Welcome to my second blog entry. Not much has changed since my last blog, I am still on “The Path of Enlightenment”. I continue to learn and practice my sketches every day. Currently, I am working on Medicine Buddha. To get daily updates on my progress please feel free to follow my Instagram account. So, recently due to Diwali, I had to travel back to Delhi from Dharamshala (Centre for Living Buddhist Art), which provided me with the opportunity to visit "India Craft Week", which is organized by Craft Village. Craft Village is the same institution I did my workshops for Gond, Pattachitra, Braiding, etc.
Coming back to “India Craft Week”, I was able to explore the different traditional and tribal arts of India. Just to summarise It was very mesmerizing and beautiful how these arts tell us the story of the Creation of the World or about the Universe in the making or about the different Gods and Goddesses. As deep, as I study the arts the more I am able to understand. Today we shall talk about another Teaching of Buddha, “The Wheel of Existence” also known as ‘Bhavachakra ’. It is a form of Mandala which is a diagrammatic representation of the Universe.
These are Majorly, found in the ‘Mahayana Buddhist Monasteries‘ situated in the Indo-Tibetan Region. These paintings are directly made on Walls or on Wall Hangings (Thangka). “Wheel of Existence”, is a symbol of ‘Samsara’ which means Continuous Movement in Sanskrit. This painting shows the repetition of the Cycle of Birth, Death, and Rebirth again which arises from ignorance and is characterized by suffering ‘Dukkha’. It is believed that the Buddha himself developed the concept of Artwork to communicate Buddhist philosophy to the General Public.
In the middle of ‘Bhavachakra’, it contains the Three Poisons (Kleshas) of Ignorance which is represented by a ‘Pig’, Aversion which is represented by a ‘Snake’ and Attachment which is depicted through a ‘Bird’. This Trio sets the whole wheel in motion and can lead to both negative and positive human action. Both the Heavenly and Hellish destinies are depicted through the circle of Black and White colour which surrounds the three animals. The entire circle represents the law of Cause and Effect ‘Karma’. As, seen in ‘Figure 1’ the people who are walking on the bright path peacefully and smoothly keep moving upwards. However, those on the dark path go through disturbance and are moving downwards on the path.
The Six Realm of Samsara:
The third layer consists of six wedge-shaped sections, which are the three realms of ‘Samsara’ (Three Higher and Lower Realms). The upper half depicted in ‘Figure 2’ represented; Deva Realm (God Realm), Asura Realm (Demi – God Realm) and Manuṣya (Human Realm).
The lower half of the third layer contains three lower Realms which comprise of the following; Tiryagyoni Realm (Animal Realm), Preta Realm (Hungry Ghost Realm) and Naraka Realm (Hell Realm). The first three seems to be more pleasant but ultimately all the realms are the domains of suffering. In Buddhism, the gods are entities more powerful than human beings but are underserving of worship, and are inclined to lives of pleasure and abundance. Vain, as they are easily distracted and are complacent, they are not committed to the pursuit of ‘Dharma’ (Moral Duty).
Hence, they re-born in the lower realms. The ‘Demi-Gods’, Lower – Gods, are also situated in a luxurious surrounding but are too disposed to envy to be content and comfortable. They spend most of their time fighting amongst each other and also with the Gods above. ‘The Humans’ suffer from sickness and death and do not get their wishes easily fulfilled. Yet, their realm is most conducive to the practice of “Dharma” as they are neither in extreme pleasure (like the Gods and the Demi – Gods) nor in extreme pain (Like the figures of the three lower realms).
Depicted below the ‘Animals’ are sentient beings that are less intellectually advanced than humans, who live in fear of being attacked and the with the aggression of attacking others. Although, they are driven by instincts and have little freedom into thinking rationally, which is subject to the rules of Karma. ‘Hungry Ghosts’ with thin necks, huge bellies and insatiable appetites. They seem to be constantly in search of food and drink and are moving about in agony. It is rare that they find anything that can satisfy their hunger and thirst. Finally, ‘The Beings of Hell’ endure unimaginable torments for unthinkable periods of time. One’s stay in hell needn’t be eternal. It can also be escaped through right conduct.
The Six Realms of ‘Samsara’ are results of six specific negative emotions which are presented as; Pride (God - Realm), Jealousy (Demi – God Realm), Desire (Human Realm), Ignorance (Animal Realm), Greed (Hungry Ghost Real) and Anger (Hell Realm). Now, moving forward with “Fourth Layer” of the Bhavachakra contains the Twelve Nidānas (Or “Twelve Links” or “Twelve – Fold Chain”) that depicts as to how the Three Poisons, through Karma, result in the six realms of Samsara.
Here, the conditionality and causality of cyclical existence are shown in detail. These interdependent phenomena shed light on “Karma”. Provided below is a list for your better understanding:
1. Avidya (Lack of Knowledge) – A Blind Person, Often Walking, Or a person peering out
2. Samskara (Constructive volitional activity) – A potter shaping a vessel or vessels
3. Vijnana (Consciousness) – A man or a monkey grasping a fruit
4. Namarupa (Name and Form {Constituent elements of mental and physical existence}) – two men afloat in a boat.
5. Sadayatana (Six Senses {Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body and Mind}) – A Dwelling with six windows
6. Sparsa (Contact) – Lovers consorting, kissing, or entwined
7. Vedana (Pain) - An Arrow to the Eye
8. Trsna (Thirst) – A Drinker receiving drink
9. Upadana (Grasping) - A man or a monkey picking fruit
10. Bhava (Coming to be) – A Couple engaged in intercourse, a standing, or reflective person
11. Jati (Being Born) – Woman giving birth
12. Jaramarana (Old age and death) – Corpse being carried
Yama Holding the Wheel:
The four layers of the wheel are held by a wrathful figure knows as Yama. Yama (Deity found in many Asian Religions) – The lord of death, king of hell, god of the underworld, who symbolises impermanence. His four limbs are the four sufferings of ‘Birth, Sickness, Old – Age and Death’. His third eye means an understanding of impermanence. His third eye, His crown of five skulls represents the five aggregates (skandhas), the functions or aspects of sentient beings: Material form, feelings, perception, volition (or mental formation) and sensory consciousness. Beyond, the wheel the Buddha stands pointing towards the moon (the path of liberation). This can be called ‘Nirvana’ – the cessation of all unpleasant aches and pains.
Citations:
Bahadur India-born, P. by T., Bahadur, P. by T., India-born, View all posts by Tulika Bahadur, Says:, P., says:, T. B., says:, L. S., says:, S. M., says:, S. M., says:, ssunshine14, says:, A. N., & Says:, P. (2020, October 3). The bhavachakra. On Art and Aesthetics. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://onartandaesthetics.com/2016/04/14/the-bhavachakra/
Comments