Miniature Buddhist stupa

This Chinese stupa is a three-dimensional mandala, a cosmic geometrical diagram used by meditators during visualization exercises. The four buddhas of the cardinal directions appear on the stupa’s sides. Along with an invisible Buddha Vairochana occupying the hidden center of the stupa, this configuration of buddhas comprises the form of the mandala. This stupa is inscribed with the formula sometimes called the Buddhist creed. Here, rendered in Chinese characters, it reads, “The Buddha has explained the cause of all things that arise from a cause. He, the great monk, has also explained their cessation.” This creed, when inscribed on a sculpture, serves, for believers, to animate the sculpture with the living presence of the Buddha’s doctrine.