America is true.

Since 1997, a series of astounding developments have shattered American archaeology’s most cherished beliefs. Excavations have uncovered solid evidence that ancient America was probably settled at least 50,000 years ago.

Genetic evidence shows that several waves of migrations came into America from not only Siberia, but also from Polynesia, China, and Japan.

A mysterious genetic type has been identified in ancient American skeletal remains as well as in some modern Native Americans. This enigmatic type is also linked to Israel, parts of Spain, France, Italy, and the northern Gobi Desert. It may well have originated in a location between America and Europe. This genetic type entered America in about 10,000 B.C. and could be the result of migrations from the mythical land of Atlantis.

Another genetic type could be from the mythical land of Mu. More

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• Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment
• Does the Mayan Calendar end in 2012?
• VIDEO: North American Legends, the Great Flood
  

Chinese Buddhism at the Longmen Grottoes

Xuan Rosemaninovich

Along with the Mogao Caves and Yungang Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites in China. They are 12 km south of present-day Luoyang City in Henan, China. There are 2,345 caves and niches, 2,800 inscriptions, 43 pagodas, and over 100,000 Buddhist images at the site. Thirty percent of the caves date from the Northern Wei Dynasty, 60 percent from the Tang Dynasty, and 10 percent of the caves are from other periods. Fengxian Temple (Fengxiansi), 672-675 AD, is the largest and most extravagant cave in Longmen, featuring the impressive Vairocana Buddha and various other bodhisattvas. It was built during the golden age of the Tang Dynasty and is often considered the pinnacle of Chinese Buddhist art.

• PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO: Middle Binyang Cave constructed by order of Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei in honor of his parents Emperor Xiaowen and Empress Wenzhao, the cave was supposed to imitate Lingyansi Cave at the Yungang Caves. Work began in 500 AD and was completed in 523 AD. The main buddha (shown here) and bodhisattvas are representative of the Northern Wei sculptural style. A lotus-flower pool decorates the floor. The ceiling is engraved with a blossoming lotus flower, 8 musical apsarases, 2 attending apsarases, and tassel and drapery patterns. The front wall is covered with a large Vimalakirti relief, the Prince Sattva Jataka, the Prince Sudatta Jataka, an emperor/empress worshipping scene, and ten deity kings.

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Musrhoom shaped stupas (Buddhist reliquaries) in the distance, Kirivihera (Sri Lanka) and Indus Valley (India)

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