A. Origins of the Stupa
（A）Relics
　　According to Buddhist sutras, after the Buddha's parinirvana more than 2,500 years ago, his body was cremated by his disciples according to the custom of the time. Found among the ashes were corporeal remains of the Buddha in different shapes, sizes and colors, known as the Buddha's “relics.”
　　Because people can no longer see the “true body” of the Buddha since his departure from the human world, disciples and devotees who miss him dearly revere and pay homage to his relics as if they were his true body.

corporeal relics of the Buddha and eminent monks after cremation	the Bodhisattva statue is holding the finger relic of the Buddha in his hands, which was reverently escorted from Xian, China to Taiwan	the tooth relic of the Buddha, Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan	excavated from India, these soap-stone reliquaries were believed to be housed in a stupa built by the Buddha's clansmen

（B）Origin of the Reliquary and the Building of Stupas for Paying Homage to the Buddha
　　 During the Buddha's time, India was composed of many small states. After the parinirvana of the Buddha, eight states sought to enshrine the precious relics in their land. As war was about to break out, the Brahmin Drona made the suggestion to divide the relics eight ways. Since each state would receive a share of the Buddha's relics to make offerings to, the conflict was settled peacefully.
　　After receiving the Buddha's relics, each of the eight kings reverently made exquisite containers or reliquaries to house them. Stupas were also built as offerings to the relics. Thereafter, Buddhist stupas became a place for Buddhists to pay homage to the Buddha and to remember him.

B. Shapes and Structures of the Stupa and the Pagoda
　　In India, the stupa was originally an actual sepulcher, placed over a reliquary containing the Buddha's relics. Two hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvana, India saw the rise of the great King Asoka who unified the country. He constructed 84,000 stupas to actively disseminate the teachings of the Buddha. Ever since, the stupa became a symbolic monument for all Buddhists as they remember the Buddha.
　　Although the stupa had its origin in India, it developed into many different forms as it spread across the world. The various types of stupa that are seen today in many different countries are results of combining the features of the original Indian stupa with local architectural styles.
　　No matter how magnificently splendid, gracefully unblemished, or simply elegant a stupa or a pagoda may be on the outside, it is always unique in its features as there are many types—the inverted alms-bowl stupa, the multi-storey pagoda, the close-eaved pagoda, the single-storey pagoda, the Tibetan-style dagoba, and the diamond-throne pagoda (cf. pullout, “Illustrated World Buddhist Arts, Selected Edition” for detailed descriptions).
　　Whether it is a stupa or a pagoda of the various types, it is composed basically of a steeple, a body and a base, but for many of the Chinese multi-storey pagodas, an underground chamber is also built beneath the pagoda's base.