Some readers have left messages and want to know about the content of the life and death flow chart. Here I will give you an overview of the life and death flow chart.
The flow of life and death, also known as the Six Paths of Reincarnation, is an important part of the Buddhist theory of karma. The first step to believe in Buddhism is to firmly believe in the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the continuity of cause and effect, and the dharma of causes and conditions, thus generating fear and renunciation. This is
The most basic driving force that promotes the practice of good people who study Buddhism is that if you don't understand the six paths of reincarnation, you can't understand the twelve causes and conditions; if you don't understand the twelve causes and conditions, you can't untie the circle of life and death.
To achieve liberation. There are some believers who have been practicing Buddhism for many years and are still wandering around in circles, pursuing supernatural powers and heretical ways. They cannot be diligent in practice and cannot endure hardship. The reason is this. Buddhism believes that people and all living beings do not have only one life and death, but have previous lives.
, the vast majority of future generations and even life after life are in the cycle of birth and death, and are reincarnated in the six realms according to the amount of good and evil karma that living beings have. These six realms are (1) the heavenly realm; ()
Human realm; () Asura realm; (4) Animal realm; (5) Hungry ghost realm; (6) Hell realm. Among these six realms, the first three realms are good realms, and the last three realms are evil realms, also known as the "three evil realms"
, "Three Paints". Early
People who study Buddhism, regardless of Mahayana or Hinayana, first develop renunciation out of fear of wandering into the three evil paths and suffering endless suffering. After that, only those who study Mahayana can develop bodhicitta and enter the bodhisattva line. Without renunciation as the basis, bodhicitta can be achieved.
Being mindful is just a castle in the air, meaningless. For example, human beings are born unable to fly. Without the yearning for liftoff and the envy and imitation of birds flying freely, it would never be possible to invent and create airplanes, and the same is true for spiritual practice. A person
I am happy to enjoy the five human desires, but cannot extricate myself, and do not want to extricate myself. I have doubts about the three evil ways and the three good ways. How can I save others and save all sentient beings from the sea of suffering?
Therefore, even though some people have prejudices against Hinayana, they cannot raise objections that practitioners must have renunciation.
So, what are the factors that cause sentient beings to circulate in life and death, and how can we achieve enlightenment and renunciation? We will not make a purely theoretical discussion here, but combine it with a Tibetan Buddhist "Character of the Cycle of Life and Death" (
Also known as the "Six Paths of Reincarnation Diagram") to explain this principle.
Tibetan Buddhism attaches great importance to image thinking. Many Tibetan Buddhist temples use thangka paintings, murals, butter flowers, and cut embroidery to explain Buddhist principles. The "Picture of the Cycle of Life and Death" is often painted in various temples.
On the outer wall of the Sutra Hall is one of the indispensable pictures. "The Picture of the Circulation of Life and Death" has a rigorous structure and a symbolic meaning.
Profound, the center part of the picture is a round wheel, which is held by a big turtle. In fact, according to ancient legends, the turtle carries the earth on its back, which is similar to the idea of a toad carrying the earth shown in Han silk paintings.
Wonderful. The turtle in the picture has been beautified by the painters into the image of a protector, and its body is adorned with heavenly clothes and jewels.
The flow of life and death diagram can be divided into six parts, and the six parts D, E, F, G, and H are pictures describing the six paths of reincarnation. They are:
Picture D: The Way of Heaven (Heaven). In the middle is Mount Sumeru, at the bottom is the sea, on the left are heavenly beings having fun, and on the left are a row of heavenly generals wearing armor and helmets holding bows and arrows, with the direction of the arrows pointing to the picture below (i.e. "human beings are not human").
It is said that beings in the heavens have long lifespans and are very rich.
Religion regards "ascension to heaven" as the highest ultimate. But Buddhist theory says that gods and immortals also have troubles. They often fight with the asura (non-human) realm to compete for beauty and wealth. And when they die, they may occasionally make mistakes.
It will still be transferred to the other five channels.
Picture E: Humanity. There are mountains, rivers, houses, farming, cattle and sheep, etc. in the picture, but human life is not perfect.
Walking towards death step by step, there are only a few short decades in between, and you will still get sick and old. You don’t know when death will suddenly come, so birth, old age, illness, and death are all suffering. In addition, love, separation, resentment and resentment will come.
.Not being able to seek it, the five aggregates being blazing and suffering are really unspeakable sufferings.
Picture F: Asura Dao, also known as human non-human, inhuman Dao. It is an invisible non-human being, very rich, Asura
Women are extremely beautiful, but they are very jealous and love to fight. Therefore, in the picture, there is also a row of Asuras with their bows and arrows pointed at the heaven. They often use war to ask for wine from the heaven, and the heaven will snatch their asura women.
Figure G: Animal Path. There are fish and dragons in the water, and elephants, deer, cattle, horses, sheep, etc. on the land. They are as big as whales and as small as bacteria. They are often killed or whipped by humans to survive.
The space is getting smaller and smaller, and species are becoming extinct one after another.
Picture H: Hungry ghost realm. The main cause of being born in this realm is stinginess. Hungry ghosts are ugly, with an abdomen as big as a drum and a throat as thin as a needle. All food and drink turns into flames when it reaches the mouth. Although hungry, it is difficult to eat even a drop of water.
Enter.
Picture I: Hell. Everyone is familiar with various theories about the eighteen levels of hell, the eight major hells, and the sixteen minor hells. In the middle (slightly lower) of the picture are two ghost soldiers boiling human heads in a big iron wok.
In the upper part, King Yama is interrogating the case, and in the lower left part is
The burning hell, and the lower right side is the ice hell. The lifespan of the beings in hell is countless times that of the human world. One day in that hell is equal to nine million years in the human world. The 0th day is also regarded as a month and the twelfth month is a year.
