3/16/2024 0 Comments Tibetan wheel of life 12 nidanasAs second explanation for its creation comes from a Tibetan legend which attributes the origin to the Buddha himself and describes him outlining the wheel to his followers in grains of rice in a paddy field. The picture can work on us not by giving us a clear explanation in relation terms of reality but by appealing to our imagination with its rich and strong use of imagery. From this we can see that the basis of the image and its symbolism comes from direct experience. At each a monk was stationed to explain the picture to visitors and novices. He therefore proposed that a picture should be painted representing Maudgalyayana’s teachings and he instructed his followers to paint the wheel of life depicting the different realms of existence and the process which underlie them at the entrance to every monastery. The Buddha noticing this commented that there were not enough people like Maudgalyayana to teach all those who needed him. If senior monks were having trouble with a disciple who may be losing inspiration he would send him to Maudgalyayana who would inspire him and teach him well to such an extent that the disciple would lead the spiritual life again with renewed energy Maudgalyayana had the power to reinvinigorate flagging zeal by showing his own deep insight into the various conditions of exiatence. Because of this Maudgalyayana was able to communicate very effectively. He also had extraordinary capacity to emphasize with others, see into their minds and hearts, feel their joys and pain and understand how they come to be as they were. Apparently this was only just one of Maudgalyayana’s abilities. Due to his monastery of psychic powers, Maudgalyayana was able to visit all the beings in the different realms of existence, see them in differing states of pain or pleasures and was aware of the causes which brought them to these planes and states. This instruction of the Buddha, so the text relates, was inspires from the activities of on of his chief disciples, Maudgalyana. According to the Divyavadana or Divine Heroic Feats of the Buddha and His disciples, the origin model of the wheel of life was painted over the gateway of the Veluvana Vihara at Rajagriha on the personal instructions of the Buddha who indicated exactly how the work should be done. The origins of this fascinating pictures are a little obscure but there are two or three sources which may account for its creation. The wheel of life in fact represents a very complete view of mundaine existence in its depths and heights. A good deal of misunderstanding surrounds its rich imagery and symbolism and I myself have often heard it described by Thanka painters in Kathmandu as being either an almanac, astrological chart or a complex Tibetan calender. It was at one time also very common in Buddhist India, but the Moslem invasion was so complete in its destruction of Buddhism in India only or two examples of it remain in the rock cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora in the state of Maharastra in India. The Tibetan Wheel of Life is perhaps the most common of all pictures in Buddhist art and can still be soon on the walls of monasteries temples and painted scrolls all over Tibet and Buddhist countries bordering the Himalayan region.
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