Sep 8, 2012
Popularly called "the Wheel of Samsara," the Bhavachakra is one of the most important symbols in Buddhism, being an illustration of everything that exists and how existence functions. While the superficial, public-level meanings are fairly well-known (such as the three poisons, the twelve nidanas, the six realms), few know that the actual purpose of the symbol is very deep, revealing the inner workings of our mind, and thereby illustrates the source of suffering (samsara) or liberation from suffering (nirvana).
This is a lecture from the free online course Bhavachakra: The Wheel of Becoming: The Real Message of Buddhism
Course Description:
Popularly called "the Wheel of Samsara," the Bhavachakra is one of the most important symbols in Buddhism, being an illustration of everything that exists and how existence functions. While the superficial, public-level meanings are fairly well-known (such as the three poisons, the twelve nidanas, the six realms), few know that the actual purpose of the symbol is very deep, revealing the inner workings of our mind, and thereby illustrates the source of suffering (samsara) or liberation from suffering (nirvana).
“Those who are suffering or who fear suffering, think of Nirvana as an escape and a recompense. They imagine that Nirvana consists in the future annihilation of the senses and the sense-minds; they are not aware that Universal Mind and Nirvana are One, and that this life-and-death world and Nirvana are not to be separated. These ignorant ones, instead of meditating on the imagelessness of Nirvana, talk of different ways of emancipation. Being ignorant of, or not understanding, the teachings of the Tathagatas, they cling to the notion of Nirvana that is outside what is seen of the mind and, thus, go on rolling themselves along with the wheel of life and death.” - Buddha Shakyamuni, Lankavatara Sutra