The Great Stupa is a famous Buddhist monument that resides in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. The manual shows that it is a hemispherical dome made of rubble, earth and stone. It is also a mandala (meaning circle). At the top center is a small square platform. In the center of the platform is a mast supporting three circular discs called chatras. The entire dome sits on a raised base and around the top is a walkway. It has four doors, but they are not aligned on an axis with the openings in the guardrail. The Great Stupa is 50 feet tall and has a diameter of 105 feet. It was founded in the 3rd century BCE and expanded c. 150-50 BCE. (Sayre, 115 years old)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Born a prince, Buddha was troubled by the suffering of humans. As a result, he traded his luxurious lifestyle for the wilderness where he meditated for six years before finally achieving complete enlightenment while sitting under a banyan tree in Bodh Gaya (Sayre, 114). Then he taught at the Deer Park in Sarnath, introducing the Four Noble Truths for the first time. He taught until his death and gained a clientele that will survive him. Buddhism became the official state religion of the Mauryan Empire under Emperor Ashoka (273–232 BCE) after Ashoka was dismayed by the bloodshed of the battle. He even declared a policy of non-violence and went from “cruel” to “pious” (Sayre, 115). During this period, Ashoka built 8,400 shrines and monuments to Buddha throughout the empire, thus spreading Buddhism beyond India (Sayre, 115). One of these monuments was the Great Stupa. A stupa is a tumulus. Ashoka had them built to contain the remains of Buddha. There are eight stupas, which were later divided into eight parts, and the relics of Buddha were scattered among them. As Buddhism was introduced to different regions, "the basic architectural features of stupas were transformed into a variety of forms reflecting the artistic expressions of these cultures" (Violatti). The structure of the monument is highly symbolic. The stupa is a dome that can be connected to the Dome of Heaven, the sky. The chatras represent the tree in which Buddha achieved enlightenment as well as the three levels of consciousness: desire, form, formlessness (Sayre, 115). The gateway allows visitors to symbolically follow the path of Buddha or the eightfold path as found in the Four Noble Truths. The entire stupa is a mandala which is the Buddhist diagram of the cosmos (Sayre, 115). Additionally, the Great Stupa is a large structure open to the public. This allows more viewers to connect with Buddhism while walking the path and studying the architecture. The Four Noble Truths are: “1. life is suffering, 2. this suffering has a cause which is ignorance, 3. ignorance can be overcome and eliminated, 4. the way to overcome this ignorance is to follow the 'Eightfold Path of right view. , good resolution, good speech, good action, good livelihood, good effort, good attention and good concentration” (Sayre, 114). Perhaps the intention behind the Great Stupa was to force viewers to confront their ignorance, which could lead them to follow these truths and find enlightenment. Stupas were places where the relics of Buddhist monks were kept and were also used for meditation. The Great Stupa was commissioned by Emperor Ashoka in honor of Buddha..