ry to becoming a Buddha, was now used to refer to all reli-
gious practitioners who, unlike H ̄ınaya ̄na devotees, aspired
to realize the supreme enlightenment of the Buddha rather
than arhatship.
The orders of religious practitioners that sprang up
around the stupas were thus vitally interested in two major
doctrinal themes: the Buddha’s ability to save sentient beings
and the types of practices that would enable people to realize
Buddhahood. The religious activities of these bodhisattvas
eventually led to the development of Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism.
Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of these doctrines develop-
ing among H ̄ınaya ̄na monks. Because H ̄ınaya ̄na monks re-
spected S ́a ̄kyamuni Buddha as a great teacher and believed
that he taught the path of the arhat for their enlightenment,
they probably would not have used a term such as bodhisattva
to refer to themselves because it would have placed them on
a level equal to that of S ́a ̄kyamuni. In following the practices
of the arhat, they had little reason to be concerned with new
doctrines about the ways in which the Buddha could save
sentient beings. However, lay believers, who were unable to
follow the austere regimen of the monks, would have been
vitally interested in teachings about how the Buddha could
save them. The new doctrines that developed in the orders
around the stupas did not stress the importance of observing
the full set of precepts and performing all the practices re-
quired of a monk; rather, in these doctrines, a form of Bud-
dhism for lay believers, one that emphasized faith ( ́sraddha ̄)
in the Buddha, was described.
MAHA ̄YA ̄NA BUDDHISM AND STUPAS. At least some varieties
of Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism arose from the orders around stupas.
Stupa worship continued to develop even after Maha ̄ya ̄na
Buddhism had begun to take form. Although the orders asso-
ciated with stupas are not clearly described in Maha ̄ya ̄na lit-
erature, the existence of such groups can be clearly inferred
from these texts. Only a few do not mention stupa worship.
The “Chapter on Pure Practices” of the Buddha ̄vatam:saka
Su ̄tra contains a detailed description of bodhisattva practices,
many of which focus on stupa worship (T.D. 9.430ff.). Ac-
cording to the Ugradatta-paripr:ccha ̄ and the Da ́sab-
hu ̄mikavibha ̄s:a ̄, bodhisattvas could practice either at stupas
or in the forest (Hirakawa, 1963, pp. 94–98). They were to
meditate and perform austerities in the forest, but if they be-
came ill, they were to return to a stupa in a village to be
cured. Thus, bodhisattvas went to stupas for many reasons
besides worship, including recovering from illness, nursing
the sick, making offerings to teachers and saints
(a ̄ryapudgala), hearing discourses on doctrine, reading scrip-
tures, and preaching to others.
Stupas were more than objects of worship. They also
served as centers for Maha ̄ya ̄na practitioners, with quarters
for devotees located nearby. These early Mahayanists aban-
doned their lives as lay believers, wore monastic robes,
begged food, read su ̄ tras, and studied doctrine under the
guidance of preceptors. They also meditated, worshiped, and
prostrated themselves at the Buddha’s stupas. An important
part of stupa worship was the circumambulation of the stupa
(usually three times) while chanting verses in praise of the
Buddha.
Two types of bodhisattvas are mentioned in early
Maha ̄ya ̄na texts: monastic (i.e., renunciant) bodhisattvas,
who lived and practiced at the stupas, and lay (i. e., house-
holder) bodhisattvas, who made pilgrimages to the stupas in
order to worship at them. Lay bodhisattvas placed their faith
in the Three Refuges (or Three Jewels), observed the Five
Precepts (pañca ́s ̄ıla ̄ni) or the Eight Precepts (at:t:han ̇gikam:
uposatham:), and performed religious practices. In many
ways, their practices resembled those of H ̄ınaya ̄na lay believ-
ers. However, the two groups had very different objectives
in their practice. While H ̄ınaya ̄na lay believers (m., upa ̄saka;
f., upa ̄sika ̄) sought a better rebirth, Maha ̄ya ̄na lay bodhisatt-
vas strove to attain buddhahood and based their practices on
the Maha ̄ya ̄na position that helping others results in benefits
for oneself.
Bodhisattvas often observed a set of Maha ̄ya ̄na pre-
cepts called the Path of the Ten Good Acts (da ́saku ́sala-
karma-patha ̄). However, according to some later Maha ̄ya ̄na
texts, monastic bodhisattvas were to receive full monastic or-
dination (upasampada ̄). Thus, at a later date monastic bodhi-
sattvas began to use the complete set of precepts from the
Vinaya for their ordinations. In such cases, they probably did
not use monks from the H ̄ınaya ̄na sects as their preceptors
(upa ̄dhya ̄ya), because qualified preceptors could be found in
the Maha ̄ya ̄na orders.
According to the Saddharmapun:d:ar ̄ıka Su ̄tra, worship-
ing and making offerings at stupas were practices that led to
buddhahood. In the Upa ̄yakau ́salya-parivarta (Chapter on
expedient means), a variety of practices leading to buddha-
hood are discussed. These include not only the practice of
the six perfections (pa ̄ramita ̄s) but also the building of stu-
pas, the carving of images, and acts of worship and offering
made at stupas (T.D. 9.8c–9a). Because the realization of
buddhahood was the primary goal of Maha ̄ya ̄na practice,
stupa worship clearly had a close relationship to Maha ̄ya ̄na
beliefs.
The stupa also provided a model for many elements in
Amita ̄bha’s Pure Land (Sukha ̄vat ̄ı). The Pure Land was said
to have seven rows of railings (vedika ̄); railings were an im-
portant architectural component of the stupa. Other ele-
ments of stupas were also found in descriptions of the Pure
Land, including rows of ta ̄la trees (ta ̄la-pan ̇kti), lotus ponds
(pus:karin:i), halls (vima ̄na), and towers (ku ̄t:a ̄ga ̄ra). Thus, the
portrayal of the Pure Land was apparently based on an ideal-
ized view of a large stupa. Moreover, according to the early
versions of the Emituo jing (the smaller Sukha ̄vat ̄ıvyu ̄ha
Su ̄tra), the bodhisattva Dharma ̄kara vowed that anyone who
worshiped or made offerings at stupas would be reborn in
his Pure Land (T.D. 12.301b). This vow was eliminated in
later versions of the su ̄ tra, suggesting that, as time passed,
Amita ̄bha worship developed independently of stupa wor-
ship.8798 STUPA WORSHIP