The Great Stupa is a famous Buddhist monument residing in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. The textbook shows that it consists of a hemispherical dome made of rubble, earth and stone. Furthermore, it is a mandala (meaning circle). At the top center is a small square platform. In the center of the platform is a tree that supports three circular discs called chatras. The entire dome rests on a raised base and there is a walkway around the top. It has four doors, but they are not aligned on axis with the openings in the railing. The Great Stupa is 50 feet high and 105 feet in diameter. It was founded in the 3rd century BC and expanded approx. 150-50 BC (Sayre, 115) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Born as a prince, Buddha was troubled by the suffering of human beings. As a result, he traded his luxurious lifestyle for the wilderness where he meditated for six years before finally achieving complete enlightenment while sitting under a banyan tree in Bodh Gaya (Sayre, 114). He later taught at Deer Park in Sarnath, presenting the Four Noble Truths for the first time. He taught until his death and gained a following that would outlast him. Buddhism became the official state religion of the Maurya Empire under Emperor Ashoka (273-232 BC) after Ashoka was shocked by the bloodshed of the battle. He even declared a policy of nonviolence and went from “cruel” to “pious” (Sayre, 115). During this period, Ashoka built 8,400 shrines and monuments to the Buddha throughout the empire, spreading Buddhism beyond India (Sayre, 115). One of these monuments was the Great Stupa. A stupa is a burial mound. Ashoka had them built to contain the remains of the Buddha. There are eight stupas, which were then divided into eight parts, and the relics of the Buddha were scattered between them. As Buddhism was introduced into different areas, “the basic architectural features of stupas were transformed into a variety of forms that reflected the artistic expressions of those cultures” (Violatti). The structure of the monument is highly symbolic. The stupa is a dome that can be connected to the Dome of Paradise: the sky. The chatras represent the tree in which Buddha achieved enlightenment as well as the three levels of consciousness: desire, form, formlessness (Sayre, 115). The walkway allows visitors to symbolically follow the path of the Buddha or the Eightfold Path as found in the Four Noble Truths. The entire stupa is a mandala which is the Buddhist diagram of the cosmos (Sayre, 115). Furthermore, the Great Stupa is a large structure and is open to the public. This allows more viewers to make a connection with Buddhism as they walk the path and study the architecture. The Four Noble Truths are: “1.life is suffering, 2.this suffering has a cause which is ignorance, 3.ignorance can be overcome and eliminated, 4.the way to overcome this ignorance is to follow the Eightfold Path of right view, right determination, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness and right concentration” (Sayre, 114). Perhaps the intention behind the Great Stupa was to force viewers to confront their ignorance which could lead them to follow these truths and find enlightenment. Stupas were places to keep the relics of Buddhist monks and were also used for meditation. The Great Stupa was commissioned by Emperor Ashoka in honor of the Buddha, so by making it large and public, more people could see the mark left by the Buddha and follow his.