Contents
· Introduction
· The History of the Wheel
· The Translation
· The Later History of the Tradition
· The Symbolism and its Practical Meaning
· The Rim of the Wheel (Dependent Arising)
· Conclusion
· Notes
This indeed has been said by the exalted one:
Two knowable dhammas should be thoroughly known -- mind and body; two knowable
dhammas should be relinquished -- unknowing and craving for existence; two knowable
dhammas should be realized -- wisdom and freedom; two knowable dhammas should
be developed -- calm and insight.
Eight are the bases of unknowing:
Non-comprehension in dukkha, noncomprehension in dukkha's arising, non-comprehension
in dukkha's cessation, non-comprehension in the practice-path leading to dukkha's
cessation, non-comprehension in the past, non-comprehension in the future, non-comprehension
in past and future, non-comprehension in Dependent Arising.
Eight are the bases of knowledge:
Comprehension in dukkha, comprehension in dukkha's arising, comprehension in
dukkha's cessation, comprehension in the practice-path leading to dukkha's cessation,
comprehension in the past, comprehension in the future, comprehension in past
and future, comprehension in Dependent Arising.
Peace it is and Excellence it is, that is to say -- the stilling of all conditions,
the rejection of all substrates (for rebirth), the destruction of craving, passionlessness,
cessation, Nibbana.
O Bhikkhus, there is that sphere where is neither earth nor water nor fire nor
air, nor the sphere of infinite space; nor the sphere of infinite consciousness,
nor the sphere of no-thingness, nor the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception;
not this world, nor another world, neither the moon nor the sun.
That I say, O bhikkhus, is indeed neither coming nor going nor staying, nor
passing-away and not arising. Unsupported, unmoving, devoid of object -- that
indeed is the end of dukkha.
And this dhamma is profound, hard to see, hard to awaken to, peaceful, excellent,
beyond logic, subtle and to be experienced by the wise.
-- Translated from the Royal Chanting Book (Suan Mon Chabub Luang) compiled
by H.H., the 9th Sangharaja of Siam, Sa Pussadevo, and printed at Mahamakut
Press, Bangkok).
Introduction
Upon the Full Moon of the month of Visakha, now more than two thousand five
hundred years ago, the religious wanderer known as Gotama, formerly Prince Siddhattha
and heir to the throne of the Sakiyan peoples, by his full insight into the
Truth called Dhamma which is this mind and body, became the One Perfectly Enlightened
by himself.
His Enlightenment or Awakening, called Sambodhi, abolished in himself unknowing
and craving, destroyed greed, aversion and delusion in his heart, so that "vision
arose, super-knowledge arose, wisdom arose, discovery arose, light arose --
a total penetration into the mind and body, its origin, its cessation and the
way to its cessation which was at the same time complete understanding of the
"world," its origin, its cessation and the way to its cessation. He
penetrated to the Truth underlying all existence. In meditative concentration
throughout one night, but after years of striving, from being a seeker, He became
"the One-who-Knows, the One-who-Sees."
When He came to explain His great discovery to others, He did so in various
ways suited to the understanding of those who listened and suited to help relieve
the problems with which they were burdened.
He knew with his Great Wisdom exactly what these were even if his listeners
were not aware of them, and out of His Great Compassion taught Dhamma for those
who wished to lay down their burdens. The burdens which men, indeed all beings,
carry round with them are no different now from the Buddha-time. For then as
now men were burdened with unknowing and craving. They did not know of the Four
Noble Truths nor of Dependent Arising and they craved for fire and poison and
were then as now, consumed by fears. Lord Buddha, One attained to the Secure
has said:
"Profound, Ananda, is this Dependent Arising, and it appears profound.
It is through not understanding, not penetrating this law that the world resembles
a tangled skein of thread, a woven nest of birds, a thicket of bamboos and reeds,
that man does not escape from (birth in) the lower realms of existence, from
the states of woe and perdition, and suffers from the round of rebirth."
The not-understanding of Dependent Arising is the root of all sorrows experienced
by all beings. It is also the most important of the formulations of Lord Buddha's
Enlightenment. For a Buddhist it is therefore most necessary to see into the
heart of this for oneself. This is done not be reading about it nor by becoming
expert in scriptures, nor by speculations upon one's own and others' concepts
but by seeing Dependent Arising in one's own life and by coming to grips with
it through calm and insight in one's "own" mind and body.
"He who sees Dependent Arising, he sees Dhamma."
Let us now see how this Teaching is concerned with our own lives. The search
of every living being is to find happiness, in whatever state, human or non-human,
they find themselves. But what it is really important to know is this: the factors
which give rise to unhappiness, so that they can be avoided; and the factors
from which arise happiness, so that they can be cultivated. This is just another
way of stating the Four Noble Truths. In the first half of this statement there
is unhappiness or what is never satisfactory, called in Pali language, Dukkha.
This Dukkha is the first Noble Truth which we experience all the time, usually
without noticing it, which does not make the dukkha any less! First, there is
occasional dukkha: birth, old age, disease and death, for these events usually
do not compose the whole of life. Then we have frequent dukkha: being united
with what one dislikes, being separated from what one likes, not getting what
one wants, and this is everyday experience. Finally, as a summary of all kinds
of dukkha there is continuous dukkha: the five grasped-at groups, that is to
say body, feeling, perceptions, volitions (and other mental activity) and consciousness,
the components of a human being. Explanation of these in full would take too
long here but all the readers are provided with these kinds of dukkha in themselves.
They should look to see whether these facts of existence are delightful or not.
This Dhamma "should be thoroughly known" in one's own person and life,
that is where the first Noble Truth may be discovered.
Then the factors which give rise to unhappiness were mentioned. Here again one's
person and life should be investigated. Now when living creature are killed
intentionally by me, when I take what is not given, when I indulge in wrong
conduct in sexual relations, when I speak false words and when I take intoxicating
drinks and drugs producing carelessness -- now are these things factors for
happiness or unhappiness? When I covet the belongings of others, when I allow
ill-will to dwell in my heart, and when I have as the tenants of my heart ignorance,
delusion, and views which lead astray -- is this for my welfare or destruction?
There are many ways of describing these factors which make for unhappiness but
all of them derive from unknowing and craving which are just two sides of the
same thing. This is the Second Noble Truth of the Arising of Dukkha. When craving
is at work, when unknowing clouds one's understanding, then one is sure to experience
dukkha. Lord Buddha instructs us for our own benefit and for the happiness of
others, that this craving "should be relinquished."
Now happiness in the second half of the statement above can be of many kinds.
Two kinds dependent upon conditions can be seen illustrated by the world, while
one kind, unsupported by conditions "should be realized" in one's
own heart. We are all looking for happiness so let us see what is needed for
it. First, there is materially produced happiness. This is born of possessions
and jugglery with conditions of life "out there." Called amisa-sukha
in Pali, this happiness is most uncertain; for all the factors supporting it
are subject to instability and change. Moreover, they are out in the world and
not in one's own heart, so that they call for expert jugglery to save one from
dukkha. And failure and disappointment cannot be avoided if one goes after this
sort of happiness. So this sort of happiness is short-lived and precarious.
A great improvement on this is the happiness which comes from practicing Dhamma,
called non-material happiness or niramisa-sukha. This kind of happiness is made
sure whenever a person performs wholesome kamma, such as doing the following
ten things: giving, moral conduct mind-development, reverence, helpfulness,
dedicating meritorious acts to others, rejoicing in the meritorious acts of
others, hearkening to Dhamma, teaching Dhamma and setting upright one's views.