The suffering in hell for tens of millions of years can be said to be an astronomical number, so there is no time limit for suffering.
So, what are the causes and conditions that cause sentient beings to reincarnate in the six realms?
Buddhism does not worship a superhuman master god. The reincarnation of sentient beings in the six paths is endless. There is no special external force there to punish or dominate sentient beings. The only reason why sentient beings continue to circulate in the six paths is the "karma" created by the sentient beings themselves.
"Karma" means career, or it can be understood as the sum of "mind" and accomplished facts. Due to self-grasping and ignorance,
, and generate greed, anger, and ignorance. Driven by the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, all evil deeds are created; all good deeds are created due to loving-kindness, compassion, and bodhicitta; and there are some "nothings" that are neither good nor evil.
"Remember karma", such as food, drink, defecation, etc., but it is not absolute. For example, if someone is greedy and often takes pleasure in eating raw seafood, rare animals and slaughtering livestock, it is a great evil karma.
In the central circle (A) of the painting, there is a bird, a snake and a pig, which represent the three poisons of greed, smell and ignorance respectively, indicating that the fundamental cause and condition of the six paths of reincarnation is here. So, what happens when a living body dies?
What about the ones that flow to other paths? This is the theory of the bardo body, which is called "alaya consciousness" in the consciousness-only school and some Sutra theories. It is
The intangible carrier of karma is the total information base of good and evil karma that all sentient beings have done since beginningless time. In the picture, circle A is surrounded by two semicircles, B and C, which is a depiction of the bardo body. In picture B,
, is the bardo body with more good karma, which is carried out in a higher realm among colorful clouds; picture C is the bardo body that carries bad karma, naked and led by the ghost king to hell and other evil paths.
This cannot be considered exhaustive, because from Picture A to Picture I it only illustrates the cause-and-effect relationship of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the specific deeper meaning has not yet been explained. Therefore, outside these pictures, there is another circle, which is explained by "Pictures"
" way to interpret the teachings of the Twelve Causes and Conditions taught by the Lord:
1.
It depicts a blind man walking on the road, which represents "ignorance";
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It depicts a potter making pottery, which represents "work";
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The painting of a monkey climbing a tree represents "knowledge";
4.
There is a boat in the painting, which represents "name and form";
5.
There is an empty house in the painting, which represents the "six elements";
6.
Contact between men and women represents "touch";
7.
An arrow in a person's eye represents "receiving";
8.
Drinking alone represents "love";
9．
In the painting, a person is picking fruits, which represents "taking";
10.
There are tents in the paintings, men and women having fun together, or pregnant women, which represent "being";
11.
There is a pregnant woman in labor in the painting, which represents "birth";
1.
The old man and the dead body represent "old age and death".
Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world and preached the Dharma for forty-nine years. His purpose was to teach all sentient beings to escape suffering and achieve happiness. The cause of the suffering of all sentient beings is the many things that sentient beings have created in the past due to greed, anger, and ignorance.
The initial motivation for getting rid of suffering and achieving happiness due to bad karma should be attributed to the understanding of the twelve causes and conditions.
Some people think that the theory of the twelve causes and conditions is just an outline sect learned by Hinayana practitioners, and we who practice Mahayana do not need to understand it. In fact, no matter Mahayana or Hinayana, no matter what sect or sect, we do not understand the theory of causes and conditions, and we do not understand the twelve causes and conditions.
The connotation of causing the circulation of life and death is just to burn incense and kowtow, but it is still far away.
Without opening up the category of superstition, it is difficult to get rid of ignorance, the fundamental cause of the cycle of life and death. The twelve causes and conditions are the twelve links in the process of the cycle of life and death of living beings. They are also called "twelve branches" and "twelve conditions".
"Birth", with ignorance as the initial cause. Ignorance is ignorance, confusion, ignorance and ignorance.
Wisdom. From this ignorance arises actions, which are performed by the body, speech, and mind; from actions arises consciousness; from consciousness arises name and form (the five aggregates); from name and form arises the six sense organs (also called the six bases, namely the eyes and ears).
, nose, tongue, body, mind six sense organs); contact arises from the six sense organs (six sense organs to six objects); receiving from contact is called feeling; arising from feeling
Love; craving is intense and gives rise to grasping (persistent pursuit); from grasping comes existence; (various life activities are born in the three realms and six paths); from existence comes condition; from birth comes old age and death. This is a vicious cycle of life for all living beings.
If the ring cannot be opened for a day, there will be no liberation for a day; with the urging of ignorance,
All living beings waste their lives and continue to suffer in the six realms. This truth cannot be explained clearly in a few sentences, but in the picture, it is easier for us to understand through visualization. The entire circle contains the suffering in the Four Noble Truths
Truth and truth. The "liberation" we often talk about.
The two words mean that the practitioner must first develop a fear of the six paths of reincarnation, and then develop a mind of renunciation (hinayana); then go back further from the minor to the major, cultivate compassion, develop bodhicitta, and achieve the enlightenment of wisdom through the three disciplines of precepts, concentration, and wisdom.
, the purpose of eradicating ignorance. If ignorance is eradicated, action will be eradicated. If action is eradicated, knowledge will be eradicated.
...and so on, and finally eradicate old age and death, then birth and death will disappear forever, without birth and death, and reach Nirvana. Most practitioners follow this path. However, the author also has a humble opinion, that is, to cure the twelve causes and conditions, no matter where they are from.
If you start with one link and cut it off (such as cutting off love), you can follow the teachings and achieve liberation.
The above is a summary of the flow chart of life and death. I hope you can get what you want to know from here. (To be continued)