Wheel Of Existence

1082 Words3 Pages

The Wheel of Existence, a Tibetan cloth painting, shows a depiction of all reality as being one realm in which all things, including good and evil, coexist together. It is a very interesting piece, with so many small details that one could get lost for quite awhile trying to notice everything that is going on. In this way, in tries to be an accurate representation of our existence, trying to fit as many small details of life in it as possible, creating something that is full of varying scenes and emotions. With all of these different things going on, this piece can be a bit overwhelming to look at; however, there is much to be interpreted from this painting if one looks at it as a whole and then tries to break it down. This mural represents …show more content…

In this wheel just about every aspect of human life is shown, as you can see figures engaging in very many different types of activities, ranging from everyday things like fishing or hunting, monastic lifestyles, or hellish scenes of torment. This cycle of samsara truly holds every human experience possible, which we constantly cycle through throughout our lives experiencing constant rebirths as a result of our ever changing lives. Through looking at this wheel we can see that in our ever changing human lives we will experience much suffering alongside much joy, as we are constantly in transition, never arriving at a destination as a result of our joy or suffering, but simply going through a cycle until we die. In the center of the wheel lies the three poisons, which are the root of all of our sufferings, as represented by the snake of aversion or hatred, the bird of greed, and the pig of delusions. These poisons cause all of the pain and suffering which can be seen on this wheel of samsara, and in the panel directly below them, you can see all of the horrible things that happen as a result of these three things. However, we are not under complete control of the Three Poisons, for if you look at the outer rim of the wheel, you can see the twelve interdependencies which can free us from the poisons, and bring us to enlightenment. This layer of the wheel shows the cycle one must go through to become enlightened, leading from ignorance, to rebirth, and eventually death. Based on the placement of these twelve interdependencies, it seems it can take us as far as possible from greed, hatred, and delusions, and bring us to right outside of the constant cycling of samsara. So from this wheel of existence, we can see the many aspects of the constant change of human existence, the three poisons that are the root cause of our

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