KYOTO -- Llamas grazed contentedly on the slopes surrounding Machu Picchu as John Kurtenbach spread out the kesa on the South American peak. Later it became part of a meditation held there.

In Antarctica, Robbie Score reported, the temperature was a gusty minus 15 C as she unfolded the kesa on a spot special to her for its beauty, and watched a flock of Adelie penguins gather on a nearby bluff.

In Tasmania, Sue Anderson incorporated the kesa into a religious service in which members focused on world peace. Later it was taken to a hospice and draped around a woman who, as she lie dying of cancer, was able to contribute by her very participation toward peace in the world.

The millennium provided the occasion; Betsy Sterling Benjamin, the skill and social consciousness; and participants on seven continents, a setting which would enrich each kesa as it became a part of their New Year services.

From childhood, Betsy Sterling Benjamin, viewed the then-distant year of 2000 as special, and knew she would witness it. Using her skills as a fiber artist, she decided to create a work of art which took the form of a kesa, a Buddhist vestment worn over one shoulder. Historically, the kesa was a patchwork of kimono donated to a temple by its deceased believers, and stitched into an article of clothing to be worn by Buddhist priests. Each kesa has its own history embellished by the cloth that forms it.

Once Benjamin learned that each stitch of these robes is an act of prayer, her direction took on a spiritual dimension. Choosing representative images from the seven continents, she decided to create corresponding kesa which would then complete a spiritual mission of their own. The well-known places of each continent, the flora and fauna, even endangered species and the ozone hole in Antarctica, were depicted on separate pieces of dyed silk. The Asian kesa also includes pieces of distinctive fabric from represented countries.

The dyeing took seven months of work. All images were done on resist-dyed silk, embroidered and highlighted with gold-powder stenciling. Fellow artist Wendy Carroll did the construction following the dimensions used in traditional kesa. It took 35 days of machine sewing to finish.

Years at her craft gave Benjamin the confidence to guide her work to completion. Her concern about the environment gave the project a global resonance, and the sacred form of the kesa itself seemed the perfect vehicle to unite the continents in prayer and meditation.

The patchwork Buddhist kesa is a montage of each temple's believers, and so too are the kesa Benjamin created. The images and skills they represent stem from her heritage. As a child she sat by her grandmother watching colors being selected and patterns chosen for crazy quilts.

Textiles have traditionally been a woman's craft, and as a skilled dyer, Benjamin has made many contributions to this field. Travel brought her into contact with many people and gave her a chance to witness the changes the world is undergoing. Her environmental concerns kept her attuned to the fragile beauty of the earth with its vanishing life forms. Her religious sensitivity alerted her to the need to focus on a peaceful means of achieving the healing we all desire. All these factors combined to make this work a true celebration of a life of artistic pursuit.

On another plane, the kesa were introduced into the lives of others who imbued them with the stories of the wearers and the hopes of the viewers.

The finished works were blessed in Kyoto at St. Agnes' Anglican Church in November, and sent off to six continents: Zimbabwe, McMurdo Station in Antarctica, Tasmania, Spain, Minnesota and Peru. The Asian kesa remained in Kyoto where it was used as the focus of a meditation service on Mount Daimonji. Each kesa was received by friends and contacts, all of whom gladly agreed to incorporate it into local religious and spiritual services dedicated to the peace and healing of the planet.

The returned kesa will be united again for an exhibition in Kyoto, then at two American university galleries followed by a gallery in Bali.