According to Buddhism the path to liberation passes by way of three major forms of knowledge knowledge of one's former lives, knowledge of the lives and death of all other beings, and knowledge of how to become liberated from the whole process of samsara. This knowledge can be found in the twelve nidanas or interdependent causes of rebirth and the segments of the Bhavachakra. Bhavachakra means wheel of Existence or Becoming, and symbolizes samsara in the form of a spinning wheel.
The people who follow the path of Buddha Dharma can attain nirvana in a single human life span, while less skilled people will take seven lifetimes to do it, and the slowest people will be born sixteen times before the liberating curtain finally parts. It is said that Bhavachakra is the only image that the Buddha ever created himself, since he did not write down any of his teachings; he drew this wheel of life in the sand while explaining the evolutionary process to some disciples. It symbolizes the endless cycles of births and deaths of beings of the world, clutched by karma, urged on by the three spiritual poisons of delusion, aversions and passion, and the twelve causes of samsaric existence leading to the states of rebirth as gods, men, animals, and hell-dwellers.
In the centre of the wheel, three animals have been depicted who visually represented the three major sins, the most important toxins that are the causes of samsara. The animals are a cock, snake, and a pig. They represent desire, hatred and stubborn ignorance, respectively. The centre circle is surrounded by inner circle which is divided into two parts. The left side from bottom upwards depicts who have done good deeds and consequently ascended to the world of gods, while the right side, from top to bottom depicts beings that have indulged in evil deeds and consequently descended into hell. The inner circle is surrounded by the body of the wheel, which is divided into six parts. The existence in the first three worlds is considered superior or good, and the last three inferior or bad. And these worlds are shown in this relation in the picture, the highest being heaven, and the lowest hell.
The first and upper one region of the wheel is Heaven where gods live. The heaven is on the top of mount meru or Sumeru which is located in cosmic ocean. Gods are shown seated in the palace of heaven. A lute Buddha is standing in this realm to help the gods. According to a tradition, god who born from lotus blossoms enjoy heavenly delights. They are subject to the law of anityata, of birth, life, death and rebirth. They may live for millions of years in heaven, but when their merits are exhausted they have to come down to earth.
Heaven is followed by the world of Asura(Demigods) that is depicted below the left of heaven. The demigods include several classes of animistic beings that inhabit the mundane word and are either beneficial or destructive to humanity. It is their lot forever to fight the devas of Trayastrimsha heaven for possession of the tree that produces the fruit of immortality, and whose roots are in their realm. The demigods were expelled from heaven because of their pride. Avalokiteshvara has appear here as a Buddha to show the right path to demigods.
The third position in the Bhavachakra is given to the realm of Humans. It is depicted here to the right of heaven. The human state of existence is considered the most fortunate of births. It is well suited for making spiritual progress and, according to some schools of Buddhist thought, the only form of rebirth in which it is possible to attain full enlightenment and escape the cycle of samsaric existence.
In this realm generally human sufferings are depicted, like birth, disease, old age, death, struggle for existence, and so on. Moreover it also depicts stupas, monks and Adepts etc. Avalokiteshvara as a Buddha is depicted here show and teach path of Buddha Dharma to the suffering beings of this realm.
The fourth position in the Bhavachakra is given to the animal world which is called Tiryagyoni gati. Excluding humans, this realm includes all land, water, and air creatures. This realm is depicted below the world of demigods. Of particular concern are the beasts of burden and of human consumption, because it is their unhappy destiny either to toil or to die in an unnatural way. Among animals, elephant, lions, tigers, and other may be single out as 'higher' animals who lead a more human-like existence. Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara as a Buddha is present in this realm also, to show them the path of their emancipation.
The fifth position is of Pretaloka or the realm of Tantalized ghosts. This realm is depicted below the human realm and presided over by Yama, lord of the under world. Preta or the hungry ghosts, whose realm of existence intersects the human realm, are beings whose greed in former human rebirths led them to be born with the great distended bellies and tiny needle-thin necks. They subsists on a diet of human and animal waste, and even these delicacies turn into fire when the poor creatures place them in their mouths, resulting in their perpetual hunger. Hungry ghosts are the recipients of cults of gift-giving, food offerings, and others benefaction by Buddhist monastic and laity.
