The Architecture of the Stupa in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

When cosmological concepts were introduced during the formation phase of Mahayana Buddhism, these new developments led to reconsiderations both of the symbolic meaning and the form of the stupa, gaining momentum with yet another development, that of Vajrayana Buddhism. As a basic visual representation of this development, the five-fold order of the five families consisting of one central Buddha and four directional Buddhas, the idea of the so-called cruciform temple type took shape in the regions of Bengal from the 7th /8 th centuries onwards. This type of temple was based on a central stupa shrine to which four sub-shrines were attached at the cardinal positions. As a consequence the architectural concepts of the stupa and the temple were merged and the stupa literally became the centre of an ideal mandala-like order. At the same time the stupa itself inherited the symbolic meaning of a mandala. The new ideas spread to all the Buddhist regions of Asia as far as Java where the monumental Borobudur, which represents a stupa made of stupas and a mandala at the same time, was erected. According to the primarily results of the applicant`s previous research project "Architectural Principles of Early Vajrayana Buddhism" there is ample evidence that this development fundamentally influenced the architeture of the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Western Tibet, too. Further, we may assume that this development is the major root of religious Tibetan architecture in general. It is therefore inevitable to study the architecture of the stupa in this epoche due to the direct linkage between space, object and ritual. Based on accurate surveys of the monuments and field research, proportional and structural studies will be carried out. In accordance with the results of the analysis a classification system will be developed covering both the aspects of form of single stupa objects as well as aspects of configuration i.e. stupas in central positions of larger architectural compositions or as sub-elements of geometric, mandala-like orders. This will shed new light on the architectural principles of this epoche as well as allow for a better understanding of the structural aspects of iconographic programs in those cases where stupas claim central spatial positions. The study will also include proportional analysis of wooden stupas documented by the applicant in the course of the current project. These wooden pieces of art will deserve particular interest because of their portability which, in addition to the purpose of veneration, made them ideal tools for missionary purpose. One important aspect of the project is the documentation of the cultural heritage of this early phase of Vajrayana which has almost completely vanished from Northern India. Many of the monuments under consideration are not only highly endangered through the negative effects of climate change, but also suffer from vandalism as well as incompetent restoration activities. It should be noted that there is a particular time pressure in this field of architectural research.

As the symbol par excellence, the stupa reflects the various doctrinal and evolutionary phases of Buddhism. The focus of the research project was on the most crucial phase in the history of Buddhism, namely the decline of Buddhism in Northern India and the formative phase of a distinctive branch of the faith within the Tibetan cultural sphere from the 12th century onwards. On the intellectual level, the era was dominated by tantric conceptions known as Vajrayana (also Mantrayana), which led to significant changes in the architectural conception of the stupa. The geographical focus of the study was the Western Himalayan region for two reasons. First, a great diversity of pre-Tibetan stupa types was dispersed along the trans-Himalayan trading routes and has survived in the dry climate to this date. Second, the growing influence of Tibetan Buddhism in the Western Himalayas, which is reflected by the introduction of a Tibetan proportional canon, can be investigated in this regional context. The results of the architectural surveys were compared with stupas from Northeast India (Bihar and Bengal), as well as with archive data on stupas from the Silk Road regions. Basic research therefore included: 1) the survey of monuments in Ladakh, Spiti and Lahul, 2) the documentation of all visual art attached to or sheltered inside any of the relevant monuments, such as murals, reliefs and sculptures, 3) the complete presentation of the results through architectural plans, elevations and models. In several cases, the interaction between the architectural plan and the conception of the mandala became apparent. The best examples are found amongst the stupas of the Alchi Group of Monuments, where all significant elements, namely the architectural form, the space, and the mandala ceiling of the cella, were all organized concentrically around the vertical axis of the monument (axis mundi). Thereby, the accessibility of the monuments centre fulfilled a fundamental need of tantric practice by allowing the practitioner to claim the central position of the mandala. Further, the influence of the auspicious number of 108 could be identified in various cases, not only on the architectural but also the iconographic level. To summarize, during this period the stupa did not continue to serve merely as the focus of the traditional devotional practices of circumambulation and adoration. Rather, the stupa was a materialization of the tantric perspective, and as such it became an accessible model displaying the tantric perception of the ideal cosmic order. Further, the architectural conception of the stupa had a major impact on temple architecture that led to the re-introduction of the stupa temple type in the Western Himalaya. Additionally, this study included a large number of solid structures. A selection of the surveyed monuments is already available online at (http://stupa.arch-research.at/). The results of the study reveal a remarkable diversity among the early monuments, which were later suppressed by the Tibetan proportional canon for stupa architecture. As a consequence, the mandala conception, as reflected by the Alchi stupas, faded out from the late 13th century onwards, and the intellectual background changed since the Tibetan perspective clearly favoured the relation of the stupa with the Buddha, which resulted in the conflation of the Tibetan stupa types with the Eight Great Events of the Life of the Buddha.