Pagoda is also called "Futu" and "pagoda", and both Sanskrit and Tibetan are called chorten. There is a saying in the Buddhist scriptures: Our teacher Sakyamuni personally taught Ananda the method and specifications of building a tower, and made the cassock into a four-story square, on which a bowl was covered and Zhang Xi was placed to show it. In the Tripitaka, there are many classics about the specifications and significance of building a tower, the merits and demerits of building a tower, and the merits and demerits of circling the tower. Pagodas in Tibet, South China, ancient India and Japan are all built according to the specifications, proportions and meanings of the Buddha, representing not only the Buddha's body, but also the Buddha's three bodies, three realms and five elements (earth, water, fire, wind and air). In the bottle part of the stupa, sacred objects, scriptures and various auspicious things are enshrined, so that people who visit the pagoda can accumulate merits. ?

Before and after Sakyamuni's death, in order to commemorate the eight great deeds of his life, eight styles of stupas were built in eight locations. The Eight Pagodas are:?

Julian Pagoda, Bodhi Pagoda, Fa * Pagoda (from left to right in the first column), Shenbian Pagoda, one of the eight pagodas of Ta 'er Temple in Qinghai, Heavenly Descending Pagoda (from left to right in the second column), Hehe Pagoda, Shengli Pagoda and Nirvana Pagoda (from left to right in the third column)?

Lotus Pagoda-Commemorating the seven steps of the Buddha when he was born in Lumbini and the extraordinary victory of the lotus on the ground. ?

Bodhi Pagoda-Commemorating the achievements of Buddha under the Bodhi Tree in bodhgaya at the age of 35. ?

Thamathat —— Commemorating the Buddha's first conversion to Buddhism in Liudaoyuan after becoming a monk, and preaching the four truths and legal meanings to five monks. ?

When our teacher was 50 years old, six foreign teachers challenged and attacked with magical powers in Gion, and our teacher used all kinds of magical powers to persuade them to convert. This tower shows the magical power of commemorating the Buddha. ?

Shortly after the birth of Prince Siddhartha, a tower from heaven, his mother died of illness and was born in heaven for doing good. After the Prince became a Buddha, he was 42 years old and took spiritual power as his mother. After that, the Buddha returned to the world accompanied by the heavenly king. This tower was built to commemorate the Buddha's return to earth after dialogue with heaven. ?

Harmony Tower-When the Buddha was alive, some disciples formed another sect, which led to the split of the monks. Our teacher personally went to the bamboo forest of the king snake to show the reunion of the monks. This tower was built to commemorate this story. ?

Victory Tower-Built to commemorate the Buddha's attainment of the realm of independent life and death. ?

Nirvana Tower-To commemorate the death of Buddha in Roshi at the age of 80. ?

In later generations, this eight-tower style was applied to many towers, some of which appeared alone and some were built at the same time. At the entrance of Ta 'er Temple in Qinghai, there is a set of eight such pagodas. ?

In Ashoka's time, the king who believed in the Three Treasures once offered relics to many newly-built towers. According to records, with the help of "non-human", the king built 84,000 stupas in many places overnight to worship the Buddha relics. There are also many legendary pagodas, one of which is in the center of Wutai Mountain in China (hidden in the Great White Pagoda). ?

In addition to the Buddha's body and the five great figures, the lower base of the stupa represents ten good things, three-order three treasures, the lion represents being alive, the lotus represents six degrees, and the four corners of the base represent four infinite hearts ... The whole stupa includes sixty figures, including thirty-seven products. ?

According to the Buddhist scriptures, if you build a pagoda, walk around it, worship it or even just see it or be moved by its shadow, you will get 18 kinds of great benefits. It is recorded in Buddhist scriptures that a fly flew around the stupa unintentionally in order to chase the stench of feces, because it did a good deed around the stupa unintentionally, and was reincarnated in the afterlife and became a disciple of the Buddha! It can be seen that the stupa is a sacred object with wide interests. ?

Excerpt from predestination with Tibet