People who practice this Dhamma, purifying their hearts in this way, are sure
to reap happiness. But this happiness, though more lasting than the first, is
not to be relied upon forever. As a fruit of it one may dwell among the gods
for aeons, or be born as a very fortunate man but even the gods have to pass
away, let alone man. And the fruits of kamma, good or evil, are impermanent,
so it cannot be relied upon to produce a permanent happiness. This can only
be found by removing entirely the cause for dukkha: when craving is uprooted
no growth of dukkha can take place. On the contrary, with purity, compassion
and wisdom one has reached the Supreme Happiness of Nibbana which is stable,
indestructible and never subject to changing conditions. This is the Third Noble
Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha by the removal of its cause. A good deal of
hard work is needed to get to this "which should be realized," and
that work must be done along the right lines, hence the Fourth Noble Truth.
This is called the Truth of the Path, "which should be cultivated."
It comprises elements of wisdom: Right View and Right Attitude; elements of
moral conduct: Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood; and elements
of meditation: Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Collectedness. These
will not be explained in detail here.[1] It is certain that any one who practices
Moral Conduct, Collectedness and Wisdom in his life has the conditions which
sustain happiness. From his practice he may have Dhamma-happiness or the Supreme
Happiness, according to the degree he practices, for the latter requires well-developed
meditation both in calm and in insight.
These Four Noble Truths -- Dukkha, Cause, Cessation, and Path -- are the heart
of the Dhamma and they are in the heart of every man who cares to see them.
From their seeing and understanding comes happiness but by trying to escape
them only more misery is born.
These Truths are illustrated by the formula of Dependent Arising which is found
elaborated in various ways. The simplest form is:
Craving being, dukkha is; by the arising of craving, dukkha arises; craving
not being, dukkha is not; by the cessation of craving, dukkha ceases.
But Dependent Arising can be given in much more detailed ways than this. The
important principle to understand is that whatever is experienced by us, all
that arises due to many conditions. An aspect which grows in size from birth
throughout youth, which develops certain characteristics in maturity, and as
old age creeps on becomes infirm in various ways, and finally dies. The processes
which govern this growth and decline are of great complexity and interdependence.
The body, to keep going at all, needs clothes, food, shelter and medicines at
least. But once the internal chemistry (also dependently originated) starts
the process leading to old age and death, none of the exterior supporting conditions
can do more than retard the process for a little while. The body, as a whole,
does not arise from "no-cause" (the physical particles and kamma being
its immediate causes); nor is it derived from one cause. If examined, nothing
which we experience arises from only one, or no cause at all; on the contrary
our experiences all arises dependently. Sight is actually dependent on the eye
as base, the object to be seen, and the operation of eye-consciousness. (There
are other factors that also contribute: light, air,...) Similarly, there is
ear, sound, ear-consciousness; nose, smell, nose-consciousness; tongue, taste,
tongue-consciousness; body, touch, body-consciousness; and mind, thoughts, mind-consciousness.
All of our experience falls within these eighteen elements and there is nothing
which we know outside them.
It is also important to understand that much of what one experiences arising
dependently is the fruit of one's own actions. The happiness one feels and the
dukkha one feels, although sometimes brought about by events in the physical
world (landslides, earthquakes, a sunny or a rainy day), is very often brought
about by one's own past intentional actions or kamma. And in the present time
with each deliberate action, one performs more kammas which will come to fruit
as experience in the future. So, if one wants to experience the fruits of happiness,
the seeds of happiness must be planted now. They may fruit immediately, in this
life, or in a future existence. We make ourselves, we are the creators of ourselves,
no one else has a hand in this creation. And the Lord of Creation is no other
than Ignorance or Unknowing. He is the Creator of this Wheel of Samsara, of
continued and infinitely varied forms of dukkha. And this Lord resides in the
hearts of all men who are called "ordinary-men." We shall return to
this in more detail later.
The History of the Wheel
Dependent Arising is explained many times and in many different connections
in the Discourses of Lord Buddha, but He has not compared it to a wheel. This
simile is found in the Visuddhimagga ("The Path of Purification")
and in the other commentarial literature. Although Theravada tradition has many
references to this simile, it does not seem to have been depicted at all. But
in Northern India and especially in Kashmir, the Sarvastivada school[2] was
strongly established and besides producing a vast literature upon Discipline
and the Further Dhamma (Vinaya and Abhidhamma), they produced also a way of
depicting a great many important Buddhist teachings by this picture of the Wheel
which is the subject of the present essay.
In Pali it is the bhava-cakka or Samsara-cakka, which is variously rendered
in English as the Wheel of Life, the Wheel of Becoming or the Wheel of Rebirth.
In their collections of stories about Lord Buddha and his disciples (known as
Avadana), there is one which opens with the story of this wheel. Readers will
observe that the story refers to Lord Buddha's lifetime and says that He has
authorized the painting of this picture, as well as laying down its contents.
It is certain that in the Buddha-time painting was well known (it is mentioned
several times in the Discourses and the Discipline) while the other facts given
in this short introductory story are quite in accord with the spirit of the
Pali Discourses. Even the collection of stories in which this account is contained
was compiled, according to some scholars, before the Christian era. So if one
does not believe that this painting was ordained by Lord Buddha, still it has
an age of two thousand years, a venerable tradition indeed. Of all "teaching-aids"
this expression of Buddhist skillful-means (upaya-kosalla), must surely be the
oldest. Now let us turn to the story.
The Translation
"Lord Buddha was staying at Rajagaha,[3] in the Bamboo Grove, at the Squirrels'
Feeding-place. Now, it was the practice of Venerable Mahamoggallana to frequent
the hells for a certain time, then the animal-kingdom, also to visit the ghosts,
the gods and men. Having seen all the sufferings to be found in the hells which
beings there experience as they arise and pass away, such as maiming, dismembering
and so forth; having witnessed how animals kill and devour others, how ghosts
are tormented by hunger and thirst, how the gods lose (their heavenly state),
fall (from it), are spoiled and come to their ruin, and how men crave and come
to naught but thwarted desires, -- having seen all this he returned to Jambudipa
(India) and reported this to the four assemblies. Whatever (venerable one) had
a fellow-bhikkhu or a bhikkhu-pupil leading the holy life with dissatisfaction,
he would take him to Venerable Mahamoggallana (thinking): 'The Venerable Mahamoggallana
will exhort and teach him well'. And (truly) the Venerable Mahamoggallana would
exhort and teach him well. Such (dissatisfied bhikkhus) would again lead the
holy life with keen interest, even distinguishing themselves with the higher
attainments since they had been taught and exhorted so well by the Venerable
Mahamoggallana.
"At that time (when the Lord stayed at Rajagaha), the Venerable Mahamoggallana
was surrounded by the four assemblies consisting of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, pious
laymen and women.
"Now the illustrious Enlightened Ones who Know, (also) ask questions. Thus
Lord Buddha asked the Venerable Ananda (why the second of his foremost disciples
was surrounded by the four assemblies). Venerable Ananda then related Venerable
Mahamoggallana's experiences and said that he instructed discontented bhikkhus
with success.
"(The Lord replied:) 'The Elder Moggallana or a bhikkhu like him cannot
be at many places (at the same time for teaching people). Therefore, in the
(monastery) gateways a wheel having five sections should be made.'
"Thus the Lord laid down that a wheel with five sections should be made
(whereupon it was remarked:) 'But the bhikkhus do not know what sort of wheel
should be made'.
"The Lord explained: 'The five bourns should be represented -- the hellish
bourn, that of the animal kingdom, of ghosts, of men, and the bourn of the gods.
