BUDDHISME  

 

http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Sacred-Space.html

Buddhist sacred spaces include stupas containing relics of the Buddha or other monks, and the monastic complexes that grow up around them. Some mountains are also considered sacred.

 

The earliest example of sacred space in Buddhism is the stupa. Early accounts indicate that the Buddha's cremated remains were first placed under a mound at a crossroads, and then removed and divided among a number of Buddhist groups (some sources say eight, some say eleven, some say twelve), each of which enshrined their portion of the relics in a stupa. According to legend, the great king Ashoka later divided these remains and distributed them to 84,000 stupas throughout his realm and beyond.

In the first centuries of Buddhist presence in South and Southeast Asia, monuments were also built to mark important moments in the Buddha's life such as his place of birth or the location of his first sermon. Ashoka started the practice of making pilgrimage to these sites, a practice that was taken up by many of the faithful. With time, large temple complexes grew up around these stupas.

Later, stupas were also built to house the remains of famous monks, sometimes containing their cremated remains, and on rare occasions, the entire mummified body of a monk who had died while deep in meditation. Stupas were believed to radiate the presence of the person whose remains were enshrined there, as the enlightened mind was believed to continue even after the body was gone.

Eventually the stupa itself was regarded as a manifestation of the sacred, and many different types of objects were placed within them. As Buddhism expanded in South and Southeast Asia, temple complexes grew up around some of these stupas. Elaborate stone railings were built around the stupas, upon which moments in the life of the Buddha and the Jataka tales were carved. To walk around these railings was to recreate the experience of these events, almost as if one were actually there. While the Buddha himself was no longer physically present, he was kept alive for the faithful in these sacred places.

The Great Temple at Borobudur, in Java, Indonesia, is in essence an enormous stupa that represents the cosmos. Built sometime during the 8th or 9th centuries C.E., the temple was lost for centuries, but was rediscovered in the 18th century. The base of the Great Temple is a pyramid shape, within which are five concentric square terraces. Above the base is a cone-shaped core surrounded by three circular platforms, around which are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The entire building is topped by another, larger stupa. Pilgrims circumambulate the many levels of the temple at Borobudur as an act of devotion. All along the way they encounter statues of the Buddha and stone carvings representing the stories of Buddha's past lives from the Jataka tales, as well as reliefs that depict the operations of cause and effect. Thus a journey around Borobudur was an experience of the life and teachings of the Buddha.

 

 

 

 


 

Det tidligste eksempel på en hellige plads i buddhismen er stupaen, der påstås at indeholder relikvier fra Buddha selv eller andre munke.  Med tiden blev disse suppleret med monumenter, der skulle markere vigtige øjeblikke eller steder i Buddhas liv, for eksempel det sted, han blev født, eller der hvor han holdt sin første prædiken.  Med tiden voksede der store tempelkomplekser op omkring disse steder.

Senere blev stupaer også bygget til at huse de jordiske rester af berømte munke, nogle gange med deres kremeret tilbage, og i sjældne tilfælde, hele mumificerede krop en munk, som var død, mens dybt i meditation. Stupaer var menes at udstråle tilstedeværelsen af den person, hvis jordiske rester blev nedfældet der, som det erkendte sind mentes at fortsætte, selv efter kroppen var væk.

Til sidst stupaen selv blev betragtet som en manifestation af det hellige, og mange forskellige typer af objekter blev anbragt i dem. Som buddhisme udvidet i Syd-og Sydøstasien, tempel komplekser voksede op omkring nogle af disse stupaer. Udarbejde sten rækværk blev bygget rundt om stupaer, hvorpaa øjeblikke i livet for Buddha og Jataka eventyr blev skåret. At gå rundt om disse gelændere var at genskabe oplevelsen af disse begivenheder, næsten som hvis man rent faktisk er der. Mens Buddha selv var ikke længere fysisk til stede, blev han holdt i live for de trofaste i disse hellige steder.

The Great Temple i Borobudur, i Java, Indonesien, er i det væsentlige en enorm stupa, der repræsenterer kosmos. Bygget engang i løbet af 8. eller 9. århundrede CE, blev templet tabt i århundreder, men blev genopdaget i det 18. århundrede. Bunden af Great Temple er en pyramide form, inden for hvilken der fem koncentriske kvadrat terrasser. Over basen er en kegle-formet kerne omgivet af tre runde platforme, hvorom der er 72 openwork stupaer, som hver indeholder en statue af Buddha. Hele bygningen er toppet af en anden, større stupa. Pilgrims circumambulate de mange niveauer i templet i Borobudur som en handling af hengivenhed. Alle langs den måde, de støder på statuer af Buddha og stenrelieffer repræsenterer historier om Buddhas tidligere liv fra Jataka fortællinger, samt relieffer, der skildrer driften af årsag og virkning. Således vil en tur omkring Borobudur var en oplevelse af liv og lære af Buddha.