Click images for larger view

Boudhanath Stupa
A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Vibrant monasteries, restaurants, shops and artisan studios fill the alleys around the Great Stupa of Boudhanath. From early morning to late night, Buddhist pilgrims fresh from the far reaches of the Himalayas circumabulate the Stupa together with visitors from all parts of the world, their wishing prayers blending together in deep devotion and faith.

One tale about the building of the Great Stupa has been recorded in the form of a dialogue between Padmasambhava, the incomparable 8th century enlightened master credited with bringing Buddhism to Tibet and a group of listeners. Padmasambhava tells his entourage that during the time of Mahakashyapa, the Buddha who preceded the historic Buddha Shakyamuni, a low-caste but deeply religious poultry woman (who happened to be the emanation of an enlightened being) had four illegitimate sons of four different fathers. She worked hard to give them all good educations and when she was confident that they no longer needed her support, she began to put money aside to build a great stupa, a symbol of enlightened mind, in honor of Buddha Mahakashyapa. She received permission from the maharaja who ruled the area to build a stupa in order to inspire and benefit all beings that would come into contact with it. And thus, the poultry woman and her sons built the Great Stupa, one of the largest in the world, which is said to hold relics of the Buddha Mahakashyapa.

Although the story itself has many additional twists and turns and historians are hard-pressed to confirm the Stupa’s origins, its splendor and serene energy is indeed evident to all who behold it. The Great Stupa leaves a remarkable imprint on the mind; it is said that those who come in contact with a stupa will experience peace, and happiness will arise in their streams of being.  

< Back to "What You'll See" main page