In the lower portion (of the wheel), the hells are to be shown, together, with
the animal-kingdom and the realm of the ghosts, while in the upper portion gods
and men should be represented. The four continents should also be depicted,
namely, Pubbavideha, Aparagoyana, Uttarakuru and Jambudipa.[4] In the middle,
greed, aversion and delusion must be shown, a dove symbolizing greed,[5] a snake
symbolizing aversion, and a hog, delusion. Furthermore, the Buddhas are to be
painted (surrounded by their) halos pointing out (the way to) Nibbana. Ordinary
beings should be shown as by the contrivance of a water-wheel they sink (to
lower states) and rise up again. The space around the rim should be filled with
(scenes teaching) the twelve links of Dependent Arising in the forward and reversed
order. (The picture of the Wheel) must show clearly that everything, all the
time, is swallowed by impermanence and the following two verses should be added
as an inscription:
Make a start, leave behind (the wandering-on)
firmly concentrate upon the Buddha's Teaching.
As He, Leader like an elephant, did Nalagiri rout,
so should you rout and defeat the hosts of Death.
Whoever in this Dhamma-Vinaya will go his way
ever vigilant and always striving hard,
Can make an end of dukkha here
and leave behind Samsara's wheel of birth and death.
"Thus, at the instance of the bhikkhus, it was laid down by the Lord that
the Wheel of Wandering-on (in birth and death) with five sections should be
made in the gateways (of monasteries).
"Now brahmans and householders would come and ask: 'Reverend Sir, what
is this painting about?'
"Bhikkhus would reply: 'We also do not know!'
"Thereupon the Lord advised: 'A bhikkhu should be appointed (to receive)
visitors in the gateway and to show them (the mural).'
"Bhikkhus were appointed without due consideration (to be guest-receiver),
foolish, erring, confused persons without merit. (At this, it was objected:)
'They themselves do not know, so how will they explain (the Wheel-picture) to
visiting brahmans and householders?'
"The Lord said: 'A competent bhikkhu should be appointed.'"[6]
The Later History of the Tradition
Tibetan legend says that Lord Buddha outlined the Wheel with grains of rice
while walking with bhikkhus in a rice field. However this may be, in India,
at least in all the Sarvastivada monasteries, this painting will have adorned
the gateways, arousing deep emotions in the hearts of those who knew its meaning,
and curiosity in others. It is a measure of how great was the destruction of
the Buddhist religion in India that not a single example survives anywhere,
since no gateways to temples are known to have survived. A solitary painting
in Ajanta cave number seventeen may perhaps be some form of this wheel.
In the translation above, the pictures for representing the twelve links of
Dependent Arising were not given and it is said that these were supplied from
the scriptures by Nagarjuna, a great Buddhist Teacher (some of whose verses
are quoted below). From India the pattern of this wheel was taken to Samye,
the first Tibetan monastery, by Bande Yeshe and there it was the Sarvastivada
lineage of ordination which was established. The tradition of painting this
wheel thus passed to Tibet, where, due to climatic conditions, it was painted
in the vestibule of the temple, there to strike the eyes of all who entered.
Tibetan tradition speaks of two kinds of Wheel: the old-style and the new-style.
The old-style is based upon the text translated above, while the new-style introduces
new features. The great reformer, Je Tsongkhapa (b. 1357 C.E.), founder of the
Gelugpa (the Virtuous Ones, the school of which H.H. the Dalai Lama is the head),
gave authority for the division of the Wheel into six instead of five, and for
drawing the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the guise of a Buddha in each of the
five non-human realms. Both these features may be seen upon the drawing of the
Tibetan-style Wheel. The sixth realm is that of the titans (asura) who war against
the gods of the sensual-sphere heavens. These troublesome and demonic characters
are included in a separate part of the world of the gods in my drawing. The
introduction of a Buddha-figure into each realm illustrates the universal quality
of a Buddha's great compassion, for Avalokitesvara it the embodiment of enlightened
compassion. The writer has preferred to retain the old-style representation
according to the text as it agrees perfectly with Theravada teachings.
The terrors and violence of samsara, which are with us all the time, may be
seen plainly in the ravishment of Tibet by the Chinese invaders. Tibetan artists
have kept this tradition alive to the present day and still paint under difficulties
as refugees in India. But this ancient way of presenting Dhamma deserves to
be more widely known and appreciated. Buddhist shrines could well be equipped
with representations of it in the present day, to remind devotees of the nature
of this whirling wheel of birth and death.
The Symbolism and its Practical Meaning
The Hub
We now turn to the pictures of the Bhava-cakka accompanying this book. One is
from a Tibetan original after Waddell. The second is a modern version executed
by the author, in which the scenes and figures have been given a contemporary
coloring.
The hub of this painting is the central point for us who live in the realm of
samsara, so it is the best point to start a description of the symbolism. In
this center circle, a cock, a snake and a hog wheel around, each having in its
mouth the tail of the animal in front. These three, representing Greed, Aversion
and Delusion which are the three roots of all evil, are depicted in the center
because they are the root causes for experience in the wandering on. When they
are present in our hearts then we live afflicted in the transitory world of
birth and death but when they are not there, having been destroyed by wisdom
or pañña, developed in Dhamma-practice, then we find rest, the
unshakable peace of Nibbana. It is notable that Tibetan paintings show these
creatures against a blue ground, showing that even these afflictions of mind,
although powerful, have no real substance and are void, as are all the other
elements of our experience.
The cock of fiery yellow-red represents greed (lobha). This greed includes every
desire for all kinds of "I wish, I want, I must have, I will have"
and extends from the violent passion for gross physical form, through attachments
to views and ideas, all the way to the subtle clinging to spiritual pleasures
experienced by meditators. The color of the cock, a fiery red, is symbolic of
the fact that the passions burn those who indulge in them. Passions and desires
are hot and restless, just like tongues of flame, and never allow the heart
to experience the cool peace of non-attachment. The cock is chosen as a symbol
of greed because as an animal it is observed to be full of lust and vanity.
In the cock's beak there is the tail of a green snake indicating that people
who are not able to "satisfy" their ocean-like greeds and lusts tend
to become angry. Aversion (dosa) of any form springs up when we do not get what
we want, or when we get what we do not want. This also can be very subtle, from
aversion to mental states ranging through hostile thoughts against other beings,
to expressions of inward resentment finding their way out in untruthful, malicious
or angry words, or as physical violence. The greenness of the snake indicates
the coldness, the lack of sympathy with others, while the snake itself is an
animal killing other beings by poison and strangulation, which is exactly what
aversion does to those who let it grow in their hearts. Our lives can be corrupted
by this venomous beast unless we take very good care to remove it.
At the bottom of the picture there is a heavy hog, the tail of which is chewed
by aversion's snake, while in turn it champs upon the tail feathers of greed's
cock. This heavy hog is black in color and represents delusion (moha). This
black hog, like its brethren everywhere, likes to sleep for long, to root for
food in filth and generally to take no care at all over cleanliness. It is a
good symbol for delusion which prevents one from understanding what is advantageous
and what is deleterious to oneself. Its heaviness is that sluggishness of mind
and body which it induces in people, called variously stupidity, dullness, boredom;
but worry and distraction with skeptical doubt also arise from this delusion-root.
One who is overwhelmed by delusion does not know why he should restrain himself
from evil, for he can see neither his own benefit with wisdom, nor the benefit
of others by compassion -- all is blanketed by delusion. He does not know, or
does not believe that kamma (intentional actions) have results according to
kind. Or he has wrong views which lead him astray from the highway of Dhamma.
When people do not get what they want either using greed or aversion, then they
turn dull and the pain of their desire is dulled by delusion. From this black
hog are born the fiery cock and the cold green snake.
