cred objects of worship that helped people remember the
Buddha were both present at and themselves identified as
caityas. For example, in Bodh Gaya ̄ pious pilgrims could
worship at the bodhi tree or the Adamantine Seat (vajra ̄sana)
on which the Buddha sat when he realized enlightenment.
Because the stupa was an object of worship, it too could be
called caitya. The difference between stupas and caityas is ex-
plained in the Mohesengqi lü (Maha ̄sa ̄m:ghika Vinaya): “If the
Buddha’s relics are enshrined, the site is called a stu ̄pa; if the
Buddha’s relics are not enshrined, it is called a caitya” (T.D.
22.496b). This explanation suggests that by the time the
Vinaya of the Maha ̄sa ̄m:ghikas was compiled, caityas and stu-
pas had the same exterior shape. As time passed, the Bud-
dha’s relics became increasingly difficult to obtain and other
objects were enshrined when stupas were constructed. Thus,
the distinction between stupas and caityas gradually van-
ished.
After the Buddha’s death, stupa worship became in-
creasingly popular. With King A ́soka’s (r. 268–232 BCE)
conversion to Buddhism, stupa worship spread throughout
India. A ́soka ordered that the eight stupas erected after the
Buddha’s death be opened and that the relics within them
be removed, divided, and enshrined in the many new stupas
that he had commissioned to be built throughout India.
These events are described in the Ayuwang zhuan
(A ́sokara ̄ja ̄vada ̄na; T.D. 50.102b) and in the Ayuwang jing
(A ́sokara ̄ja ̄ Su ̄tra?; T.D. 50.135a–b). In the records of his
travels in India, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang
mentions the stupas constructed by A ́soka, many of which
have been identified in modern times by archaeologists.
THE FORMATION OF BUDDHIST ORDERS AROUND STUPAS.
Little is known about the history of stupa worship during the
250 years between A ́soka’s reign and the rise of Maha ̄ya ̄na
Buddhism at approximately the beginning of the common
era. However, archaeological evidence from this period indi-
cates that stupas were built in many areas in India and that
stupa worship was a growing practice. Clearly, religious or-
ders must have formed around some of these stupas and doc-
trinal developments reflecting the increasing importance of
stupa worship undoubtedly occurred. Although most of the
stupas are in ruins today and little is known of these doc-
trines, the new teachings associated with stupa worship con-
tributed much to the rise of Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism.
Buddhism has long been formulaically defined in terms
of the so-called Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and
the Order (sam:gha). Apart from the Mah ̄ı ́sa ̄saka and Dhar-
maguptaka schools, which held that the Buddha was a part
of the jewel of the sam:gha, most schools argued that the
Three Jewels were distinct elements, with stupas belonging
to the jewel of the sam:gha. In fact, stupas and sects (i.e., the
monastic order) do seem to have developed separately. Eco-
nomic considerations played a role in this doctrinal debate.
Given that the Three Jewels were separate, alms donated to
the jewel of the Buddha could only be used for the jewel of
the Buddha (i.e., stupas), not for the jewel of the Order
(i.e., Buddhist sects). Thus, monks were not allowed to use
items that had been offered at stupas, that is, to (the jewel
of) the Buddha.
Originally, stupas were institutions independent of the
H ̄ınaya ̄na schools. Archaeological evidence reveals that the
stupas were constructed and administered by lay believers
and were not affiliated with any particular school or sect.
However, as stupas worship continued to flourish, stupas
came to be constructed within monastic compounds and
monks began to worship at them. Yet even after stupas came
to be affiliated with sects in this way, alms given to the stupa
still had to be used for the stupa alone and could not be used
freely by the monks. Monks who had received the full Vinaya
precepts (upasampada ̄) were not allowed to live within the
confines of stupas or to take custody of their assets. Thus,
although a stupa might be affiliated with a particular sect,
a clear distinction was maintained between the property and
site of the stupa and those of the order of monks. However,
as stupa worship became more popular and more alms were
offered at stupas, the schools suffered adverse economic ef-
fects. To counter this, the schools argued that little karmic
merit would result from such offerings; some even openly
opposed stupa worship.
Once a stupa accumulated alms, believers began to live
around it and use the food and clothing that had been of-
fered at it. These believers, who were considered religious
specialists in their own right, probably assisted pilgrims who
came to the stupa by finding lodgings for them, giving in-
structions about worship, and explaining the carvings of the
Buddha’s life and of the ja ̄takas (“birth tales”) inscribed
there. They probably preached about the greatness of
S ́a ̄kyamuni’s personality, compassion, and power to help
save sentient beings and formulated doctrines concerning
these subjects that were independent of sectarian (nika ̄ya)
opinion. Of course, these doctrines differed from those that
had been originally preached by S ́a ̄kyamuni.
The religious specialists who lived around the stupas re-
sembled monks and nuns in many ways. They served as lead-
ers of orders, teaching lay believers and receiving alms from
them. However, although these religious specialists led lives
similar to those who had abandoned the life of a household-
er, they still were not monks (bhiks:us). Because they had not
taken the full set of precepts (upasampada ̄), they did not be-
long to the jewel of the sam:gha and thus were permitted to
live at the stupas.
Because they felt that certain religious experiences were
necessary if they were to teach others, these religious special-
ists not only taught lay believers but also engaged in strict
religious practices. Consequently, they imitated the practices
performed by S ́a ̄kyamuni Buddha and strove to attain an en-
lightenment identical to that which S ́a ̄kyamuni had experi-
enced. Because S ́a ̄kyamuni had been called a bodhisattva be-
fore he had realized enlightenment, they too called
themselves bodhisattvas. The term bodhisattva, which had
originally been used to refer to the period of practice prefato-STUPA WORSHIP 8797