Kadampa stupa

This Tibetan stupa, called a chorten, is large enough for worshipers to walk around it, reciting ritual prayers. The rising tiers symbolize the Buddha's progress toward enlightenment, or nirvana. Offerings of various kinds were usually enclosed in the chorten. In Buddhist art, a stupa is a memorial to a deceased holy figure. Stupas range from large-scale architecture to small objects of meditation.