Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Roof
Stairs lead up to subsidiary chapels and monk accommodation. The roof usually
has excellent views as well as vases of immortality, victory banners, dragons and copper
symbols of the Wheel of Law flanked by two deer, recalling the Buddha's first sermon at
the deer park of Sarnath.
Chörtens
Probably the most prominent Tibetan architectural motif is the chörten. Chörtens were ori-
ginally built to house the cremated relics of the Historical Buddha and as such have be-
come a powerful symbol of the Buddha and his teachings. Later, chörtens also served as
reliquaries for lamas and holy men and monumental versions would often encase whole
mummified bodies, as is the case with the tombs of the Dalai Lamas in the Potala. The tra-
dition is very much alive: a stunning gold reliquary chörten was constructed in 1989 at
Tashilhunpo Monastery to hold the body of the 10th Panchen Lama.
In the early stages of Buddhism, images of the Buddha did not exist and chörtens served
as the major symbol of the new faith. Over the next two millennia, chörtens took many dif-
ferent forms across the Buddhist world, from the sensuous stupas of Burma to the pagodas
of China and Japan. Most elaborate of all are the
kumbums
(100,000 Buddha images), of
which the best remaining example in Tibet is at Gyantse. Many chörtens were built to hold
ancient relics and sacred texts and have been plundered over the years by treasure seekers
and vandals.
Chörtens are highly symbolic. The five levels represent the four elements, plus eternal
space: the square base symbolises earth, the dome is water, the spire is fire, and the top
moon and sun are air and space. The 13 discs of the ceremonial umbrella can represent the
branches of the tree of life or the 10 powers and three mindfulnesses of the Buddha. The
top seed-shaped pinnacle symbolises enlightenment. The chörten as a whole can therefore
be seen as a representation of the path to enlightenment. The construction can also physic-
ally represent the Buddha, with the base as his seat and the dome as his body.
For an in-depth look at Lhasa's traditional Tibetan architecture and interactive maps of
Lhasa, check out
www.tibetheritagefund.org
.
