Chorten
The perfect proportions of The Buddha’s Body corresponds to the design of religious monuments. Its architecture developed from the pre-Buddhist Indian grave-mound. Under these mounds the saintly ascetic were buried; their bodies were seated on the ground and covered with earth. These dome-shaped graves, or tumuli, of the saints were regarded as holy places. And were destinations for pilgrimage for the devotional and places of practice for meditators. Ruwanweliseya, or the "Great Stupa", above, is regarded as the most important of the stupas at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Standing at 300 feet, it is the oldest but smallest of the three giant edifices in brick in the world. The Stupa, decorated by coral brought from the Mediterranean by an envoy of the Sri Lankan king who had an audience with the Roman Emporer Caesar Augustus, was restored by successive rulers. The Stupa built by King Duttugamunu, is surrounded by an elephant wall, a restored design of an earlier expression. This design has been repeated in Thailand, Burma, and other countries where Buddhism was taught by monks from Sri Lanka.The basic structure of a Chorten consist of a square foundation symbolizing the earth, a dome symbolizing water, and thirteen tapering steps of Enlightenment symbolizing the element of Fire. These steps lead to a stylized parasol, the symbol of wind, which is topped in the ethereal sphere by the well-known ‘twin-symbol’ uniting sun and moon, which is the shimmering crown of the Chorten. The Analogy with the Symbolism of the Stupa
The Seed of Highest Enlightenment, also depicted as a Tongue of Flame (Bindu) to be realized above the double symbol crowning Chorten.
The double symbol (Surya Chandra) of Sun and Rising Moon is an emblem of the Twin-unity of the Absolute Truth (of the sphere beyond normal comprehension) and the Relative Truth (of the worldly sphere).
The stylized Parasol (Chattra) symbolically giving protection from all Evil. The thirteen Steps of Enlightenment, i.e. the first ten Steps of Enlightenment (Dasha-Bhumi) and the three higher levels of supraconsciousness (Avenika-smrityupashthana).
The dome, corresponding to the primeval mound, as Receptacle of Relics or offerings (Dhatu-Garbha); the dome-line edifices of Old Indian Stupas were also called egg or water-bubble (Budbuda).
The base (Parishada) is square and four-stepped, its sides facing the four directions. Analogous to the underworld.
What is the basic information of the Buddhist Architecture? The Buddhist Architecture has its root deeply implanted in the Indian soil- the birthplace of The Buddha's teachings. The Buddhist Architecture began with the development of various symbols, representing aspects of The Buddha's Life. For the first time, it was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who not only established Buddhism as the state religion of his large Magadha empire, but also opted for the architectural monuments to spread Buddhism in different places. Distinctive Buddhist architectural structures and sculptures such as Stupas, Pagodas, monasteries and Caves, which have been mere spectators of different eras quietly speaks about the phases of the Buddhist stages.
What are different types of architectures of the Buddhist Architecture?
Caves (Grottoes) Caves are another type of Buddhist Architecture, which is often chiseled into cliffs. In the 3rd century, Chinese Buddhists began to build grottoes and Xinjiang is the first area where Caves were used. Grottoes are decorated with painted sculptures, carvings and frescos. Craftsmen revealed real Life pictures and their understanding of society in these Art works, which gave them great historical and cultural value. The four famous grottoes in China are: Mogao Caves, Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and Maiji Caves.
The Stupas holds the most important place among all the earliest Buddhist sculptures. A Stupa is a dome-shaped monument, used to house Buddhists' relics or to commemorate significant facts of Buddhism. Pagodas
Pagodas are the principle form of Buddhist Architecture, which are used as religious multistory Buddhist towers, erected as a memorial or shrine. They are symbols of five elements of the universe - earth, water, Fire, air and ether, and along with them, the most important factor - Consciousness, which is the ultimate reality.
Temples and Monasteries The Buddhist temple is the holy place where Buddhist Doctrine is maintained. Differing from other religions' temples, Chinese Buddhist temples have many characteristics of their own. The oldest temple in China - White Horse Temple is a typical example of this. The architectural styles of Buddhist temples in China were mainly formed in three periods: Han Dynasty (206BC-220), Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-589), and Tang Dynasty (618-907). The first period sees the retention of Indian styles. In the second period, wooden framework was added to the original styles. In the third period, the styles of Buddhist temples were totally Sinicized and the pavilion-like Pagoda, which is unique to China, became popular. Buddhist Architecture
Tibetan Buddhist architecture, in the cultural regions of the Tibetan people, has been highly influenced by China and India. Many of the houses and monasteries are typically built on elevated, sunny sites facing the south. Rocks, wood, cement and earth are the primary building materials. Flat roofs are built to conserve heat and multiple windows are constructed to let in the sunlight. Due to frequent earthquakes, walls are usually sloped inward at 10 degrees. The Potala Palace is considered the most important example of Tibetan architecture. Temples and monasteries were all built by Tibetan Buddhist followers. All decorations--plated statues, elaborate frescoes, and expensive silk hangings--were all bought and paid for by donations.
Buddhist Architecture is a representative of the religious culture in China, also a wealthy of Chinese ancient culture. To protect those ancient brilliant wealthy is an urgent task for a large amount of damages happened on the Buddhist Architecture during going for a tourism. Therefore, it is important to call up tourists to protect Buddhist architectures. Ancient Indian Cave Architecture Ajanta
The Ajanta Caves Maharashtra India, are 29 rock-cut cave monuments which date from the 2nd century B.C. The Caves include paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious Art (which depict the Jataka tales) as well as frescos which are reminiscent of the Sigiriya paintings in Sri Lanka. The Caves were built in two phases starting around 200 B.C, with the second group of Caves built around 600 A.D. Ellora
Ellora is an archaeological site, 30 km from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra, built by the Rashtrakuta rulers. Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "Caves" actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills: being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist Caves, 17 Hindu Caves, and 5 Jain Caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious Harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history. These structures consist mostly of viharas or monasteries: large, multi-storeyed buildings carved into the mountain face, including living quarters, sleeping quarters, kitchens, and other rooms. Some of these monastery Caves have shrines including carvings of Buddha, bodhisattvas and saints. In many of these Caves, sculptors have endeavoured to give the stone the look of wood. Elephanta
The Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted Caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of Caves") in Mumbai Harbour. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of Caves: the first is a large group of five Hindu Caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist Caves. The Hindu Caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the God Shiva. The rock cut architecture of the Caves has been dated to between the 5th and 8th centuries, although the identity of the original builders is still a subject of debate. The Caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. All the Caves were also originally painted in the past, but now only traces remain.
