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Buddhist Photo Gallery - The Wheel Of Life

Tibetan Buddhist Wheel Of Life

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 00 The Tibetan Wheel of Life is perhaps the most common of all pictures in Buddhist art and is seen on the walls of monasteries and painted scrolls all over Tibet, Nepal and other Himalayan countries. The 23 parts of the painting represent in visual terms some of the more fundamental teachings in Buddhism such as the 12 steps of dependent origination, the karmic laws of cause and effect, and the three kleshas of ignorance, greed and hatred.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 00

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 01 Buddha Upper Right In the upper right corner of the painting outside the wheel, Buddha is standing with his left hand in a fearlessness mudra and with the index finger of the right hand pointing to the other side at the top left, pointing to the path out of the wheel.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 01 Buddha Upper Right

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 02 Buddha Upper Left In the upper left corner of the painting, Buddha is teaching disciples how to liberate themselves from samsara.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 02 Buddha Upper Left

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 03 Yama Yama, the Lord of Death, holds the wheel in his mouth and embraces it with his claws, symbolizing the inevitability of death, samsara and the impermanence of all things. Yama has a horrific face with projecting fangs and a forehead wreathed in the macabre five-skull crown.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 03 Yama

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 04 Central Hub The central hub of the wheel identifies the root causes that create the basic problem of existence. They are depicted as a pig, a snake and a cock, each biting the tail of the one in front so that they create a circle. The pig represents ignorance, a misunderstanding of the notion of self or the ego. Ignorance leads to negative desires, represented by the cock, always feeding or in search of more food to peck at. When we can’t get what we want, we experience frustration, irritation, anger and hatred, represented by the snake which is ready to strike out when threatened. Anger strengthens the ego sense and therefore we see the snake biting the tail of the pig and so the whole vicious circle is strengthened.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 04 Central Hub

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 05 Light And Dark Circle The light and dark half circles just outside the central hub represent the ways we can act in any situation. The light segment has happy peaceful human beings moving upwards, representing the effects of our actions (karma) when rooted in compassion, generosity and awareness. The dark half has human brings plunging downwards with expressions of horror and terror on their faces, representing the suffering we eventually experience as the consequence of our negative actions. They are usually depicted naked and chained together, dragged along by a couple of demonic looking beings.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 05 Light And Dark Circle

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 00 Six Realms The third circle is divided into six segments that represent the six realms of mind and existence - gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. Rebirth in the higher realms occurs if skillful actions predominated in previous lives, while unskillful actions mean the lower realms. The six segments can also represent six states of mind which we can experience here and now, in our present human existence. Sometimes we can experience these states of mind so strongly that for the time being we seem actually to be living in another world - in heaven, hell, or among the hungry ghosts. Buddha appears in each of the six segments standing upright, offering something needed by the beings of each realm.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 00 Six Realms

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 01 Gods The sector of the gods at the very top represents a state of mind and existence which is happy and content. Many people in the modern, technological world are living like gods with almost everything they could possibly want. White Buddha plays the melody of impermanence on a lute, trying to wake the gods up from their complacency and lack of mindfulness, and remind them that life is short and time is limited.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 01 Gods

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 02 Demigods Demigods are depicted fighting with the gods for the Wish Fulfilling Tree that grows up in the land of the demi-gods, but whose fruit is in the land of the gods. Demigods are not content with they have, but suffer jealousy with what the gods have. In this realm our state of mind is always striving after endless material wealth, more personal power, and so on.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 02 Demigods

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 03 Humans The human realm contains people involved in a range of human activities from tending animals to living a monastic life. Because human life contains a balance of pleasure and pain, it is considered the best realm for spiritual realization and the only realm that allows you to develop greater degrees of awareness and become enlightened and leave the wheel forever.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 03 Humans

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 04 Animals Animals suffer from ignorance and lack of speech and are interested in only food, sex and simple material comforts, and cannot see beyond the needs of the body. They are threatened by natural enemies and are exploited by human beings for flesh and for work. Red Buddha’s right hand is in the fearlessness mudra, while his left hand holds a book because the next step for animals who are in a state of barbarism and savagery is to become civilized and look beyond the surface of life to its meaning and purpose.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 04 Animals

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 05 Hungry Ghosts Hungry Ghosts are often depicted as weak beings with large bloated stomachs and tiny pinhole throats. Whenever they try to eat food, it turns into excrement or spikes, and water turns into fire. This is the mental state of neurotic desire, seeking more than an object can give, or something different than the object can give. Green Buddha offers real food and drink to the hungry ghosts, which they can consume and feel satisfied, and begin to discriminate what provides true happiness and satisfaction.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 05 Hungry Ghosts

