Buddhist symbolism in the context of "Cetiya"

Cetiya, "reminders" or "memorials" (Sanskrit caitya), are objects and places used by Buddhists to remember Gautama Buddha. According to Damrong Rajanubhab, four kinds are distinguished in the Pāli Canon: "Relic [Dhatu], Memorial [Paribhoga], Teaching [Dhamma], and votive [Udesaka]." Griswold, in contrast, states that three are traditional and the fourth, the Buddha Dhamma, was added later to remind monks that the true memory of Gautama Buddha can be found in his teachings. While these can be broadly called Buddhist symbolism, the emphasis tends to be on a historical connection to the Buddha and not a metaphysical one.

In pre-Buddhist India caitya was a term for a shrine or holy place in the landscape, generally outdoors, inhabited by, or sacred to, a particular deity. In the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, near the end of his life the Buddha remarks to Ananda how beautiful are the various caitya round Vaishali.