These three beasts, none more dangerous anywhere, are shown each biting the
tail of the other, meaning that really they are inseparable, so that one cannot
have, say, greed, without the other monsters lurking in its train. Even characters
which are rooted predominantly in one of these three, have the other two present,
while most people called "normal" have a sort of unhealthy balance
of these three in their hearts, ever ready to influence their actions when a
suitable situation occurs. These three beasts revolve endlessly in the heart
of the ordinary-man (puthujjana) and ensure that he experiences plenty of dukkha.
One should know for one-self whether these beasts control one's own heart, or
not.
The First Ring
Out from the innermost circle, the first ring is divided into two (not shown
at all upon the Tibetan version illustrated here), one half with a white background
and the other having a black background. In the former, four people are seen
ascending: the bhikkhu holding a Dhamma-light goes on in front, being followed
by a white-robed nun (upasika), after which come a man and a woman in present
day dress. The four of them represent the Buddhist Community made up of monks,
nuns, laymen and laywomen. They are representative of anyone practicing the
path of good conduct in mind, speech and body. They represent as well two classes
of persons: "going from dark to light" and "going from light
to light." In the first case, they are born in poor circumstances and have
few opportunities due to past evil kamma but in spite of this, they make every
effort to practice Dhamma for their own good and others' happiness. Thus they
go towards the light, for the fruit of their present kamma will be pleasant
and enjoyable. The latter class, "going from light to light," are
those people who have attained many benefits with plentiful opportunities in
their present life, due to having done much good kamma in the past. In the present
they continue with their upward course devoting themselves to further practice
of Dhamma in their lives.
What is this Dhamma-practice? There are two lists both of ten factors which
could be explained here but the space required would be too great for more than
a summary. The first list is called the ten Skilled Kamma-paths,[7] three of
which pertain to bodily action, four to speech and three to mental action. "Paths"
here means "ways of action" and "skillful" means "neither
for the deterioration of one's own mind nor for the harm of others." The
bodily actions which one refrains from are: destroying living creatures, taking
what is not given, and wrong conduct in sexual desires. In speech, the four
actions which should be avoided are: false speech, slanderous speech, harsh
speech and foolish chatter. The three actions of mind which should be avoided
are: covetousness, ill-will, and wrong views. Anyone who restrains himself from
these ten, practices a skillful path, a white path which accords with the first
steps of training in Dhamma.
The other ten factors are called the Ten Ways of making Puñña[8]
(meaning actions purifying the heart). They have a different range from the
first list of ten, being divided into three basic ways and seven secondary ones.
The basic factors are giving (dana), moral conduct (sila), and mind development
(bhavana), while the remaining seven are counted as aspects of these three:
reverence, helpfulness, dedicating one's puñña to others, rejoicing
in other's puñña, listening to Dhamma, teaching Dhamma, and straightening
out one's views. These actions lead to uprightness, skillful conduct and to
the growth in Dhamma of oneself, as well as the benefit of others.
Those who tread upon this white path going toward the light are able to be born
in two bourns: either as men, or as "shining-ones" -- the gods in
the three sorts of heavens of sensuality, subtle form, and formlessness. A life
of good practice is thus usually followed by a life in one of these two bourns,
called sugati or the good bourns. But Lord Buddha does not declare that everyone
who has led such a life is necessarily born there. This depends not only upon
the intensity of their Dhamma-practice but also upon the vision which arises
at the time of death. Through negligence at the last moment, one can slip into
the three evil bourns difficult to get out of. The round of Samsara is very
dangerous, even for those who lead almost blameless lives. More of this below.
To be born in the two good bourns is the fruiting of puñña or
skillful kamma and the more purified one's heart, the higher and more pleasant
will be one's environment.
In the dark half of the ring, naked beings are tumbling downwards in disorder.
Their nakedness symbolizes lack of shame in doing evil and their disorder shows
the characteristic of evil to cause disintegration and confusion. "Downwards"
means that they are falling, by the commission of sub-human actions, to sub-human
states of existence. In some Tibetan versions they are chained together and
pulled downwards by a female demon who squats at the bottom. This demoness is
craving of tanha (a noun of female gender). This craving is, of course, not
outside those who follow the path of evil but in their own hearts. On this path
there are two sorts of persons, those "going, from light to dark"
and those "going from dark to dark." The former have good opportunities
in this life but do not make use of them, or else use them for evil ends without
laying up any further store. Instead, they prefer from delusion to store up
evil now for fear and distress in future. Those who go from dark to dark do
not have even the advantages of the former group for they are born in conditions
of deprivation due to past evil kamma and then, driven on by the fruit of suffering
received by them, they commit more evil.
The Ten Unskillful Kamma-paths are the ways along which they walk: destroying
living creatures, taking what is not given, wrong conduct in sexual desires;
false speech, slanderous speech, harsh speech, foolish chatter; covetousness,
ill-will and wrong-views. They do not delight in making puñña
but are by nature, mean, immoral, undeveloped in mind, proud, selfish, grasp
at possessions, envious, never listen to Dhamma and certainly never teach it,
while their hearts are ridden with confused and contradictory views and ideas.
For their pains, having pursued evil, these beings upon their death, already
having destroyed "humanness" in themselves, fall down to the three
lower states which are called the Evil Bourns (duggati). These are, in order
of deterioration and increase of suffering: the hungry ghosts, the animals,
and the hell-wraiths. Truly a case of:
do good, good fruit
do bad, bad fruit
as the Thai proverb says. These two half-circles are also an illustration of
the refrain which closes every one of the Avadana stories: "Thus bhikkhus,
completely black kamma bears completely evil effects; completely white kamma
bears completely good effects; and composite kamma bears composite effects.
Therefore, bhikkhus, abstain from doing completely black kamma and composite
kamma; strive to do kamma completely white. Thus, O bhikkhus, must you train
yourselves."
The Five Divisions
The two good bourns and the three evil bourns contain the whole range of possibilities
for rebirth. In most Tibetan illustrations, including the one shown here, a
sixth bourn is given, by dividing the devas and asuras (the gods and anti-gods
or titans). In this section the five, or six bourns will be described, together
with the ways to get to them. Birth in any bourn is a fruit or effect and here
we shall see the causes.
A person who has done evil persistently, or even one heavy crime, is likely
to see at the time of death a vision, either relating to his past evil actions,
or else to the bourn which his past evil actions or kamma have prepared for
him. When his physical body is no longer a suitable basis to support life, his
mind creates a body ghostly and subtle in substance, which then and there begins
to experience one of the evil bourns. But in case his kamma drives him to be
born as animals, there is the vision of animals copulating and he is dragged
into the womb or egg of those animals.
Kamma which leads to birth as an animal is a strong interest in the things which
mankind shares with the animals, that is, eating, drinking and sex. If a man
strengthens the animal in himself, to become an "animal-man," he can
expect only to be born as an animal. Human beings interested in only these things,
strengthening the Evil Root of Delusion in their minds, have already the minds
of animals. There is no essential "man-ness" which can prevent such
a catastrophe, for no unchanging human soul exists. If a man wishes to guard
himself against this, he must protect the conditions for humanity (manussa-dhamma)
which are the Five Precepts. Sinking below the level of conduct of these precepts,
is to sink into the sub-human levels. Once rebirth as an animal has taken place
it is by no means easy to gain human birth again, as Venerable Nagarjuna has
written:
More difficult is it to rise
from birth as animal to man,
Than for the turtle blind to see
the yoke upon the ocean drift;
Therefore, do you being a man
practice Dhamma and gain its fruits.
-- L.K. 59 ("The Letter of Kindheartedness" by Acarya Nagarjuna, in
"Wisdom Gone Beyond", Social Service Association Press of Thailand,
Phya Thai Road, Bangkok, Siam.)