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-1 Hell Beings The sector at the very bottom depicts hell, shown as a place of intense pain and torment, where its victims are subjected to the most excruciating tortures. Normally hell is divided into 8 hot hells, 8 cold hells, and minor hells. Hell could also represent acute mental suffering, maybe even insanity. Yama holds a mirror to reflect our mind and past actions, and a set of scales for us to measure the causes of our hatred and anger and their negative effects. The blue coloured Buddha offers the hell beings nectar, which gives them ease from their mental torture.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-1 Hell Beings

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-2 Hell Beings Hot Here is a close up of the eight hot hells. Flames engulf the eight hot hells which are unbearably hot, maybe representing the heat of our anger.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-2 Hell Beings Hot

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-3 Hell Beings Close Up Here is a close up of the neighbouring or minor hells, including the cesspool of excrement and leech hell, the red hot embers hell, the razor and spike tree hell, and the acid river hell.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 06 06-3 Hell Beings Close Up

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 00 12 Links Of Dependent Arising The outer circle represents the 12 links of dependent origination, the step by step stages of cause and effect which conditions and shapes the individual consciousness. The pictures flow in a clockwise order, starting from the top with ignorance and ending with old age and death. The way to improve lives in cyclic existence is to learn about the relationships between actions and their effects so that we can create more productive situations.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 00 12 Links Of Dependent Arising

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 01 Ignorance - Blind Man The first picture shows a blind man either being led along or walking with a stick. Ignorance is blindness, unable to perceive things as they actually are.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 01 Ignorance - Blind Man

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 02 Action - Potter At Wheel In the second link, action, a potter takes clay and forms something new, symbolizing actions leading to new consequences. Once the potter spins the wheel, it will keep turning, representing our habitual tendencies.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 02 Action - Potter At Wheel

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 03 Consciousness - Monkey In Tree In the third link, consciousness, a monkey leaps from branch to branch, picking fruit from a tree. Leaving the intermediate state after death, the rebirth seeking consciousness clutches at another new life with the realm it inhabits being conditioned by the karma and mental states it developed in the past.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 03 Consciousness - Monkey In Tree

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 04 Mind And Body - People In Boat In the fourth link, mind and body (also called name and form), two people ride in a boat, with one steering. The people represent the different states of the mind, such as feeling, discrimination, and consciousness. The boat represents the body that carries us through life. The person steering the boat symbolizes the complete person that includes both mind and body.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 04 Mind And Body - People In Boat

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 05 Six Senses - House With Windows And Door In the fifth link, the six senses, a house is shown with five windows and a door, denoting the six senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) through which we gain our impressions of the world. The house is empty because the organs are developing but not yet functioning.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 05 Six Senses - House With Windows And Door

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 06 Contact - Couple Embracing In the sixth link, contact, a couple embrace depicting the contact of the sense organs with their objects. Contact is a mental factor that distinguishes objects as pleasurable, painful, or neutral.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 06 Contact - Couple Embracing

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 07 Feeling - Arrow In Eye The seventh link, feeling, is quite graphically represented by a man falling to his knees, with an arrow in his left eye. This suggests the strong feelings that our sensory experience invokes. After contact occurs, feelings of pleasure, pain, or neutrality arise.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 07 Feeling - Arrow In Eye

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 08 Craving - Drinking Beer The eight link is illustrated by a by a woman offering a drink, probably beer, to a seated man. The fact that it is a woman offering a drink to a man may be intended also to bring to the mind the intensity of sexual desire. This image refers to our desire to hold onto pleasure, to separate ourselves from pain, and our desire for neutral feeling not to diminish.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 08 Craving - Drinking Beer

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 09 Grasping - Woman Picking Fruit In the ninth link, craving has turned into the action of grasping, shown by a woman trying to pluck a fruit from a tree. The fruit is an ancient symbol for earthly desires. In addition to getting rid of what you don’t like, grasping includes the desire to get more of what you want ranging from material and sensual pleasures to fame, social status and control over others.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 09 Grasping - Woman Picking Fruit

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 10 Becoming - Pregnancy In the tenth link, the karma from earlier links comes into being, represented by a pregnant animal. You could also view this coming into being as something we experience all the time, as we constantly reform ourselves in line with our desires and our actions.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 10 Becoming - Pregnancy

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 11 Birth - Woman In Labour In the eleventh link, birth, the coming into being changes state shown by a woman giving birth. Birth can be into any of the six realms of existence, depending on your karma.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 11 Birth - Woman In Labour

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 12 Aging And Death - Old Man Carrying Corpse The last link, aging and death, is depicted by a man carrying a corpse on his back to the charnal or cremation ground. One type of aging begins from the moment of conception, and the other begins with physical deterioration, leading to death. But death is not the end, but the beginning of a new existence.

Tibetan Buddhism Wheel Of Life 07 12 Aging And Death - Old Man Carrying Corpse


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