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Wheel of Life Fresco Pemayangtse, India
Lower left detail of the Wheel of Life symbol at the entrance to the
monastery. At the hub of the wheel are three animals:a pig, a snake and a
cock, respectively symbolizing the ignorance, hatred and desire that
motivate the actions that keep people bound to the endless cycle of rebirth.
In the circle around the hub are various beings rising to divine heights
only fall into hellish agony. Around this circle are six sections that show
the realm of human condition. The panel at right depicts damnation and at
left and above is a panel illustrating how a monk lives in harmony with
nature. The Wheel is held by Yama, the personification of death (his foot is
visible).
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