History always has a way of teaching us a lesson. Even though people lived differently in the past, the challenges that people faced are pretty much the same as the ones we face today. One of the ways people in past were able to communicate with us their hardships is through the artwork and scriptures they leave behind, we get to use these pieces of art artifacts as a lense in order for us to get a understanding of their lifestyle. One piece of art that was left behind for us to evaluate is the “Wheel of Existence.” The Wheel of Existence is a piece of art work originally found in India and is dated back to 400-499 BC. However, other depictions of this art were reconstructed and the variations can be dated with in the 16th-19th century. Furthermore, it was found not just in India but in Tibet and across Asia. The wheel of Existence can’t easily be described due to the many layers of the art work. I have never seen a piece of artwork that represented so much symbolism before. To start there is a huge depiction of Yama “wrath of Gods” aka Lord of Death. Yama represents the inevitability of death but the piece of art does not represent death because there is also a picture of a Buddha who points to liberation. This painting is so complex that it is easy to digress into other aspects. Yama holds a huge circle which has a total of 4 circles within the very big circle. The wheel of life shows how the life cycle is repeated over many lifetimes until someone becomes spiritually awakened. Each quadrant of the wheel shows a realm where a person might be reborn. The inner circle of this wheel is a good example of how people react when they are treated unfairly and when they do not have the means to obtain what the more fortunate could. There are three animals in the circle. First is a black pig, which represents ignorance, next is a green snake, which represents anger and lastly is a rooster, which represents desire. In this circle they are observed biting on each other’s tails. The animals symbolize the bi-product of inequality. Ignorance stems from a poor education, anger stems from oppression and inequality, while desire stems from envy. These reactions are proof that there are negative consequences when these people are faced with injustice and unfairness. Working from inner to outer the next ring represents Karma. It also describes the higher realms one can enter with virtuous actions. It then goes into the next circle which represents the six realms of existence. The top half depicts humans, Gods and demi-Gods, while the lower half depicts animals, hell-beings and hungry ghosts. As mentioned earlier the wheel is complex and the symbolism addresses many aspects of life