The lowest world is the Hell (Naraka), presided by Yamaraja, the king and judge of the dead. There are two types of hell cold and hot. The beings of the hell realms are tormented in various ways, corresponding to the nature and degree of their former misdeeds, may be sliced, diced, boiled, baked, sawed, ripped, shredded, frozen, or otherwise maltreated for as long as needed to expiate their bad karma. Eventually they will be able to leave and move upward again on the moral evolutionary scale.
The outermost circle (rim of the wheel) is made up of twelve segments, illustrating the twelve nidanas or interdependent causes of rebirth. It is depicted clockwise from the top right
1. A Blind old man (unconscious will) symbolizing avidya(ignorance),as something who cannot find his way due to avidya.
2. Potter shaping matter (Conformation), symbolizes creative activity (karma), as potter moulds clay into pots so we shape our karmas. It is known as samskara or conformations.
3. Monkey in a tree, symbolizes vijnana (consciousness). It depicts that the rudimentary man is becoming anthropoid, but still is an unreasoning automaton.
4. Two people in a boat (self-consciousness), symbolizes name and form (nama-rupa), spirit and body (separation between the conscious and subconscious mind). As a result of conscious experience, forms the fourth link or stage, as a physician feeling the pulse of a sick man. Here the pulse denotes the individuality or distinction between "Self" and "Not Self". A variant of this picture, in some Lamaist temples, is a man in the act of being ferried across an ocean. It is the Individual crossing the Ocean of Life.
5. House with five windows and one door, symbolizes six senses (sad-ayatana); the six sense is the capacity to think. After the rise of individuality or self-consciousness one realizes possession of sense-surfaces and understanding with reference to outside world.
6. Loving Couple (Contact or Sparsha): Exercise of Sense-organs on outer world.
7. Arrow in eye, symbolizes vedana or feeling (distinction between pleasant and unpleasant) or rise of mental and physical sensation.
8. Man drinking liquor, symbolizes desire, thirst (trishna). Feeling or vedana gave rise to desire, as experience of plain or delusive pleasure.
9. Person plucking fruits and filling his basket with nature's bounty, symbolizes clinging to worldly objects (upadana). Desire gave rise to greed, as satisfying desire, including clinging to worldly wealth and desire of heir to it.
10. Couple in bed, symbolizes the process of becoming (bhava) or creation. Life is fuller form, as enriched by satisfying desire of married life and as means of obtaining heir.
11. Birth (of heir), symbolizes jati. Maturity by birth of heir (which affords re-birth to another spirit). Thus it depicts new life and consciousness (being).
12. Dead person carried away, symbolizes jaramarana (Decay and death). Maturity leads to Decay and to Death. At this stage there are two possibilities, either rebirth will take place after a stay in one of the six worlds, and the cycle will recommence, or extinction will have been attained. Here, this is rendered as a Buddha and a Bodhisattva in higher realms or as a direct track (moonlight path as shown in the present painting in upper left corner) to emptiness which has been depicted as Buddha world, the Buddha is in a heavenly palace.
The Wheel is held by a monster that has fangs and claws, and is identified Mahakala, the Great Black One or Great Time. Kala means time. Time is seen as the destroyer of everything and everyone, and therefore equated with death. On the other hand time is eternal, without beginning or end, always continuing. The foreground of the painting depicts auspicious peaceful offerings of five senses (in the centre) and charnel-ground. The bottom of the painting depicts verses from the scriptures in Tibetan script.
Select Bibliography
Ben Meulenbeld, Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangka, Holland, 2001
H. Kern, Manual of Indian Buddhism,Delhi
1968, L.A. Waddell, Buddhism and Lamaism of Tibet, 1895, London, 1979,Delhi (reprint)
Lokesh Chandra, Transcendental Art of Tibet, Delhi, 1996
Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999
This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".
Click Here to View the Thangka Painting along with its Brocade
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist