Dwelling with the Stupa

“Although we have placed the stupa in its historical context, this does not completely answer the question of what a stupa is. We still need to ask ourselves what it represents, what it symbolizes. And the answer to this question is bound up with the symbolism of the five elements.  The five elements are the traditional ones – earth, water, fire, air, and ether or space. However, we must take these terms not literally but symbolically. When we take the five elements symbolically, what do we have in mind? What did the builders of the stupas have in mind? The answer, in a word, is energy.” Sangharakshita, Mahāyāna Myths and Stories

Come on this week-long retreat to contemplate one of the richest and most profound symbols in Buddhism: the stupa.  The stupa engages us with devotion to the Buddha in both the reality of his absence and the mysterious sense of his presence.  It engages us with the different elements that make up reality, as well as their fluidity and emptiness.  It transforms us in a refinement and sublimation of energy, leading up to the pinnacle of Enlightenment.  On the retreat we will meet the stupa in study, ritual, meditation and the stupa visualisation practice: preparation for both the six element and sadhana practice we take up at ordination.