The Wheel of Life

$355
Item Code: TQ12
Specifications:
Tibetan Thangka Painting
Dimensions Size of Painted Surface 12.5 inches X 16.5 inches
Size with Brocade 22.0 inches X 31.0 inches
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade
The belief in reincarnation means that shortly after death, the spirit of a person returns to earth in another body or function. The new kind of life, in which people end up after rebirth, is determined by the manner, in which the previous life was lived, or karma, the sum of all acts, reactions, and mental activity. This can come out positively or negatively at rebirth. It may become an oppressive experience but may also lead to a pleasant or superior life. The thing is, ultimately, to live so purely that one becomes enlightened and attains the state of nirvana. Then one won't be incarnated any more.

According to Buddhism the path to liberation passes by way of three major forms of knowledge – knowledge of one's former lives, knowledge of the lives and death of all other beings, and knowledge of how to become liberated from the whole process of samsara. This knowledge can be found in the twelve nidanas or interdependent causes of rebirth and the segments of the Bhavachakra. Bhavachakra means wheel of Existence or Becoming, and symbolizes samsara in the form of a spinning wheel.

The people who follow the path of Buddha Dharma can attain nirvana in a single human life span, while less skilled people will take seven lifetimes to do it, and the slowest people will be born sixteen times before the liberating curtain finally parts. It is said that Bhavachakra is the only image that the Buddha ever created himself, since he did not write down any of his teachings; he drew this wheel of life in the sand while explaining the evolutionary process to some disciples. It symbolizes the endless cycles of births and deaths of beings of the world, clutched by karma, urged on by the three spiritual poisons of delusion, aversions and passion, and the twelve causes of samsaric existence leading to the states of rebirth as gods, men, animals, and hell-dwellers.

In the centre of the wheel, three animals have been depicted who visually represented the three major sins, the most important toxins that are the causes of samsara. The animals are a cock, snake, and a pig. They represent desire, hatred and stubborn ignorance, respectively. The centre circle is surrounded by inner circle which is divided into two parts. The left side from bottom upwards depicts who have done good deeds and consequently ascended to the world of gods, while the right side, from top to bottom depicts beings that have indulged in evil deeds and consequently descended into hell. The inner circle is surrounded by the body of the wheel, which is divided into six parts. The existence in the first three worlds is considered superior or good, and the last three inferior or bad. And these worlds are shown in this relation in the picture, the highest being heaven, and the lowest hell.

The first and upper one region of the wheel is Heaven where gods live. The heaven is on the top of mount meru or Sumeru which is located in cosmic ocean. Gods are shown seated in the palace of heaven. A lute Buddha is standing in this realm to help the gods. According to a tradition, god who born from lotus blossoms enjoy heavenly delights. They are subject to the law of anityata, of birth, life, death and rebirth. They may live for millions of years in heaven, but when their merits are exhausted they have to come down to earth.

Heaven is followed by the world of Asura(Demigods) that is depicted below the left of heaven. The demigods include several classes of animistic beings that inhabit the mundane word and are either beneficial or destructive to humanity. It is their lot forever to fight the devas of Trayastrimsha heaven for possession of the tree that produces the fruit of immortality, and whose roots are in their realm. The demigods were expelled from heaven because of their pride. Avalokiteshvara has appear here as a Buddha to show the right path to demigods.

The third position in the Bhavachakra is given to the realm of Humans. It is depicted here to the right of heaven. The human state of existence is considered the most fortunate of births. It is well suited for making spiritual progress and, according to some schools of Buddhist thought, the only form of rebirth in which it is possible to attain full enlightenment and escape the cycle of samsaric existence.

In this realm generally human sufferings are depicted, like birth, disease, old age, death, struggle for existence, and so on. Moreover it also depicts stupas, monks and Adepts etc. Avalokiteshvara as a Buddha is depicted here show and teach path of Buddha Dharma to the suffering beings of this realm.

