2-4.His Life Story within Stūpas
The vibrant imagination of ancient Indians gave rise to a plethora of stories featuring Śākyamuni as the protagonist. These countless narratives even reached back to times before he existed in human form in this region in the 5th century BCE, weaving through his myriad past lives and culminating in his final one. For pilgrims seeking stūpas to embrace Śākyamuni’s teachings, these life stories carried the same excitement and emotional resonance as contemporary dramas or movies. To incorporate such narratives within stūpas, the protagonist eventually took on a human form— Śākyamuni.