Interview with Matthew Welch

Curator of Korean and Japanese Art

1. What's happening in this image?

This painting represents the parinirvana (pronunciation: "pah-ree-neer-VAH-nah")—or the physical death—of the historic Buddha.

Remember, the historic Buddha—or Siddhartha—was born in India sometime in the 6th century BC. According to tradition, he lived for 80 years before passing away. Earlier in his life, he had achieved nirvana—that is, complete enlightenment and the cessation of all earthly desires, but his human body fettered him to this world. According to Buddhist doctrine, it was not until the death of his physical body that he passed into nirvana. To Buddhists, nirvana means, "to extinguish"—that is, like blowing out the flame of a candle, one passes entirely out of the realm of the endless cycle of death and rebirth that characterizes everyone's existence on earth. So with his parinirvana, the historic Buddha transcended the final limitation and achieved nirvana.

2. How does this painting convey all of that?

(1) The Buddha lies on a bed—his body covered in gold.

What this painting shows is the historic Buddha lying recumbent on a bed or a dais. His body is painted with gold to suggest his divinity.(1)

(2) The Buddha's mother descends from heaven.

He's wrapped in robes and up above, even his mother—who is long deceased—is descending from the heavens to come witness this momentous occasion: the death of her son, and his passage into nirvana.(2) His devoted followers, divine beings, disciples, and holy men—but also representivities from the animal world—surround him.

3. So, even though this is a death of sorts, it's a happy moment.

(3) A witness wails with grief, mistakenly thinking it is a sad occasion.

Yes, but what's interesting is that the Buddha is attended by all of these beings—bodhisattvas, enlightened beings, monks, and so on—and they're all wailing with grief.(3) Theoretically, enlightened beings would understand that this event is not one to be lamented, but in the hands of very human artists, everyone is rendered as if overcome with emotion. This suggests that the artist didn't understand how the passing of so great a man could be cause for celebration.

(4) Animals have come to see the Buddha off.

(5) An elephant and a horse are in attendance.

(6) A mythical creature wails.

(7) Duck, turtles, and other animals surround the Buddha.

In some paintings of this subject, the Buddha's main disciple Ananda does not cry. He understands what's happening. In other ones, the Bodhisattvas also understand. But in this painting, most of them are in some state of grief—including a whole host of animals, which have come to see the Buddha off. Not just mythical animals but also cranes, elephants, horses—and even a centipede and a slug—have come from far and wide to see the Buddha off on his final journey.(4, 5, 6, 7)

4. What do we know about who created this painting?

We don't know who painted it. Early Buddhist artists in Japan and elsewhere—this painting dates to the 13th century—were usually anonymous craftsmen. Some works of art of this type were painted by professional artists who were hired by Buddhist monasteries, others were created by the monks themselves as acts of devotion. But the theme of the Buddha's parinirvana is a standard one throughout Asia in both painted and sculptural form.

5. Speaking of size, this painting measures 61 inches high.

Typically paintings of the Buddha's parinirvana are quite large. They're used in Buddhist temples where they're displayed—or unrolled—around the 15th day of the 2nd month by the traditional lunar calendar. Such paintings would have been hung in the days surrounding the official date. They were typically quite large, filling the space between the massive pillars that supported the main worship hall of the temple. Their large scale allowed many people—both clergy and parishioners—to participate in the ceremonies marking this important occasion.