One of the oldest stone structures in India, originally built to house relics of the Buddha, its hemispherical dome (anda) symbolizes the world egg or the Buddha's meditative mind, and its harmika (square railing) represents the world mountain, Meru.

The stupa's plan is a three-dimensional mandala, a cosmic diagram representing the universe and the path to enlightenment, with the practitioner moving from the outer, worldly square base toward the inner, spiritual spherical dome.

A symbolic representation of the enlightened mind, its structure mapping the journey from basis to result, which in Dzogchen are non-dual.

A symbol of the enlightened mind, which Mahakala protects; his fierce energy guards the sacred, structured space of awakening from inner and outer corruption.

The architectural form dotting Shambhala, symbolizing the enlightened mind of the Buddha, a reliquary of sacred truth, and a marker of spiritual territory within the psyche.

A architectural echo of the temple, representing the enlightened mind and the stable axis around which reality is organized.

As a protector of the Dharma, Vajrapani safeguards the symbolic and actual repositories of enlightened mind, of which the stupa is a primary architectural form.

A symbol of the enlightened mind; the Yamantaka practice aims to build such an indestructible, luminous structure within the practitioner’s consciousness.