what is a stupa

A stupa is a type of Buddhist architecture that is used as a place of meditation and contains relics, such as the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. The earliest stupas contained portions of the Buddhas ashes. Stupas are generally considered to be sepulchral monuments, or receptacles for religious objects. They are typically mound-like or hemispherical structures, often containing relics or religious objects, and used as a place of meditation. The Great Stupa in Sanchi, India, is the earliest known stupa, dating back to the fourth century BCE. The basic shape of a stupa has come to represent the seated Buddha when he achieved enlightenment, with the square base representing the Buddhas crossed legs, the middle section representing the Buddhas body, and the conical spire at the top representing the Buddhas head. There are five types of stupas: the relic stupa, the object stupa, the commemorative stupa, the symbolic stupa, and the votive stupa. To build a stupa, transmissions from a qualified Buddhist teacher are necessary, and when visiting a stupa, practitioners circumambulate it clockwise as a meditation practice.