The drawing of the black and white edges illustrates the virtuous ‘white’ karma and negative ‘black’ karma, distinguishing the pleasant and unpleasant realms of existence. This signifies that the principle cause of desire and anger is ignorance itself. Both the chicken and snake are portrayed as emerging from the mouth of the pig. First, the chicken represents desire and attachment second, the snake represents anger and aversion and third, the pig represents delusion and ignorance. In the center the images of a chicken, snake, and pig represent the three poisons that are the principle causes for the six realms of beings to wander endlessly in samsara. It is said that the Wheel of Life was initially made according to Buddha Śākyamuni’s instructions as a reciprocating gift given to the ancient Indian king of Rashasa from the king Bimbisara. The Wheel of Life is an illustration showing the reasons for this cycling or wandering. The entirety of the six classes of sentient beings circle and wander within either the lower realms of affliction or the higher realms of comfort. The following is an excerpt from Khenpo Gyaltsen’s A Lamp Illuminating the Path to Liberation: And we contemplate how causes and conditions combine to trap us within unpleasant states. Additionally, we reflect on the stress, pain, and suffering of worldly existence. Then, we remember that all classes of existence are equally fragile. First, we contemplate the impermanence of existence, regardless of our current situation. This colorful and graphic wheel of life image contains many important teachings. Artists frequently depicted the core concepts of Buddhist teaching. He also taught that a monk or nun should be available there to explain its meaning to visitors. In the Tibetan Vinaya or monastic rules, the Buddha instructs monks to paint the wheel on monastery gates. We may also know the Sanskrit name, the Bhavacakra, or “Wheel of Existence”. Wheel of Life paintings adorn monastery porches throughout the Himalayan region.
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