Kamma dragging one to the hells, which are the most fearful and miserable states,
are actions involving hatred, killing, torture and violence generally. People
lead themselves to experience hell because they have made the Evil Root of Aversion
very strong within themselves.
On the other hand, those who have strengthened the Evil Root of Greed while
they were men, having been mean, possessive and selfish, are liable to arise
as spirits with strong cravings forever unsatisfied, for which reason they are
known as "hungry" ghosts.
However, it does sometimes happen that one who has led an evil life turns sincerely
to religion upon his deathbed. When this occurs, with his mind centered upon
Dhamma and purified by faith, a person like this may be reborn among men, even
arise among the devas. That evil kamma which has been done though it may have
no chance to fructify in those good bourns, remains a potential for creating
very unpleasant results whenever conditions are favorable to its fruition. The
reverse of this may happen, as when good and noble men become distracted at
death and so remember some small evil done, or see a vision of evil done in
some past life, the result of which is the arising of unwholesome consciousness
leading to the evil bourns.
It is more usual for one who has followed the path of white deeds to be born
as a man or among the gods. The basis for the former is the practice of the
Five Precepts which constitute the level of humanness. They are in brief: refraining
from destroying living creatures; refraining from taking what is not given;
refraining from wrong conduct in sexual desires; refraining from false speech,
and refraining from distilled and fermented intoxicants which cause carelessness.
Those who refrain from such things, having really lived as men, having strengthened
the base of humanness in their own hearts, are born again as men well-endowed
with the riches of fine qualities; of varied opportunities, as well as with
a wealth of worldly goods.
The path to the heavens is cultivated by those who make special efforts to live
with purity and self-restraint, exercising loving-kindness toward all beings
and so purifying their minds to some extent through meditation. At the time
of death, having fulfilled the ten Skillful Kamma paths and the ten Ways of
Making Puñña, the heart will be joyful and peaceful to varying
degrees, which will result in the experience of arising in one of the many heavenly
levels according to the degree of purity and concentration which has been attained.
All these possibilities are within the scope of the mind, the quality of which
can be changed in this way or that by kamma, good or bad. From the type of mind
which performs the duty of relinking-consciousness at birth, is determined the
kind of sense-organs possessed by a being, and hence the kind of world experienced
by him. Perception varies -- as the famous Buddhist verse puts it:
As a water-vessel is
variously perceived by beings:
Nectar to celestials,
is for a man plain drinking-water,
While to the hungry ghost it seems
a putrid ooze of pus and blood,
Is for the water serpent-spirits
and the fish a place to live in,
While it is space to gods who dwell
in the sphere of infinite space.
So any object, live or dead,
within the person or without --
Differently is seen by beings
according to their fruits of kamma.
From such verses we catch a glimpse of the mysterious depths of the mind, and
of the truth of the Exalted Buddha's words which open the Dhammapada:
Before all dhammas goes the mind; Mind is the chief, mind-made are they...
To come now to a description of the picture. In the world of the gods or "shining-ones"
(deva, upper right, but topmost in the Tibetan version), the gilded palaces
and glittering jewel trees of the gods of sensuality are shown in the lower
part of the drawing. The Tibetan picture shows more details of these superlatively
beautiful worlds in which there is also a kind of subtle sexual relationship.
Being based upon sensuality, as this world of men is, these devas must also
pay the price for this -- which is conflict. This conflict is an ever-recurring
battle with the asuras, the anti-gods or titans who have in past times fallen
through their quarrelsome nature from the heavens and who now enviously try
to invade the celestial realms. In my picture, they share a segment of the world
of gods and they are equipped with ancient and modern weapons and are in the
dress of soldiers. But they do not only battle with the gods but also among
themselves and so a bit of insubordination is depicted as well. The Tibetan
picture gives them a world to themselves among the frontiers of which they are
fleeing from the victorious heavenly hosts led upon a very large elephant by
Sakka, the lord of the sensual-realm gods. These titans only understand force,
so the Buddha shown in their world bears a sword with which to duly impress
them, after which they may be able to hear a little Dhamma. By contrast, the
Buddha appearing among the gods bears a lute, in order to lure them into listening
to Dhamma sung in exquisite strains, for it was believed that they would not
be interested in mere spoken words!
Above the battling of the sensual-realm gods dwell the Brahmas of subtle form
and of formlessness, experiencing meditative happiness, serene joy, or sublime
equanimity. The Tibetan picture also shows a magnificent Brahma world palace
in the upper lefthand corner. About all this heavenly splendor, Ven. Nagarjuna
warns us:
"Great King, although celestial worlds
have pleasures great to be enjoyed,
Greater the pain of dying there.
From often contemplating this
a noble person does not wish
For transient heavenly joys."
-- L.K. 98
He goes on to speak of the devas as those
"Who, dying from celestial realms
with no remaining merit fruits
Must take up their abode
according to the karma past, --
With birth as beast or hungry ghost,
or else arise in hell."
-- L.K. 101
The Brahmas of formlessness dwelling for unthinkable ages in the realms of infinite
space, infinite consciousness, no-thingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception
being quite without any form, naturally cannot be shown, but even their states
are not eternal, but come to an end.
Among men (upper left in both pictures), the progress of the human-being is
shown: birth (a perambulator; old-age, sickness (hospital sign) and death (a
bloated corpse in a graveyard), but with this basis of dukkha, men can also
understand Dhamma. Lord Buddha, foremost among men, sits highest in the human
world teaching Dhamma in a forest grove to his first five disciples. In the
original version which my picture follows, He is shown only in the human world,
thus emphasizing the value of human birth, during which it is possible to gain
insight into Dhamma. The religious aspirations of man are represented by a Hindu
temple, a Christian church and Muslim mosque, while a war and a bar show his
tendencies towards aversion and greed. The Tibetan picture shows several mundane
activities such as plowing the fields, while people climb towards the top of
the picture where there is a temple in which they can listen to Dhamma. In the
center stands a Buddha carrying the almsbowl and staff, showing to men the way
of peacefulness leading to Sublime Peace of Nibbana. This is shown in my picture
by the sure Dhamma-path which issues from the mouth of the Exalted Buddha. Upon
this way a bhikkhu lends a hand to help householders out of the realms of samsara,
leading them forward upon the Eightfold Path. Venerable Nagarjuna has this to
say:
"Who though he has been born a man
yet gives himself to evil ways,
More foolish is he than the fool
who fills with vomit, urine, dung
Golden vessels jewel-adorned --
harder man's birth to gain than these."
-- L.K. 60
Hungry ghosts or peta (lower right in my picture, lower left in the Tibetan)
crave for food and drink but find that it turns to fire or foul things when
they are able to get it. I have shown a huge moon and a tiny sun, as the verse
says:
"From want of merit, hungry ghosts
in summer find the moon is hot,
in winter sun is cold;
Barren are the trees they see
and mighty rivers running on
dry up whene'er they look at them."
-- L.K. 95
Then there is a sky-going peta being torn to shreds by birds, as seen by Venerable
Moggallana; one "resting" upon rocks under a leafless tree which is
the simile used by the Exalted Buddha in the suttas to symbolize the sole comforts
of this realm, and two ghosts sunk in the water up to their lower lips, their
gaping mouths just a little too high to get any of it. The state of Tantalus
was obviously birth among the hungry ghosts! The ghosts all have bloated bellies,
extremely slender necks and "needle-mouths." Their sufferings are
illustrated further in the Tibetan. They have to bear intense cravings for food
and drink and then more sufferings when they manage to get a little of it, for
it turns to swords and knives in their bellies. The Buddha in this "abundantly
painful" realm carries celestial food to allay the ghosts' cravings. In
the words of Ven. Nagarjuna:
"Lord Buddha has declared the cause
why beings come to birth as ghosts,
torments to endure
For when as men they gave no gifts,
or giving gave with avarice --
They ghostly kamma made."
