涅槃図, Death of the Historical Buddha (Nehan-zu), Kamakura period (1185?1333), 14th century, Japan, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Image: 77 1/2 ? 74 1/4 in. (196. 9 ? 188. 6 cm), Paintings, Essential tenets of Buddhism are explicit in paintings of the Buddha Shakyamuni's nirvana, his passing from earthly life to the ultimate goal of an enlightened being: release from the bonds of existence through negation of desires that cause life's intrinsic suffering