Question asked by Steven
Dear Eminence and pastors, sangha at kechara,
I recently felt inspired by a teaching on the benefits of circambulating stupas. I wish to incorporate this in my daily practice at home.
However, I do not possess or have access to a stupa.
Lama Zopa rinpoche mentions putting buddha images or statues and small stupas (like the small ones you put on altars) and a dharma text such as Heart sutra or the lam rim on a table and circumambulate those, while reciting mantras.
I have done some research but could not find an answer to my question:
Would a printed image of a stupa, i.e. either a photo of Boudanath stupa or even a line drawing of a stupa suffice as a substitute and generate merit?
Thanks in advance,
Steven
Dear Steven,
The benefit of circumambulating a stupa is one can purify a lot of negative karma and also collect a tremendous amount of merits. The benefit comes from the power of the object and the subject. If we circumambulate a stupa without putting in any effort on our speech and mind, the purification can still take place due to the power of the object (the stupa). However if we circumambulate a stupa with our body, speech and mind by applying the Four Opponent Powers, it would be even more beneficial because, on top of the power of the object, the purification also takes place due to the power of the subject.
Since the purification and the amount of merits rely on the power of the object, and it’s said in the scripture that the amount of merits accrued from making Buddha images will be equal to the number of atoms used to form that image, hence with the same principle we can conclude that it would be more beneficial if we circumambulate a large stupa that is filled with a lot of holy objects than circumambulating a small stupa.
Therefore, to answer your question, even though a correct line drawing of a stupa can still be an object to generate merits, but it would be more beneficial if the stupa is larger and filled with more holy items. Lama Zopa’s method is a great substitute for an actual traditional stupa.
Recommended reading: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/bigger-and-more-buddha-statues-makes-a-difference.html