In his preface to The Symbolism of the Stupa Prof. Craig Reynolds writes, "The stupa is a symbolic form that pullulates throughout South, Southeast and East Asia. In its Indian manifestations it is an extreme case in terms of architectural function: it has no usable interior space and its construction has a basic simplicity. In this 'state of the art' study Adrian Snodgrass reads the stupa as a cultural artifact. The monument concretizes metaphysical principles and generates multivalent meanings in ways that can be articulated with literary texts and other architectural forms."

Dr. Adrian Snodgrass is an Australian architect with a lifetime interest in Asian culture. At the age of twenty-five he went to Sri Lanka and India, where he lived and studied aspects of Buddhism and Indian thought, art and religion for more than six years. He then spent seven years in Japan where he studied forms of Far Eastern Buddhism. This was followed by several years each in Hong Kong and Indonesia. In 1976 he returned to Australia and to Sydney University, where he was appointed Japan Foundation Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies. He now lectures on Design, and Asian Art and Architecture in the Department of Architecture at that university. He is the author of several books, including The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism and Architecture, Time and Eternity. He is married and has one son.

Preface

INTRODUCTION
1.  The Nature of Architectural Symbolism
2.  The Analysis of the Symbolism of the Stupa

PART I - THE PLAN

1.  THE SPATIAL CONFIGURATION OF THE STUPA

2.  THE RITUAL DEMARCATION OF THE STUPA PLAN.

3.  THE SYMBOLISM OF THE CENTRE
    1.  The Geometric Centre
    2.  The Sun as Centre

4.  THE SYMBOLISM OF MEASURING
    1.  Measuring Out from the Centre
    2.  Measuring Out by the Sun

5.  THE SYMBOLISM OF THE DIRECTIONS OF SPACE
    1.  The Deployment of the Directions
    2.  The Deployment of Space in the Brahmanic Myths
    3.  The Deployment of Space in the Buddha Legend

6.  THE DEPLOYMENT OF SPACE AND THE SACRIFICE
    1.  The Vedic Fire Altar
    2.  The Division and Reunification of the Body of Prajapati
        - the Sacrifice
    3.  Buddhist Parallels - the Proliferation of the Body of
        the Buddha

7.  THE DEPLOYMENT OF SPACE AND THE SOLAR BREATH
    1.  The Pneumatic Deployment of the Macrocosm
    2.  The Pneumatic Deployment of the Microcosm

8.  THE DEPLOYMENT OF SPACE IN ICONOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE AND THE
    BUDDHIST KINGDOM

9.  THE STUPA PLAN AS WHEEL

10. THE STUPA PLAN AND THE LOTUS

11. THE CIRCLE AND THE SQUARE

12. THE STUPA PLAN AS MANDALA
    1.  The Meaning of the Mandala
    2.  The Mandala and the Cosmos
    3.  The Mandala as Plan: the Vastu-purusa-mandala
    4.  The Symbolism of the Mandala Gridwork
        a.  The Lines as Pneumatic Measures
        b.  Breath-threads, Breath-knots and Breath-nets
        c.  The Symbolism of Weaving
        d.  The Symbolism of the Spider's Web
        e.  The Symbolism of the Buddha's Urna
        f.  Noose and Net Symbolism in the Myth of Varuna
        g.  Noose and Net Symbolism in Buddhism
    5.  The Mandala Expressed in the Stupa
        a.  The Stupa Plan as Mandala
        b.  The Mandala Within the Stupa
        c.  The Stupa as a Mandala of the Manusi Buddhas
        d.  The Stupa as a Mandala of the Regents of the Quarters
        e.  The Stupa as a Mandala of the Jina Buddhas
        f.  Borobudur as a Diamond World Mandala

13. THE SACRED ENCLOSURE
    1.  The Caitya-vrksa
    2.  The Place of Enlightenment and the Diamond Throne
 
PART II - THE PILE

14. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE AXIS
    1.  The Pillar and Cosmogenesis
    2.  The Pillar as Deity
    3.  The Pillar in Buddhism
    4.  Cognate Symbols of Axiality: the Mountain and the Tree
        a.  The Mountain
        b.  The Tree
    5.  Stabilizing the Site by the Pillar  

15. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE DOME
    1.  The Dome as Centre and Container
    2.  The Womb (garbha) and the Egg (anda)
    3.  The Cave
    4.  The Lotus
    5.  The Sphere and the Cube
        a.  The Union of Complementary Principles
        b.  Purusa and Prakrti
        c.  The Union of Complements in Buddhism
        d.  The Symbolism of the Cross  

16. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE
    1.  The Stupa Types
    2.  The Stupa as Mountain
    3.  The Mountain in the Egg - the Equivalence of the Stupa
        Types
    4.  The Symbolism of the Levels
        1.  The Spatial Significance of the Levels
        2.  The Cosmological Significance of the Levels  

17. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HARMIKA
    1.  The Harmika as High Altar - the Amalaka
    2.  The Harmika as Caitya-vrksa
    3.  The Harmika as Bodhimanda
    4.  The Mountain Summit
    5.  The superimposed Altars
    6.  The Sun Door

18. ASCENT
    1.  The Symbolism of Ascension
    2.  The Symbolism of the stairways
        a.  The Symbolism of the Rainbow Bridge
        b.  The Rainbow Serpent and the Rainbow Makara
        c.  The Upward and Downward Flowing Waters
        d.  The Marriage of the Currents
        e.  The Symbolism of the Gander
        f.  The Kalamakara
        g.  The Astronomical Symbolism of the Kalamakara
        h.  The Symbolism of Passage through the Doorway
    3.  The Interior Ascent

19. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SPIRE
    1.  The Post or Mast
    2.  The Spire as Sacrificial Post (yupa)
    3.  The Spire as Parasol
    4.  The Spire as Cosmic Tree
    5.  The Symbolism of the Spire Discs
    6.  The Buddhist Cosmology
    7.  The Akanistha Heaven and the Stages to Nirvana
    8.  The Akanistha as the Place of Enlightenment
    9.  The Loci of Enlightenment
   10.  The twofold Revelation of the Dharma

20. THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PINNACLE
    1.  The Vase
    2.  The Jewel

21. THE FUNCTION OF THE STUPA
    1.  The Stupa as Reliquary
    2.  The Stupa as Memorial
    3.  The Stupa as Votive Offering

22. SYNTHESIS
    1.  The Identity of the Stupa and the Buddha
    2.  The Identity of the Stupa and the Dharma
    3.  The Identity of the Stupa and the Buddha in Shingon Buddhism

ABBREVIATION

LIST OF WORKS CITED

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

INDEX