In the primordial mind, the stupa dome is the Golden Egg of the cosmos, the womb of time and space, and the vase of fertility. Within it lies the potentialily of all things. It is also the cosmic breast, nurturing all creation. It is an image of the female principle. Embedded within the dame, the wooden axis is the tree of life, the spreading Tree of Enlightenment, and the cosmic phallus.
In the primary Buddhist symbolism of the stupa, the base is the Buddha's legs in lotus posture, the axis is his spine, the dome his stomach and torso, and the square steeple his head (thus the external eyes). The spire is the transcendental mind, its thirteen levels indisation and three dimensions of metaphysical reality. The crowning jewel ornament represents his fully enlightened mind. Thus, wherever a stupa resides, whether hig upon the hill at Swayambhu or in a city monastery courtyard, the Buddha's message is present.
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