The Commemorative Stūpas and Indian Sacred Sites
Scheme of Commemorative stūpas,
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Thang ka of the eight great events of the Buddha's life, 12th-13th c., Tibet, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 300.
The Buddha at Vajrāsana and Stūpas, 12th-13th c., Tibet, Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 303.
Buddha at Vajrasana surrounded by eight types of stūpa, Tibet, 13th. -14th. c., Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 276.
Descent stūpa, Tholing monasterie, Tibet, ca. 11th c., Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 336.
The Thang ka's or Cloth paintings and Tsa Tsa found in Tibet not only show the eight great events of the Buddha's life but also the so-called commemorative stūpas which are connected to the Indian sacred sites. In Tibet these eight forms of stūpas were put together in a scheme, including a specific form and character of each stūpa.
For example, the structure of the descent stūpa, which symbolizes the Buddha’s descent from Tāvatiṃsa heaven and contains parallel staircases in the middle section. These specific forms of stūpa can also be seen in the image and the Tsa Tsa, which display the Buddha at Vajrasana. Through the depiction of the stūpa structure in these images they lay a focus on the Indian sacred site itself.
Stele with scenes from the life of the Buddha, Burma, 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028, Department of Asian Art, accession number 2015.500.4.23.
Stele with eight great events of the Buddha's life, found in India (but possible from Burma), 11th-12th c., Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028, Department of Asian Art, Accession Nr. 2015.782.3
Another point through which these images point directly at the Indian sacred site can be seen in the depiction of the eight great events of the Buddha's life found in Burma.
These sculptures not only show the already mentioned form of a bigger central scene of the Buddha's enlightenment and the other seven scenes around it, but also the so-called seven stations. These are the things that have happend in the seven weeks after the Buddha gained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.