The Bhavacakra: The Wheel of Becoming
Art by Philip Chiang But deranged men do not perceive their madness; The blind are unaware of they blindness. Born, reborn, and still born again, Whence they have come they do not know. Dying, dying, and dying yet again, Where they go in the end they do not know. — Kukai (Daishi Kongo) The Bhavacakra, commonly translated as the “Wheel of Life,” is more precisely the “Wheel of Becoming” or “Wheel of Existence.” It is among the most recognizable images in Buddhism, yet its significance is easily underestimated. It is often presented as a diagram of Buddhist cosmology illustrating the six realms of rebirth, karma, and the twelve links of dependent origination. While all of this is correct, the Bhavacakra is considerably more than a map of places into which beings may be reborn. It is a visual anatomy of conditioned existence itself. It describes how samsāra is continually produced, how beings come to experience themselves as separate ...