The Crystal Sculptures of The Eight Great Disciples of the Buddha

An exciting thing besides creating Phra Maha Chedi Sasipawun, the world’s first glass stupa enshrined outside (Phra Maha Chedi Kaew), it was the happening of the crystal sculptures of the world's first eight great disciples of the Lord Buddha which was inspired by Khunying Sasipawan Srivikorn. One day, Khunying told us that she would like us to make the sculptures of the eight great disciples of the Buddha enshrined inside Phra Maha Chedi Sasipawan. At that time, I thought and replied that there was one thing that I never had an opportunity to do. That was the crystal sculpture which I had the knowledge enough from studying for a long time. After hearing that, she immediately said that was the thing she wanted to happen. That was her great decision to model the eight great disciples of the Buddha by arts of crystal-glass sculptures for the first time in Thailand. And, in the future, people would come to worship all of them at Phra Maha Chedi Sasipawun.

Once I got the questions from Khunying Sasipawan, about how to enshrine the sculptures of the eight great disciples of the Buddha inside Phra Maha Chedi staying with the relics of the Lord Buddha, I just took time for a while to think about the artists who could make the design of this work to be as beautiful as possible. Therefore, I traveled to Chiang Rai to assign this important work to a younger artist, Arjan Songdej Thipthong, a great expertise in Buddhist arts. He made a promise that he would design this work with full intention. Many thanks to him for his full intention to create this great thing. By that, he provided me the unique figure of each great disciple of the Buddha, for eight directions. As my part, I came back to gather and search for the information and revive all what I had learned and studied. Finally, we concluded on the idea that we would create each great disciples crystal sculpture in one large size to be the largest crystal high relief sculpture in the world, with 2000mm Height and 130mm thickness approximately. These gorgeous sculptures were made for achievements in the royal prestige of the great disciples of the Buddha and the world crystal glass industry, and worship faithfully to the great disciples. By Khunying Sasipawan intended, these great things were waiting for people around the world to come to visit and see their greatness together at Phra Maha Chedi Sasipawun.

And today, with my full intention, Phra Maha Chedi, and everything I had created had appeared completely and elegantly on this large land in Khao Yai as Khunying Sasipawan intended to pay homage to the Lord Buddha. With our craftsmanship and the teamwork in every field, these works were finished completely following the design of Ajarn Nithi Sthapitanonda and A49 Team

For me, on that day I traveled to Italy driven by a passion on arts of glass. From that day until now, the glass civilization which I had maintained and inherited for Thailand was succeeded completed, as well as educated, rooted, and inscribed for religion and the homeland as I intended.

The crystal sculptures of the eight great disciples would be enshrined and appeared in Buddhism and Thailand in order that Buddhists around the world would see the elegance and greatness of them at the end of this year at Sasipawan Wisdom Center, Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima.