Christi Nehan-zu

2010

Cotton and other sheer fabrics on old cotton sheet, thread

applicqued and stitched

220 x 140 cm

In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit: परिनिर्वाण parinirvāṇa; Pali: परिनिब्बाण parinibbāṇa; Chinese: 般涅槃, bō niè pán) is the final nirvana, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete awakening (bodhi). It implies a release from the bhavachakra, Saṃsāra, karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the skandhas.

The parinibbana of the Buddha is described in the Mahāparinibbāna sutta. Because of its attention to detail, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (of the Theravada tradition), though first committed to writing hundreds of years after his death, has been resorted to as the principal source of reference in most standard studies of the Buddha’s life.

The painting depicts the Buddha transitioning to Nirvana. Buddha is seated in a grove of Sala trees and surrounded by mourning animals, gods, demons, and human beings. (wikipedia)

In paintings of the Buddha’s nirvana, his passing from earthly life to the ultimate goal of an enlightened being, essential tenets of Buddhism are explicit: release from the bonds of existence through negation of desires that cause life’s intrinsic suffering (http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico1256351-104032.html)

In the applicqued drawing Buddha is replaced by the dead Christ. The figure stems from an original wooden sculpture in the possession of the City Museum of Neuötting. It is a so called ‚Corpus Christi‘ (Christi Grablege), which means the dead Christ, before his resurrection.