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Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c42.s1.t2: Worship of Cetiya and Stūpa

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c42.s1.t2

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Worship of Cetiya and Stūpa

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Neither in the Vinaya nor in the Sutta-piṭaka, except the Mahāparinibbānasutta there is any direction for making and worshipping Cetiyas and Stūpas. In the Vinaya there is mention of two Cetiyas¹ where Buddha stopped, while in the Pāṭikasuttanta² as also in the Mahāparinibbānasutta,³ there are references to the Cetiyas situated around Vesāli, viz., Gotamaka-cetiya on the south, Sattamba-cetiya on the west, Bahuputta-cetiya on the north. The other Cetiyas mentioned in the Mahāparinibbānasutta are Udena, Sarandada, Cāpāla,⁴ Ānanda,⁵ (in Bhoganagara), and Makuṭabandhana⁶ of the Mallas.

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¹ Vinaya, i, p. 35: Supatiṭṭha cetiya near Rājagaha; ii, p 172: Aggālavacetiya at Ālavi.

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² Digha, iii, p. 9-10.

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³ Ibid., ii, pp. 102-3, 118

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⁴ Ibid.

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⁵ Ibid., pp. 123, 126.

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⁶ Ibid., p. 160-1.

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From the list of cetiyas given above, it is apparent that long before Buddhism made its appearance, there was the prevalence of worship of cetiyas, which might be a tree, a stone and a spot believed to be sanctified or haunted by a good or evil spirit.⁷ The existence of Cetiyas is taken as an admitted fact by Buddha himself.

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⁷ See the gāthās cited above p. 277-8. Also Gisbert Combaz, *L'evolution du stūpa en Asie* in *Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques*, ii (1932-33), pp. 168 ff.

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Apart from the Cetiyas, there was also the ancient custom of erecting mounds (*stūpas*) on the relics of saintly persons or distinguished kings, princes and nobles as also over the sites sanctified by a saint’s presence. It was this ancient custom which we find re-iterated in the *Mahāparinibbāna-sutta*. Buddha is made to say that *stūpas* should be erected on the relics of (i) a Tathāgata, (ii) a Paccekabuddha, (iii) a Tathāgatasāvaka and (iv) a monarch (*cakkavatti*) evidently with a view to make the Buddhists refrain from erecting and worshipping any mound sanctified by a spirit or a non-Buddhist saint. The most suitable site recommended for the erection of *stūpa*, is the crossing of four highways. Worship of such four kinds of *stūpas* by garlands, scents, or coloured powders was regarded as meritorious, as it gave an expression to one’s deep faith in the religion. Along with these directions, there is the description of the manner in which the earthly remains of a Tathāgata should be cremated. The erection of *stūpas* over Buddha’s relics has created history, and even today the sight of the relics deposited in some of the monasteries is a matter of awe and inspiration to the devotees.

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The whole account of the erection and worship of *stūpas*, particularly over Buddha’s relics and the merit accruing therefrom was undoubtedly incorporated into the *Mahāparinibbāna-sutta* after Buddha’s demise and had nothing to do with the great Teacher, who evidently could not have thought of what would become of his relics and who would be their claimants. This idea of erection and worship of *stūpas* was undoubtedly a post-Buddha development. The interpolator, who put in the directions for worshipping *cetiyas* and held out the hope that by such worship one would be reborn in the heavens, realised the inconsistency with the principles of the religion, and immediately corrected himself by adding the remark that the advanced monks were not to occupy themselves with such worship of stūpas, and that they must exert to attain the goal while the worship of stūpas should be left to the laity alone, the wise brāhmaṇas, khattiyas and gahapatis.¹ The traditions about Aśoka's zeal to collect the relics and erect stūpas over them also prove that the stūpa-worship became widely prevalent. It is very likely that by Aśoka's time, the stūpa-worship became a regular feature of the religion.²

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¹ Digha, ii, p. 141. 2 See the account in the Divyāvadāna, pp. 389 ff. 3 Digha, ii, p. 138: Na kho Ānanda ettavatā Tathāgato sakkato vā hoti garukato vā mānito vā pūjito vā apacito vā etc. 4 Cf. Mahāvastu, X, p.

Cites (5)