Toh 1953A [Stūpa] Ritual Illuminating the Dharmakāya
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dharmakāyadīpavidhi
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Commentary on the Scripture of the Stūpa That Illuminates the Dharmakāya
Context
The Stūpa That Illuminates the Dharmakāya (Dharmakāyadīpavidhi) belongs to the Treatise Collection of the Northern Canon tradition. It is a work of practice in the Mahayana tradition, imbued with the spirit of Tibetan Buddhism. This work is situated within the system of meditation and ritual connected with making offerings to sacred stūpas, a fundamental form of practice in the Mahayana.
A stūpa is not merely an architectural structure, but a symbol of the Buddha Dharma and the Dharmakāya of the Buddha. Making offerings to a stūpa is a practice of great merit, for it expresses reverence for the Buddha Dharma and faith in awakening. This scripture teaches methods of meditation and ritual for illuminating the Dharmakāya through offerings to a stūpa, that is, using mindful intention to connect with the supreme nature of the Buddha path.
Main Content
The scripture teaches that the Dharmakāya is the unconditioned Dharma body, far beyond the concept of form, and is the very essence of the Buddha’s awakening. When we make offerings to a sacred stūpa or focus in meditation on the Dharmakāya, we are not merely venerating an external material object, but are binding mindfulness to the essence of the Buddha Dharma: the perfection, impermanence, and selflessness of all phenomena.
The method of practice presented includes: first, generating bodhicitta with the aim of liberating beings; second, visualizing the Dharmakāya as immeasurable, imperishable light illuminating all space; third, with a pure mind, making offerings to the stūpa or focusing in meditation, recognizing that all things are manifestations of the Dharmakāya.
The scripture emphasizes that the size of the stūpa or the number of offerings is less important than the mind of the one making the offering. A pure mind, a correct thought directed toward the Dharmakāya, possesses immeasurable and boundless merit. This is a fundamental principle of the Mahayana: merit arises from the mind, not from outward action.
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