Translations of bhāvachakra | |
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English | wheel of life, wheel of cyclic existence, etc. |
Sanskrit | bhavachakra (Dev: भवचक्र) |
Pali | bhavacakka (Brah: 𑀪𑀯𑀘𑀓𑁆𑀓) |
Chinese | 有輪 (Pinyin: yǒulún) |
Tibetan | སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་ (Wylie: srid pa'i 'khor lo; THL: sipé khorlo) |
Glossary of Buddhism |
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Buddhism |
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The bhavachakra (Sanskrit: भवचक्र; Pāli: bhavacakka; Tibetan: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: srid pa'i 'khor lo) or wheel of life is a visual teaching aid and meditation tool symbolically representing saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). It is found on the walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help both Buddhists and non Buddhists understand the core Buddhist teachings. The image consists of four concentric circles, held by Yama, the lord of Death, with an image of the Buddha pointing to the moon metaphorically representing the possibility for liberation from the suffering of reincarnation.