Lzh Dg Bu Pm 2 Sk 69Not Bury Corpse in Stupa

Sutta on Not Burying a Body in a Stupa

Background

This text is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, where the training rules and discipline of the community of monks and nuns are preserved. This is one of the rules concerning the handling of bodies and respect for sacred places in the Buddhist community.

According to the historical context, after the Buddha Śākyamuni entered nirvana, the community of monks and nuns needed to establish rules to manage practical issues concerning the death of fellow practitioners. A stupa (stūpa/chedī) is not merely an architectural structure but a sacred symbol, a place of worship for the propagation of the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, the handling of bodies must follow clear principles in order to maintain reverence and protect the sacred character of these places.

Main Content

The prohibition recorded in this text warns monks and nuns not to bury the bodies of the deceased inside a stupa or beneath the foundation of a stupa. This is an act regarded as unsuitable to ritual and to the spirit of practice.

The deeper reason for this rule lies in several important factors. First, a stupa is a place of worship for sacred relics or objects connected with the Buddha and living holy ones, a symbol of the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Burying a body in a stupa would diminish that reverence. Second, from a practical perspective, burying a body in a stupa may create hygienic problems and damage the structure of the religious building. Third, this rule reflects a clear distinction between what relates to the path of practice and what relates to death, according to the spirit of Theravāda Buddhism.

The text indicates that those who pass away in the community of monks and nuns should be buried or cremated in other ways, according to local custom or separate rituals prescribed in the Vinaya Piṭaka. This shows respect for the deceased while still maintaining clear boundaries around sacred areas.