Bhavacakra Symbol (Wheel of Life) – History And Meaning

The bhavacakra is an intricate symbolic representation of samsara—the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death—in the form of a circle. It is the wheel that is commonly featured on the entrance wall of Buddhist temples and monasteries. The symbol has been around since the time of Buddha.

This “wheel of becoming” or the “wheel of cyclic existence” is described as the concept of rebirth or reincarnation in Buddhism. Buddhists believe that shortly after death, one’s spirit will enter an intermediate state of “bardo” or “antarabhava,” the state between death and rebirth. This exists from the last inward breath until the first inner breath in the new physical body, and so begins a new life. 

The nature of one’s new life will be determined by the way in which one lived his or her previous life. This is the concept of karma. One can be liberated from the samsara—the endless cycle of reincarnation—through enlightenment.

Bhavacakra Symbol (Wheel of Life) – History And Meaning

If you want to learn more about the Bhavacakra symbol, read on to find out the meaning, history, and significance of this Buddhist symbol.

Bhavacakra History

Legend says that the Buddha himself created the first depiction of the bhavacakra. The tale as to how he gave the illustration to King Rudrayana appears in the Divyavadana or the divine narratives, an anthology of Buddhist avadana tales in Sanskrit. It tells about the interdependent concepts of karma, samsara, and nirvana.

The bhavacakra is a simple series of diagrams illustrating the deep philosophy of karma. It was designed to explain the fundamental aspects of Buddhist doctrines to all people, illiterate and otherwise.

This was also one of the reasons why the bhavacakra was painted outside the walls or entrance of Tibetan temples and monasteries. It was encouraged by the Buddha himself, making his otherwise profound philosophy available to more simple-minded cowherds and farmers. 

So basically the bhavacakra symbol came to be in order to communicate to the general audience.

The Bhavacakra Symbol

The bhavacakra is a wheel commonly known as “the wheel of life” or “the wheel of becoming.” It is depicted in the Buddhist tradition as a wheel divided into six sections. These sections depict the nature of life in each of the six realms of gati or rebirth. 

The said six realms are laid out surrounding a hub where fowl (greed or desire), boar (delusion or ignorance), and snake (hatred) chase one another. These animals represent the “three poisons.” This illustrates how karma—the qualified value of all our speech, thoughts, and actions over a lifetime—is made through our choices, both positive or negative.

In some depictions of the bhavacakra symbol, a buddha or a bodhisattva is depicted within each realm, trying to help living beings attain enlightenment.

The demon Yama, the judge of the dead, holds the wheel with his jaws, hands, and feet. This symbolizes the whole process of samsara, the cycle of rebirth through reincarnation, lifetime after lifetime until one finds his or her way to nirvana.

Yama is symbolic of impermanence, a reminder that all things are ever-changing and life is fleeting. He also represents ignorance or delusion that originates from greed or desire, the forces that keep the wheel of suffering turning.

Bhavacakra Symbol Meaning

The bhavacakra or the wheel of life is a symbolic representation of cyclic existence or samsara. 

The word “bhavacakra”—wheel of life—consists of the two Sanskrit words “bhava” and “chakra.” 

Bhava means “emotion, sentiment, state of body or mind, disposition.” In other contexts, bhava is also translated as “birth, becoming, being, existing, worldly existence, occurring, appearance, production, origin.” Chakra is translated as “wheel,” “circle,” and “cycle.” 

The Sanskrit bhavacakra has also been translated into English as “wheel of samsara,” “wheel of becoming, “wheel of cyclic existence,” “wheel of existence,” “wheel of rebirth,” “wheel of suffering,” and “wheel of transformation.”