The wheel of Samsara is an eternal circle of rebirth, the place of residence of the soul and body is determined by karma, which in turn is made up of the deeds and emotions that a person experiences.
We are lucky that we ended up in the Human World, where we can achieve spiritual enlightenment and do everything to clear our own karma.
The image of the wheel of life (bhavachakra in Sanskrit or samsara) can often be found on the walls of Buddhist monasteries, or above the main entrance to the temple.
The Wheel of Life symbolizes Sansara, Samsara is a synonym for the word "life", besides this Samsara also means "wheel", "cycle" or "rotation".
When we talk about Sansara, we are talking about existence as a whole, which is due to ignorance, suffering, and the inexplicable passage of time, and this existence is represented as a Yama, which holds a wheel in his hands. On the other hand, Nirvana symbolizes a world devoid of negative emotions, this is a state of true happiness.
The concept of a cycle or rotation is associated with the idea that people and everything that exists in this world in Samsara is not fixed in the same place, Samsara is an endless cycle of life.
What the wheel of Samsara is made of
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The three main poisons of the mind in Buddhism are what prevents a person from reaching nirvana), they occupy the central part of the Wheel of Samsara, this center contains the "fuel" that ensures the movement of the "wheel".
The three poisons of Samsara
Attachments and desires are depicted as a rooster, hatred and jealousy are represented by a snake, ignorance as a pig.
Bardo: Between Death and Rebirth
The next circle of the Wheel of Life is called Bardo, it depicts the spirits that are being pulled down by demons, for these souls have forgotten the Dharma and allowed the poisons of the mind to take over. The term Bardo cannot be translated literally, its roots lie in the concept of rebirth.
Rebirth is a kind of borderline state, something that our soul experiences in the moment between life and death. Samsara begins in the subconscious state of the Bardo, continues in birth and ends at death.
Six worlds of the Wheel of Life
As Karma develops, it finds a suitable "world". People with the same karma, through common perception, are identified in one world. All people, for example, have five identical senses of perception, which allow you to enter an identical world.
However, Buddhism allows for a plurality of possible manifestations, each of which exists in a parallel "universe".
There are six worlds: Gods, Demigods, Humans, Animals, Hungry Spirits and the Infernal World. We, humans, perceive only two worlds, the world of Humans and the world of Animals. From the point of view of Buddhism, the fact that we are not able to perceive each other's worlds in no way diminishes the latter, but on the contrary, emphasizes the fact that we are blind, despite the fact that we see, touch, hear, taste and smell.
The existence of the six worlds is represented by a multitude of enlightened beings, whose capabilities are many times greater than ours.
The six worlds of the wheel of Samsara can also be divided into two groups: The three upper worlds, which include the worlds of Gods, Demigods or Titans and Humans, in these worlds there is more happiness than suffering.
The three lower worlds: the world of Animals, Hungry Spirits and Hell, here suffering exceeds happiness.
World of gods
Gods are the supreme beings in the wheel of Samsara. During their incredibly long life, the gods can comprehend all the benefits. But succumbing to the influence of the poisons of the mind, the life of God can end, after which their world rejects them, after which they fall for rebirth into another, usually lower world.
Pride, identified with positive karma, leads to rebirth in this part of the Wheel of Life. Most often, in the lower worlds, the Gods are reborn due to excessive pride.
World of the Demigods or Titans
Titans are powerful creatures that are mostly occupied with conflicts and all sorts of disputes. The legend tells us about the Tree of Life growing in this world, But its fruit, the Fruit of Eternal life, ripens and falls into the World of Gods.
Thus, the Demigods lose their main wealth, and the right to possess the Fruit of Eternal Life is one of the main reasons for conflicts between the Demigods and Gods. Jealousy as a part of positive karma leads to the reincarnation of the wheel of Samsara in this world.
Human World
All of us living on Earth are in the human world. The main sufferings of people are birth, old age, illness and death, but besides this, other sufferings torment a person. However, only in the human world can one find spiritual teachers and enlightenment, which cannot be done in other worlds.
Desire, combined with the highest potentialities of positive karma, leads to the rebirth of the wheel of Life in this world.
Animal world
Animals suffer from cold, hunger, disease, cannibalism, slavery and human exploitation. They also suffer from a lack of intelligence. The negative karma associated with ignorance leads to rebirth in the Animal World.
World of Hungry Spirits
The World of Hungry Spirits is the threshold of the Hellworld of Samsara. Hungry Spirits suffer from hunger and thirst that cannot be quenched. Very rarely they manage to drink water, but the thirst overtakes them again and again. The negative karma associated with greed and greed is the main reason for the Wheel of Life's rebirth in this world.
Hellish world
Hell in Sansara is the world of the damned. Buddhist hell is a place filled with incredible suffering. Life in hell seems endless, but it ends when negative karma is depleted. Those in Hell are tortured by fire and hellish cold, as well as other, no less cruel executions.
The negative karma associated with hatred and anger can lead to rebirth in the Hell of Samsara.
The extreme (outer) circle of samsara contains twelve images, clockwise, starting from the top, the following figures are located: a blind man, a potter, a monkey, a boat with four passengers, a house with five windows and an open door, a hugging couple, a man with an arrow in his eye, a woman serving drink, woman picking fruit, pregnant woman, woman giving birth and corpse.
All these figures symbolize the poisons of the mind and other suffering, the blind old woman is ignorance, the corpse is old age, illness and death.
The eighth element is attraction, the ninth, the desire to keep what you like. The remaining elements are the embodiment of suffering and the comprehension of the laws of cause and effect.