Worthy of A Stupa

Most Malaysian Buddhists do not view Buddhist stupas as significant to Buddhism although stupa is one of the objects of reverence in Buddhism.

In tonight Dhamma Talk, Sayadaw U Vimala teaches us the importance of stupas in Buddhism.

Stupas are used to house the remains of the Buddha. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Buddha mentioned that there are 4 types of person worthy of being enshrined in a stupa. They are namely

1. A Samma Sambuddha
2. A Pacekka Buddha
3. An Arahanta
4. An universal monarch

Sayadaw said that reverence such as offerings of flowers or water can be made to a stupa and in the commentaries, such action can assists a person to be reborn as human or devas.

Sister Gin also mentioned about the great reverence of the stupa to the Burmese people during our retreat at Santarama BH.

But, in my opinion, Chinese Malaysians had the outmost extreme zeal in paying reverence to inanimate objects such as stones, idols etc. Right understanding in paying reverences to objects had to cultivated in the Buddhist practice so that ancestral practices of worshiping do not cloud the importance of paying respect in Buddhism.

Otherwise, we are going to have a real hard time in maintaining correct atmosphere in Buddhist places especially in meditation centers.

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.