The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2348 page)
Read The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions Online
Authors: John Bowker
BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
5.82Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Stream-enterer
(one at the start of the Buddhist way):
(one at the start of the Buddhist way):
ROTStreet called Straight
:
:
St
pa
pa(Skt.; P
li,
th
pa
). A reliquary (
relics
) monument ubiquitous throughout the Buddhist world and which, as an object of formal devotion and as a symbol of Buddhahood itself, has been compared in role to the
cross
in Christianity. The st
pa originated in India from the earlier
caitya
, a funeral mound commemorating regional kings. Instructions from the
Buddha
that he himself should be so commemorated—in order to remind people of the possibility of
nirv
na
—are contained in the
H
nay
na
Mah
parinirv
a S
tra
.
The earliest form of the st
pa (e.g. from the 1st cent. CE, at Sañci, C. India) consisted of a simple base supporting an egg-shaped dome (
a
a
) which contained the relics, and a spire with three rings—a combination in meaning of the ceremonial parasol and the
Three Jewels
. The whole was surrounded by railings which circumscribed the st
li,th
pa). A reliquary (
relics
) monument ubiquitous throughout the Buddhist world and which, as an object of formal devotion and as a symbol of Buddhahood itself, has been compared in role to the
cross
in Christianity. The st
pa originated in India from the earliercaitya
, a funeral mound commemorating regional kings. Instructions from the
Buddha
that he himself should be so commemorated—in order to remind people of the possibility of
nirv
na—are contained in the
H
naynaMah
parinirva Stra.
The earliest form of the st
pa (e.g. from the 1st cent. CE, at Sañci, C. India) consisted of a simple base supporting an egg-shaped dome (a
a) which contained the relics, and a spire with three rings—a combination in meaning of the ceremonial parasol and the
Three Jewels
. The whole was surrounded by railings which circumscribed the st
Other books
Prize Problems by Janet Rising
Chalice 2 - Dream Stone by Tara Janzen
Addictive Gloamshade by Poppet
Washika by Robert A. Poirier
H. M. S. Ulysses by Alistair MacLean
The Flyer by Stuart Harrison
Clockwork Twist : Trick by Emily Thompson
Death in the Dark Walk by Deryn Lake
Looking for X by Deborah Ellis