-- L.K. 97
The animals, in the Tibetan illustration, are being encouraged in the Dhamma
by a Buddha holding a book, illustrating the point that animals have little
ability to understand and are in need of wisdom. My picture illustrates the
sufferings of animal-life as described by Ven. Nagarjuna:
"Then should you come to birth as beast
many are the pains --
Killing, disease and gory strife
binding, striking too.
Void of peaceful, skillful acts
beasts slay and kill without remorse.
Some among beasts are slain because
they produce pearls, or wool, or bones,
or valued are for meat or hide.
Others are pressed to do men's work
by blows or sticks or iron hook,
by whipping them to work."
-- L.K. 89-90
In the animal-world where feelings experienced are "painful, sharp and
severe," one can see the dukkha, the hunter and the hunted, in my illustration.
The birds of the air are being shot while a vulture is feeding on its prey.
A wasp struggling in the net of a spider represents the horrors of life among
the insects, while among the larger animals, a buffalo is being forced to work,
a deer is being shot and a lion feeds upon his prey. The fish fare no better
and are shown being devoured by larger fish, or else hooked and netted by men.
Slithering down the division of this world from the hells, there is a gecko.
The Tibetan picture illustrates the diversity of animal life and shows, under
the waters, the palace of the serpent-spirits or naga, half snake and half man.
The hells, which are not permanent states of course, have some new horrors of
our day: for railway lines run into a concentration camp from the chimneys of
which belches sinister black smoke, while a uniformed member of some secret
police force compels a suppliant hell-wraith to swallow molten metal. Towards
the viewer flows the river of caustic soda called Vaitarani which burns the
flesh off the bones of those swirling along in it, mingled with a stream of
blood from the clashing mountains. Whatever torments hell-wraiths experience,
though their bodies are mangled, crushed and ripped apart, yet they survive
still for vast ages of time experiencing feelings which are "exclusively
painful, sharp and severe," unrelenting and uninterrupted:
"As highest is the bliss that comes
from all desires' cessation --
No higher bliss than this!
So worst the woe that's known in hell
Avici with no interval --
No woe is worse than this!"
-- L.K. 85
In the foreground is the hell of filth where hell-wraiths, who as men had corrupted
the innocent, are devoured by gigantic maggots while floundering in a stinking
ooze. To the left are the trees of the sword-blade forest which have to be climbed
so that hell wraiths are pierced through and through. This particular aspect
of hell is said to be the punishment which adulterers bring on themselves. Various
murderers and torturers are impaled upon stakes while a steel-beaked bird rips
out the entrails of former cock-fighters. Venerable Nagarjuna has some more
verses upon these lower and most-miserable states:
"The criminal who has to bear
throughout a single day
The piercing of three hundred spears
as punishment for crime,
His pain can nowise be compared
to the least pain found in hell.
The pains of hell may still persist
a hundred crores of years --
Without respite, unbearable
So long the fruits of evil acts
do not exhaust the force --
So long continues life in hell."
-- L.K. 86-87
Jetsun Milarepa, the great sage and poet of Tibet, who had seen the heavens
and hells and other states, once sung this verse:
"Fiends filled with cravings for pleasures
Murder even their parents and teachers,
Rob the Three Gems of their treasures,
Revile and falsely accuse the Precious Ones,
And condemn the Dhamma as untrue:
In the hell of unceasing torment
These evil-doers will be burned..."[9]
Those who now violate the peoples of Tibet and their Dhamma might well take
note! This brief survey of the Five Bourns (pañcagati) may be concluded
with a verse of exhortation from "The Letter of Kindheartedness":
"If your head or dress caught fire
in haste you would extinguish it,
Do likewise with desire --
which whirls the wheel or wandering-on
And is the root of suffering,
No better thing to do!"
-- L.K. 104
The Rim of the Wheel (Dependent Arising)
The Twelve-linked Chain
Our description has now come to the Rim, or felly of the Wheel, which depicts
the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising. It is these links which chain the entire
universe of beings to re-becoming and to suffering.
It is a well-established tradition to explain this chain as referring to three
lives (past, present and future). While the present is the only time which is
real, it has been moulded in the past. It is in the present that we produce
kamma of mind, speech and body, to bear fruit in the future. In the twelve nidanas
or "links" around this wheel are set out the whole pattern of life
and in it all questions relating to existence are answered. The teaching of
Dependent Arising, central in our Dhamma-Vinaya, is not, however, for speculation
but should be investigated and seen in one's own and others' lives, and finally
it may be perceived in one's own heart where all the Truths of Dhamma become
clear after practice. But people who do not practice Dhamma are called "upholders
of the world"; they let this wheel whirl them round from unknowing to old-age
and death. The Exalted Buddha urged us not to be "world upholders"
but through Dhamma-practice to relinquish greed, aversion and delusion so that
by the cessation of unknowing there comes to be a cessation of birth, old-age
and death.
Now let us have a look at these twelve links in brief.
First Link: Unknowing (avijja)
This Pali word "avijja" is a negative term meaning "not knowing
completely" but it does not mean "knowing nothing at all." This
kind of unknowing is very special and not concerned with ordinary ways or subjects
of knowledge, for here what one does not know are the Four Noble Truths, one
does not see them clearly in one's own heart and one's own life. In past lives,
we did not care to see dukkha (1), so we could not destroy the cause of dukkha
(2) or craving which has impelled us to seek more and more lives, more and more
pleasures. The cessation of dukkha (3) which perhaps could have been seen by
us in past lives, was not realized, so we come to the present existence inevitably
burdened with dukkha. And in the past we can hardly assume that we set our feet
upon the practice-path leading to the cessation of dukkha (4) and we did not
even discover Stream-entry. We are now paying for our own negligence in the
past.
And this unknowing is not some kind of first cause in the past, for it dwells
in our hearts now. But due to this unknowing, as we shall see, we have set in
motion this wheel bringing round old age and death and all other sorts of dukkha.
Those past "selves" in previous lives who are in the stream of my
individual continuity did not check their craving and so could not cut at the
root of unknowing. On the contrary they made kamma, some of the fruits of which
in this present life I, as their causal resultant, am receiving.
The picture helps us to understand this: a blind old woman (avijja is of feminine
gender) with a stick picks her way through a petrified forest strewn with bones.
It is said that the original picture here should be an old blind she-camel led
by a driver, the beast being one accustomed to long and weary journeys across
inhospitable country, while its driver could be craving. Whichever simile is
used, the beginninglessness and the darkness of unknowing are well suggested.
We are the blind ones who have staggered from the past into the present -- to
what sort of future?
Depending on the existence of unknowing in the heart there was volitional action,
kamma or abhisankhara, made in those past lives.
Second Link: Volitions (sankhara)
Intentional actions have the latent power within them to bear fruit in the future
-- either in a later part of the life in which they were performed, in the following
life, or in some more distant life, but their potency is not lost with even
the passing of aeons; and whenever the necessary conditions obtain that past
kamma may bear fruit. Now, in past lives we have made kamma, and due to our
ignorance of the Four Noble Truths we have been "world-upholders"
and so making good and evil kamma we have ensured the continued experience of
this world.
