![]() ![]() Ignorance is followed by volition or action, represented by a potter engaged in making pots, and action is followed by consciousness, which is depicted by a restless monkey. The first panel shows a groping blind man symbolizing ignorance, which is the root cause of existential becoming. They rather come from a multitude of causes and conditions in a gradual process. He taught that things do not come out of nothing or from a static absolute cause. The Buddha proclaimed the theory of dependent origination or causation as his central philosophical outlook. This layer explains the process of how the saṃsāra arises and depicts the Buddhist theory of causation. The fourth layer has the wheel divided into twelve parts each showing one of the twelve links of dependent origination. The six realms make up the cycle of existence or saṃsāra, the phenomenal world from which liberation is sought. ![]() There are eighteen sections to the hell realm although not all are depicted in the wheel in detail. The beings in the hell realm are afflicted by hatred and aggression and the suffering of extreme heat and cold. On the side of the animal realm is the realm of hungry ghosts, who suffer from stinginess and the pain of hunger and thirst.Īt the bottom of the existential tiers is the hell realm, made up of the hot and cold hells. The animal realm, depicting life both on land and in sea, has many kinds of animals which are afflicted by ignorance and stupidity, and the suffering of being enslaved or eaten by others. In the lower half of the wheel, there are three panels each representing the three lower realms. The third realm on the upper part of the wheel is the world of human beings, which is afflicted by greed and the problems of birth, sickness, old age, death, not having what one wishes, having what one does not wish, encountering unpleasant ones, and separation from loved ones. Their jealousy results in a constant war against and conflict with the gods who have an upper hand. These beings enjoy slightly less prosperity and pleasure than the gods and are thus always occupied with jealousy towards the realm of gods. Yet, they remain distracted by worldly pleasure, and unaware of the pain and suffering they will go through when their celestial life end and they fall to lower realms.Īdjacent to the representation of the celestial world of devas or gods is the realm of asura or demi-gods. On the top is the realm of the gods or celestial beings who enjoy temporary happiness and pleasure. The third layer has the wheel divided into six parts to indicate the six realms of sentient beings. ![]() Those ascending on the virtuous path are portrayed as morally good people while those falling are depicted as evil and morally impoverished. The former is the white righteous path of virtue and the latter the dark evil path of non-virtue. The second layer has two parts: one part on the left side of the wheel with pious people ascending upward in order to indicate that positive actions leads to higher rebirth and existence, and another part on the right with people falling downward. The animals chase each other in a circle and are connected in order to illustrate how the three poisons feed into each other. The three defiling features of the mind – attachment, hatred and ignorance – are known as three poisons and the three animals, which represent them, are believed to possess these three poisons in an intense form in the Indo-Tibetan belief systems. At the centre of the wheel are three animals, a pig representing ignorance and stupidity, a snake representing hatred and aggression, and a bird symbolizing attachment and desire. The artistic depiction of the Buddhist existential theory is made up of four layers. Sridpa Khorlo literally means the wheel of becoming, existence or life and shows the classic Buddhist view of life and its origination. Claimed to have been created even during the Buddha’s lifetime, this artistic representation of the Buddhist worldview and its messages of liberation and enlightenment is found at the entrance of almost all temples in Bhutan and the Buddhist Himalayas. Sipa Khorlo (སྲིད་པ་འཁོར་ལོ་) or bhavacakra is one of the most popular artistic creations in the Buddhist world.
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