The northern Buddhist tradition celebrates the Buddha’s Birthday, also called
“Flower Festival” (hana-matsuri: 花祭り) on April 8, when flowers are in full bloom.
The Buddha entered into nirvana (no wind of karma blowing up and down) and
witnessed the Dharma (Law) of Dependent Origination and Dependent Cessation.
The Twelvefold Dependent Origination shows how perception/consciousness/mind,
suffering, and samsara originates on sense bases, craving, and nescience/appropriation.
The Dependent Origination is called the Dharma (Norm/Law) of all dharmas (form/
phenomena), applicable on all phenomena – five aggregates (psycho-physical phenomena).
Physical forms, feelings, ideas, formations (physical, verbal, and mental
actions), and consciousnesses originate/cease interdependently on each other.
Interdependence means impermanence, suffering (dissatisfaction), and selflessness
(no self-same, self-sovereign substance), emptiness of entities (suñña, zifar, zero).
Buddhist principles and practices are based on the Dharma of Dependent
Origination. All problems due to karmas can be solved by the Dharma.
Global problems originate from the Triple Poisons (craving, anger, delusion) and
can be ceased by the Triple Learnings (morality, concentration, prognosis).
Man-made global warming, mass extinction, etc. must be solved by our own
constant cultivation and verification of the ultimate nirvana and bodhi (awakening).
Global problems must be solved by everyone’s efforts in acquiring the holy harmony
of the global system and attaining the penetrating practice of the global ethic.
Exhibited at St. Louis Art Museum