The fourth position in the Bhavachakra is given to the animal world which is called Tiryagyoni gati. Excluding humans, this realm includes all land, water, and air creatures. This realm is depicted below the world of demigods. Of particular concern are the beasts of burden and of human consumption, because it is their unhappy destiny either to toil or to die in an unnatural way. Among animals, elephant, lions, tigers, and other may be single out as 'higher' animals who lead a more human-like existence. Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara as a Buddha is present in this realm also, to show them the path of their emancipation.

The fifth position is of Pretaloka or the realm of Tantalized ghosts. This realm is depicted below the human realm and presided over by Yama, lord of the under world. Preta or the hungry ghosts, whose realm of existence intersects the human realm, are beings whose greed in former human rebirths led them to be born with the great distended bellies and tiny needle-thin necks. They subsists on a diet of human and animal waste, and even these delicacies turn into fire when the poor creatures place them in their mouths, resulting in their perpetual hunger. Hungry ghosts are the recipients of cults of gift-giving, food offerings, and others benefaction by Buddhist monastic and laity.

The lowest world is the Hell (Naraka), presided by Yamaraja, the king and judge of the dead. There are two types of hell – cold and hot. The beings of the hell realms are tormented in various ways, corresponding to the nature and degree of their former misdeeds, may be sliced, diced, boiled, baked, sawed, ripped, shredded, frozen, or otherwise maltreated for as long as needed to expiate their bad karma. Eventually they will be able to leave and move upward again on the moral evolutionary scale.

The outermost circle (rim of the wheel) is made up of twelve segments, illustrating the twelve nidanas or interdependent causes of rebirth. It is depicted clockwise from the top right –

1. A Blind old man (unconscious will) symbolizing avidya(ignorance),as something who cannot find his way due to avidya.

2. Potter shaping matter (Conformation), symbolizes creative activity (karma), as potter moulds clay into pots so we shape our karmas. It is known as samskara or conformations.

3. Monkey in a tree, symbolizes vijnana (consciousness). It depicts that the rudimentary man is becoming anthropoid, but still is an unreasoning automaton.

4. Two people in a boat (self-consciousness), symbolizes name and form (nama-rupa), spirit and body (separation between the conscious and subconscious mind). As a result of conscious experience, forms the fourth link or stage, as a physician feeling the pulse of a sick man. Here the pulse denotes the individuality or distinction between "Self" and "Not Self". A variant of this picture, in some Lamaist temples, is a man in the act of being ferried across an ocean. It is the Individual crossing the Ocean of Life.

5. House with five windows and one door, symbolizes six senses (sad-ayatana); the six sense is the capacity to think. After the rise of individuality or self-consciousness one realizes possession of sense-surfaces and understanding with reference to outside world.

6. Loving Couple (Contact or Sparsha): Exercise of Sense-organs on outer world.

7. Arrow in eye, symbolizes vedana or feeling (distinction between pleasant and unpleasant) or rise of mental and physical sensation.

8. Man drinking liquor, symbolizes desire, thirst (trishna). Feeling or vedana gave rise to desire, as experience of plain or delusive pleasure.

9. Person plucking fruits and filling his basket with nature's bounty, symbolizes clinging to worldly objects (upadana). Desire gave rise to greed, as satisfying desire, including clinging to worldly wealth and desire of heir to it.

10. Couple in bed, symbolizes the process of becoming (bhava) or creation. Life is fuller form, as enriched by satisfying desire of married life and as means of obtaining heir.

11. Birth (of heir), symbolizes jati. Maturity by birth of heir (which affords re-birth to another spirit). Thus it depicts new life and consciousness (being).

12. Dead person carried away, symbolizes jaramarana (Decay and death). Maturity leads to Decay and to Death. At this stage there are two possibilities, either rebirth will take place after a stay in one of the six worlds, and the cycle will recommence, or extinction will have been attained. Here, this is rendered as a Buddha and a Bodhisattva in higher realms or as a direct track (moonlight path as shown in the present painting in upper left corner) to emptiness which has been depicted as Buddha world, the Buddha is in a heavenly palace.

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.
The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.
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After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.
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Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.
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In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.
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Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.
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