The Wheel of Life

In the Samyutta-nikaya, the Buddha spoke of discovering dependent arising after six years of ascetic practice. Following are what the Buddha said in the Pali suttas:

Bhikkhus, before I became enlightened and was still a bodhisattva, I had already realized that all sentient beings experienced suffering in birth, old age, death, and rebirth. If the sentient beings do not know the method for the cessation of suffering, how are they supposed to be free of suffering?

Bhikkhus, I asked, “Why is there old age and death? What are the causal conditions for old age and death?” Because I skillfully endeavored on mind training, I developed Wisdom sight.

Birth is condition to Aging & Death. Aging & Death comes from Birth.
Becoming is condition to Birth. Birth comes from Becoming.
Clinging is condition to Becoming. Becoming comes from Clinging.
Craving is condition to Clinging. Clinging comes from Craving.
Feeling is condition to Craving. Craving comes from Feeling.
Contact is condition to Feeling. Feeling comes from Contact.
Six Sense Bases is condition to Contact. Contact comes from Six Sense Bases.
Name-and-Form is condition to Six Sense Bases. Six Sense Bases comes from Name-and-Form.
Consciousness is condition to Name-and-Form. Name-and-Form comes from Consciousness.
Volitional Action is condition to Consciousness. Consciousness comes from Volitional Action.
Ignorance is condition to Volitional Action. Volitional Action comes from Ignorance.

Thereafter, I meditated on it again in another way:

Ignorance is condition to Volitional Action.
Volitional Action is condition to Consciousness.
Consciousness is condition to Name-and-Form.
Name-and-Form is condition to Six Sense Bases.
Six Sense Bases is condition to Contact.
Contact is condition to Feeling.
Feeling is condition to Craving.
Craving is condition to Clinging.
Clinging is condition to Becoming.
Becoming is condition to Birth.
Birth is condition to Aging & Death.

Bhikkhus, the people have never heard of wisdom that conquers suffering. The Wisdom sight, Dhamma eye, and brilliance have all come about within me.


Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_Paticcasamuppada

In Buddhism, the chain of causation that leads from rebirth to death. Existence is seen as an interrelated flux of transient events that occur in a series, one producing another, usually described as a chain of 12 links: (1) ignorance, which leads to (2) faulty perceptions of reality, which provide the structure of (3) knowledge, which addresses (4) name and form, or the principle of individual identity and the sensory perception of an object, experienced through (5) the six domains (the five senses and their object, along with the mind), whose presence leads to (6) contact (between objects and the senses), followed by (7) sensation, which, being pleasant, leads to (8) thirst and then (9) grasping (as of sex partners), which leads to (10) the process of becoming, culminating in (11) birth, and at last (12) old age and death.

ORIGINS OF THE BUDDHIST WHEEL OF LIFE

The Wheel of Life originated in the time of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama who was also referred to as Buddha Shakamuni, or the publicly known historical figure who created and first realised the system of Buddhism as we know it today. Buddha Gautama is considered to have lived in the period approximately 563BC near Benares in Northern India.

During his life Buddha Gautama travelled and taught and was used as wise counsel by many Kings, Princes and rulers of kingdoms that existed in this time and area. The history of Buddha was maintained both through oral tradition from teacher to disciple in an unbroken lineage, and also by the scholarly system of teachers and students recording teachings, and events into Sutras or written works, teachings and their commentaries. Over time various lineages of Buddhism developed in this way and each created and preserved their own teachings and commentaries, where each system of Buddhism had emphasis on certain practices and wisdoms.

One such sutra is the Extensive Enjoyment Sutra. In this sutra it is explained that a king called Bimbisara (or Bimbasara depending on the Sutra), once received a marvellous gift from a friend.

The giver of that gift was very wealthy and did not have need for any materialistic objects. The king who had received the gift  thought long and hard about what would be an appropriate return gift that would honour the giver of the original gift. Knowing that the other person was from a kingdom that was irreligious, the king consulted Buddha Gautama.

The Buddha’s clairvoyance and other gifts enabled him to discern that the other person was ripe to receive and hear the teachings of Buddhism(Dharma). Buddha explained to the king how to draw the Wheel of Life in all its intricate detail. As with a mandala there is nothing included in the picture which is not profoundly wise or symbolic and enables the viewer to contemplate and directly meditate on its contents for advancing wisdom and realisations.

Once the picturegram was complete the king was instructed to give the Wheel of Life to his friend and that “he would definitely be satisfied” as a result. The story goes that upon receiving the Wheel of Life this person developed a special feeling even though completely ignorant of Buddhist and religious matters. When this person read the 4 line verse at the bottom of the Wheel of Life he immediately understood the meaning of the Wheel of Life. This in turn caused him to develop certain special Buddhist realised minds of renunciation and gained a direct realisation of emptiness. This in turn led to the entire kingdom over time converting to the spiritual paths of Buddhism.

The Wheel of Life is considered one of the most profound of all the Buddhist teachings for it encapsulates the primary and advanced teachings of Buddhism regarding the subtle realities of life in its reincarnating principles and environments. The Wheel of Life contains all the essential teachings of Buddhism and is a most profound instrument of teaching and depiction of the interrelated doctrines of Buddhism.

The 6 realms of rebirth represent the destinations that the wandering awareness principle of the mind that survives death, can be attracted to as a place of rebirth. It is stated that after death our mind awareness principle survives and wanders in a bardo or state of in-between death and our next life. In this 49 day period each realm appears as 6 dim lights to the mind awareness and if the mind does not liberate itself at this point it is basically destined to take rebirth in one of those 6 realms based on designated karmic laws.

The visions that appear to the mind in this bardo state, or state between the time of death of the previous life, and the next rebirth, are hostile forms of the intellect and deceptive visionary images. If the mind is not trained and realised from meditative and wisdom practices in past lives, then there is a strong chance that mind will take rebirth in one of the 6 realms that the Wheel of Life depicts.

This is why Buddhists spend all their lives preparing for death. They act to cleanup and purify bad karma and also build good karma through deeds and practices, whilst also preparing their mind with meditations and practices for the journey through the bardo state after death to achieve either liberation or at least a fortunate or higher rebirth.

Many commentaries on the Wheel of Life focus primarily on the 6 depicted realms of rebirth, and the 3 mental factors or poisons of hatred, attachment and ignorance, as the primary focus of discussion, contemplation and meditation.

The Wheel of Life is also lesser understood as an explanation of the states of mind that we each suffer daily in the continuum of our bodymind throughout our human life, and also as an expression of the key psychological and embodied states of being that humans suffer in the karmic outcome of being born in the human realm of suffering.

The Wheel of Life is far more than a profound commentary of the types of reincarnation or samsaric rebirth into spiritual planes of existence. It directly shows the key bodymind archetypes that humans develop in our growth from conception up to adulthood. There are key embodied and key emotional/mental factors and defences that arise in this process that are depicted in the Wheel of Life that will be highlighted in this article.

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