Beings like this, obstructed by unknowing in their hearts have been compared
to a potter making pots: he makes successful and beautiful pottery (skillful
kamma) and he is sometimes careless and his pots crack and break up from various
flaws (unskillful kamma). And he gets his clay fairly well smeared over himself
just as purity of heart is obscured by the mud of kamma. The simile of the potter
is particularly apt because the word Sankhara means "forming," "shaping,"
and "compounding," and therefore it has often been rendered in English
as "Formations."
Depending on the existence of these volitions produced in past lives, there
arises the consciousness called "relinking" which becomes the basis
of this present life.
Third Link: Consciousness (viññana)
This relinking consciousness may be of different qualities, according to the
kamma upon which it depends. In the case of all those who read this, the consciousness
"leaping" into a new birth at the time of conception, was a human
relinking consciousness arising as a result of having practiced at least the
Five Precepts, the basis of "humanness" in past lives. One should
note that this relinking consciousness is a resultant, not something which can
be controlled by will. If one has not made kamma suitable for becoming a human
being, one cannot will, when the time of death comes round, "Now I shall
become a man again!" The time for intentional action was when one had the
opportunity to practice Dhamma. Although our relinking-consciousness in this
birth is now behind us, it is now that we can practice Dhamma and make more
sure of a favorable relinking consciousness in future -- that is, if we wish
to go on living in Samsara.
This relinking-consciousness is the third constituent necessary for conception,
for even though it is the mother's period and sperm is deposited in the womb,
if there is no "being" desiring to take rebirth at that place and
time there will be no fertilization of the ovum.
Appropriately, the picture shows a monkey, the consciousness leaping from one
tree, the old life, to another tree. The old tree has died, while the one towards
which it jumps is laden with fruits -- they may be the fruits of good or evil.
The Tibetan picture shows a monkey devouring fruit, experiencing the fruits
of deeds done in the past.
Dependent upon relinking-consciousness there is the arising of mind-body.
Fourth Link: Mind-body (Nama-rupa)
This is not a very accurate translation but gives the general meaning. There
is more included in rupa that is usually thought of as body, while mind is a
compound of feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. This mind and body
is two interactive continuities in which there is nothing stable. Although in
conventional speech we talk of "my mind" and "my body,"
implying that there is some sort of owner lurking in the background, the wise
understand that laws govern the workings of both mental states and physical
changes and mind cannot be ordered to be free of defilements, nor body told
that it must not grow old, become sick and die.
But it is in the mind that a change can be wrought instead of drifting through
life at the mercy of the inherent instability of mind and body. So in the illustration,
mind is doing the work of punting the boat of psycho-physical states on the
river of cravings, while body is the passive passenger. The Tibetan picture
shows a coracle being rowed over swirling waters with three (? or four) other
passengers, who doubtless represent the other groups or aggregates (khandha).
With the coming into existence of mind-body, there is the arising of the six
sense-spheres.
Fifth Link: Six sense-spheres (salayatana)
A house with six windows is the usual symbol for this link (but the Tibetan
shows a house with one (?) window). These six senses are eye, ear, nose, tongue,
touch and mind, and these are the bases for the reception of the various sorts
of information which each can gather in the presence of the correct conditions.
This information falls under six headings corresponding to the six spheres:
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles and thoughts. Beyond these six spheres
of sense and their corresponding six objective spheres, we know nothing. All
our experience is limited by the senses and their objects with the mind counted
as the sixth. The five outer senses collect data only in the present but mind,
the sixth, where this information is collected and processed, ranges through
the three times adding memories from the past and hopes and fears for the future,
as well as thoughts of various kinds relating to the present. It may also add
information about the spheres of existence which are beyond the range of the
five outer senses, such as the various heavens, the ghosts and the hell-states.
A mind developed through collectedness (samadhi) is able to perceive these worlds
and their inhabitants.
The six sense-spheres existing, there is contact.
Sixth Link: Contact (phassa)
This means the contact between the six senses and the respective objects. For
instance, when the necessary conditions are all fulfilled, there being an eye,
a sight-object, light and the eye being functional and the person awake and
turned toward the object, there is likely to be eye-contact, the striking of
the object upon the sensitive eye-base. The same is true for each of the senses
and their type of contact. The traditional symbol for this link shows a man
and a woman embracing.
Where contact arises, feeling exists.
Seventh Link: Feeling (vedana)
When there have been various sorts of contact through the six senses, feelings
arise which are the emotional response to those contacts. Feelings are of three
sorts: pleasant, painful and neither pleasant nor painful. The first are welcome
and are the basis for happiness, the second are unwelcome and are the basis
for dukkha while the third are the neutral sort of feelings which we experience
so often but hardly notice.
But all feelings are unstable and liable to change, for no mental state can
continue in equilibrium. Even moments of the highest happiness whatever we consider
this is, pass away and give place to different ones. So even happiness which
is impermanent based on pleasant feelings is really dukkha, for how can the
true unchanging happiness be found in the unstable? Thus the picture shows a
man with his eyes pierced by arrows, a strong enough illustration of this.
When feelings arise, cravings are (usually) produced.
Eighth Link Craving (tanha)
Up to this point, the succession of events has been determined by past kamma.
Craving, however, leads to the making of new kamma in the present and it is
possible now, and only now, to practice Dhamma. What is needed here is mindfulness
(sati), for without it no Dhamma at all can be practiced while one will be swept
away by the force of past habits and let craving and unknowing increase themselves
within one's heart. When one does have mindfulness one may and can know "this
is pleasant feeling," "this is unpleasant feeling," "this
is neither pleasant nor unpleasant feeling" -- and such contemplation of
feelings leads one to understand and beware of greed, aversion and delusion,
which are respectively associated with the three feelings. With this knowledge
one can break out of the Wheel of Birth and Death. But without this Dhamma-practice
it is certain that feelings will lead on to more cravings and whirl one around
this wheel full of dukkha. As Venerable Nagarjuna has said:
"Desires have only surface sweetness,
hardness within and bitterness --
deceptive as the kimpa-fruit.
Thus says the King of Conquerors.
Such links renounce -- they bind the world
Within samsara's prison grid.
If your head or dress caught fire
in haste you would extinguish it,
Do likewise with desire --
Which whirls the wheel of wandering-on
and is the root of suffering.
No better thing to do!"
-- L.K. 23, 104
In Sanskrit, the word trisna (tanha) means thirst, and by extension implies
"thirst for experience." For this reason, craving is shown as a toper
guzzling intoxicants and in my picture I have added three bottles -- craving
for sensual sphere existence and the craving for the higher heavens of the Brahma-worlds
which are either of subtle form, or formless.
Where the kamma of further craving is produced there arises Grasping.
Ninth Link: Grasping (upadana)
This is an intensification and diversification of craving which is directed
to four ends: sensual pleasures, views which lead astray from Dhamma, external
religious rites and vows, and attachment to the view of soul or self as being
permanent. When these become strong in people they cannot even become interested
in Dhamma, for their efforts are directed away from Dhamma and towards dukkha.
The common reaction is to redouble efforts to find peace and happiness among
the objects which are grasped at. Hence both pictures show a man reaching up
to pick more fruit although his basket is full already.
Where this grasping is found there Becoming is to be seen.
Tenth Link: Becoming (bhava)
With hearts boiling with craving and grasping, people ensure for themselves
more and more of various sorts of life, and pile up the fuel upon the fire of
dukkha. The ordinary person, not knowing about dukkha, wants to stoke up the
blaze, but the Buddhist way of doing things is to let the fires go out for want
of fuel by stopping the process of craving and grasping and thus cutting off
Unknowing at its root. If we want to stay in samsara we must be diligent and
see that our becoming, which is happening all the time shaped by our kamma,
is becoming in the right direction. This means becoming in the direction of
purity and following the white path of Dhamma-practice. This will contribute
to whatever we become, or do not become, at the end of this life when the pathways
to the various realms stand open and we become according to our practice and
to our death-consciousness.
