Jasujang

Picture of Nirvana under Two Trees of Shorea Robusta, 1987-1997, 236 X 152cm

On February 15, the Buddha entered Nirvana under twin sal trees in Kushinagar

Once the Buddha entered "parinirvana," a pair of trees from the east and the west came together and became one. Another pair of trees from the north and south then also came together, and they all covered the Buddha's body and bed.

On the day of his cremation, the Buddha's coffin was set on fire, but it didn't burn at all. When his disciple, Mahakasyapa, finally arrived and began grieving next to his coffin, the Buddha poked his feet out, showing that there was no difference between death and life.

People from the palace tried to move the coffin, but it wouldn't budge. But then, the golden coffin lifted itself. It circled the palace 7 times, and then set itself down on a cremation bed of fragrant wood.

Standing next to the golden coffin, surrounded by clouds, is a Buddhist monk holding a staff tightly with both hands

Queen Maya (the Buddha's mother) descends from heaven with her two maids and watches the cremation.

The enlightenment of the Buddha and many of his features during that experience are depicted over and over again in this scene.

This scene depicts the Buddha continuously reincarnating as the Buddha in different dimensions, and releasing light after entering "parinirvana."

The golden coffin burns as 5 colors float up into the sky and the Four Heavenly Kings descend on clouds.

Sarira (the word for the Buddha's ashes) is raining down like hail, and people are busy collecting it in bowls.

Master Choi twisted gold and 5 colored threads together, and finely embroidered large and small dots to represent the falling sarira. This is her newly invented embroidery technique.

The scene depicts people sharing their collected sarira and building sarira pagodas.

They then return to their countries and build what are known as the "8 Original Pagodas." These are later taken apart and turned into 84,000 pagodas by Emperor Ashoka