They wander constantly in search of food and drink, however even if they get what they want it will cause them intense agony. This realm is inhabited by pathetic creatures with suffering from extreme and perpetual hunger and thirst. In the Buddhist tradition there are eighteen “hells” that can be hot or cold. The victims are subjected to the most terrible tortures inflicted by demons. The hell is typically represented as a places of intense torment where beings endure unimaginable suffering. This way they deplete their good Karma and they will suffer through being reborn in the lower realms.
#Wheel of life images full
The gods enjoy lives full of abundance and pleasure however they spend their existence pursuing meaningless distractions and never think to practice the dharma. These gods are pictured like beings not so far from the human dimension in fact they share similar sensuous experiences. These semi-gods do not suffer from desire or greed but from constant fighting and jealousy. The titans that live in this realm, not content with what they possess, spend their time fighting among themselves or making war to the gods. Buddhism teaches that such harmonious balance give us the opportunity to pursue spiritual realization, this is the reason why human world is considered to be the most suitable realm for practicing the dharma. Human life, containing both pleasure and pain, makes us aware of both these aspects of life. The human realm is the world of everyday experience. They can be divided into higher realms and lower realms. These six realms constitute all possible states of existence in the universe and all beings cycle between these states. The light half circle, instead, indicates people experiencing the results of positive actions and attaining spiritual ascension.īeyond this layer is a wider area divided into six parts, each depicting a different realm of Samsara. The darker portion shows individuals experiencing the results of negative actions. These images represent the wheel of Karma, the law of cause and effect. Next to the central circle is the second layer divided in two-half circles, one light colored while the other is usually dark. At the same time the snake and the bird grasp the tail of the pig, indicating that they both promote even greater ignorance. The snake and bird are shown as coming out of the mouth of the pig, indicating that anger and attachment arise from ignorance. In the center of the wheel there are three animals symbols of the “Three Poisons”: ignorance (the pig), attachment (the bird) and anger (the snake). The Wheel represents the very reasons for the suffering of our mortal form, through both horrific and sublime imagery and it can be seen painted on the walls of many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in all Himalayan regions.Įssentially it is a metaphysical diagram made up of four concentric circles, held with a firm grip by Yama, the Lord of Death.Ībove the wheel the sky with clouds or stars is symbol of freedom from cyclic existence or Samsara, and the Buddha pointing at it indicates that liberation is possible. In the Himalayas and Tibet both variant models of four, five and six divisions are found and explained according to different Buddhist and artistic traditions.The Wheel of Life or “Bhavacakra” is well known by Buddhist monks as a powerful meditation tool and also by students to learn and understand the teachings of the Buddha. In this model the two types of gods are always depicted at war with each other. Later models from Central Asia and China also divide the gods into two groups, happy gods and jealous gods. The early models of the Wheel of Life depict five divisions of beings gods, humans, animals, ghosts and hell beings. The Wheel of Life compositions can also be described as Mandala-like, but not an actual mandala. In the field of Himalayan Art, under the category of Painting, the subject of the Wheel of Life belongs to the sub-category of Charts.
Within the Vajrayana system various divergent models are presented with the foremost being that of the Kalachakra Tantra. The Buddhist cosmology model (Bhavachakra, Samsara Chakra) of the environment and inhabitants is based on the Abhidharma literature of the Theravada and Sutrayana vehicles. Rebirth: The Tibetan Game of Liberation
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