Appropriately, Becoming is illustrated by a pregnant woman.
In the presence of Becoming there is arising in a new birth.
Eleventh Link: Birth (jati)
Birth, as one might expect, is shown as a mother in the process of childbirth,
a painful business and a reminder of how dukkha cannot be avoided in any life.
Whatever the future life is to be, if we are not able to bring the wheel to
a stop in this life, certainly that future will arise conditioned by the kamma
made in this life. But it is no use thinking that since there are going to be
future births, one may as well put off Dhamma practice until then -- for it
is not sure what those future births will be like. And when they come around,
they are just the present moment as well. So no use waiting! Venerable Nagarjuna
shows that it is better to extricate oneself:
"Where birth takes place, quite naturally
are fear, old age and misery,
disease, desire and death,
As well a mass of other ills.
When birth's no longer brought about
All the links are ever stopped."
-- L.K. 111
Naturally where there is Birth, is also Old-age and Death.
Twelfth Link: Old-age and death (jara-marana)
In future one is assured, given enough of Unknowing and Craving, of lives without
end but also of deaths with end. The one appeals to greed but the other arouses
aversion. One without the other is impossible. But this is the path of heedlessness.
The Dhamma-path leads directly to Deathlessness, the going beyond birth and
death, beyond all dukkha.
The Tibetan picture shows an old man carrying off a bundled-up corpse upon his
back, taking it away to some charnel ground. My picture has an old man gazing
at a coffin enclosing a corpse. We are well exhorted by the words of Acarya
Nagarjuna:
"Do you therefore exert yourself:
At all times try to penetrate
Into the heart of these Four Truths;
For even those who dwell at home,
they will, by understanding them
ford the river of (mental) floods."
-- L.K. 115
This is a very brief outline of the workings of this wheel which we cling to
for our own harm and the hurt of others. We are the makers of this wheel and
the turners of this wheel, but if we wish it and work for it, we are the ones
who can stop this wheel.
The Monster
Both pictures show the Wheel as being in the grip of a fearful monster. In my
drawing the monster's name is engraved upon his crown so that people should
not think of him as a common demon. He is no such thing, for his name is Impermanence
and his crown shows his authority over all worlds whatever. He devours them
and they are all, heavens and hells together, securely held in the grasp of
his taloned hands. The crown upon his head is adorned with five skulls, representing
the impermanence of the five groups or aggregates comprising the person. His
eyes, ears, nose, and mouth have flames about them, an illustration of the Exalted
One's Third Discourse in which He says: "The eye is afire..." and
so on. Above the monster's two eyes, there is a third one meaning that while
for the fool impermanence is his enemy, for the wise man it helps him to Enlightenment.
Although the monster has adorned himself with earrings and the like he fails
to look attractive -- in the same way, this world puts on an outer show of beauty
puts its beauty fades when examined more carefully.
Below the painting of the wheel, some Tibetan examples show parts of a tiger-skin
adorning the monster, a symbol of fearfulness. In my drawing I show the monster's
tail which has no beginning, looping back and forth. In the same way, we have
been born, lived and then died countless times in the whirl of samsara. Sometimes
our deeds were mostly good and sometimes mostly bad, and we have reaped the
fruit of it all.
Some other features
The whole wheel glows with heat and is surrounded by flames burning with the
fires of greed, aversion and delusion as the Exalted One has repeated many times
in His Discourses.
In the upper right corner of both pictures stands the Exalted Buddha shown crossed
over to the Further Shore, meaning Nibbana. The Tibetan picture shows him pointing
out the moon upon which is drawn a hare, the symbol of renunciation, the way
to practice Dhamma, and the way out of this wheel.[10] In my picture, He indicates
with his hand the nature of samsara and warns us to beware. He is adorned with
a radiance about Him symbolizing the spiritual freedom and majestic wisdom won
by Him which can be described in many ways but is finally beyond the limitations
of everything known to us.
The Tibetan picture shows in the upper left, a drawing of Avalokitesvara,[11]
the embodiment of compassion as the way and the goal for those who follow the
bodhisattva-path. My picture has the Path of Dhamma of eight lotuses leading
to the wheel of Dhamma. The eight lotuses are the eight factors of the Noble
Path, the first two -- Right View, Right Attitude -- being the wisdom-section;
the next three -- Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood -- being the
morality section; and the last three -- Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and
Right Collectedness -- being the section of collectedness or meditation. The
Wheel of Dhamma has at its center suññata, the Void, another name
for the experience of Nibbana. Around its hub are the ten petals of a lotus,
representing the ten perfecting qualities (parami) which are necessary for complete
attainment: generosity, moral conduct, renunciation, wisdom, determination,
energy, patience, truthfulness, loving-kindness and equanimity. Eight spokes
radiate from the hub which stand for the practice by the Arahant, the one perfected,
of the Eightfold Path when each factor, instead of being just right, becomes
perfect. On the inside of the wheel's nave there are 37 jewels symbolizing the
thirty-seven factors of Enlightenment, while the outer edge of the nave is adorned
with four groups of three jewels showing the Four Noble Truths in each of the
three ways wherein they were viewed by the Exalted Buddha when he discovered
Enlightenment.[12]
Conclusion
This picture teaches us and reminds us of many important features of the Dhamma
as it was intended to by the teachers of old. Contemplating all its features
frequently helps to give us true insight into the nature of Samsara. With its
help and our own practice we come to see Dependent Arising in ourselves. When
this has been done thoroughly all the riches of Dhamma will be available to
us, not from books or discussions, nor from listening to others' explanations...
The Exalted Buddha has said:
"Whoever sees Dependent Arising, he sees Dhamma;
Whoever sees Dhamma, he sees Dependent Arising."
* * *
Anicca vata sankhara
uppada vayadammino
Uppajjitva nirujjhanti
tesam vupasamo sukho.
Conditions truly they are transient
With the nature to arise and cease
Having arisen, then they pass away
Their calming, cessation is happiness.
Notes
1. See Wheel No. 34/35: "The Four Noble Truths."
2. One of the eighteen branches of extinct Hinayana.
3. the familiar Pali forms of names are used throughout.
4. These have not been shown in the accompanying drawing and neither does modern
Tibetan tradition represent them. They are, respectively the eastern western,
northern and southern continents of the old Indian geography.
5. In modern representations a cock is always shown.
6. Translation by Ven. Pasadiko from the opening paragraphs of the Sahasodgata
Avadana, Divyavadana 21, Mithila Edition, page 185 ff.
7. Dasa-kusala-kammapatha.
8. Dasa-puñña-kiriya-vatthu.
9. See "Sixty Songs of Milarepa", Wheel, No. 95/97.
10. Not included in the reproduction given here.
11. Not included in the reproduction given here.
12. See the Wheel No. 17: "Three Cardinal Discourses" p. 7f.
The Buddhist Publication Society
The Buddhist Publication Society is an approved charity dedicated to making
known the Teaching of the Buddha, which has a vital message for people of all
creeds.
Founded in 1958, the BPS has published a wide variety of books and booklets
covering a great range of topics. Its publications include accurate annotated
translations of the Buddha's discourses, standard reference works, as well as
original contemporary expositions of Buddhist thought and practice. These works
present Buddhism as it truly is -- a dynamic force which has influenced receptive
minds for the past 2500 years and is still as relevant today as it was when
it first arose.
A full list of our publications will be sent free of charge upon request. Write
to:
The Hony. Secretary
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Kandy
Sri Lanka
or
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
149 Lockwood Road
Barre, MA 01005 USA
Revised: Fri 21 September 2001