Wheel of Life (Skt. bhavacakra; Tib. སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་) (sipé khorlo).
To understand our cyclic existence, it is very important to know each aspects of the Wheel of Life. Here it is explained in a simple way with illustrations.
The bhāvacakra is a symbolic representation of saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). Bhāvachakra, "wheel of life," consists of the words bhāva and cakra. The word (bhāva) means "being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, being, production, origin".
The word (Chakra) derives from the Sanskrit word meaning "wheel," as well as "circle" and "cycle".
The bhavachakra consists of the following elements:
The first layer represents pig, rooster and snake in the hub of the wheel represent the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and aversion.
The second layer represents karma.
The third layer represents the six realms of samsara.
The fourth layer represents the twelve links of dependent origination.
The fierce figure holding the wheel represents impermanence. It is also Yama, the god of death.
The moon above the wheel represents liberation from samsara or cyclic existence (the moon represents liberation from the sufferings of saṃsāra).
The Buddha pointing to the white circle indicates that liberation is possible (the path to liberation).
The explanation of each layer is given along with images for clear understanding. By going through them carefully, I am confident you will understand all aspects of the Sipé khorlo.
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| Wheel of life |
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| First Layer: The Three posions |
