四枯四榮

When the Buddha died, of the eight (sa) śāla trees surrounding him four are said to have withered while four continued in full leaf-- a sign that the four doctrines of 苦 suffering, 空 the void, 無常 impermanence, and 無我 impersonality were to perish and those of 常 permanence, 葉 joy, 我 personality, and 淨 purity, the transcendent bodhisattva doctrines, were to flourish.