A KORA OF KORAS

The Wheel of Life
A representation of the nature of life is pictured in the Wheel of Life and the
origin of this image can be traced back to the Buddha:
King Bimbishara was the ruler of north India at the time of the Buddha and he
had been given an extremely beautiful and tremendously expensive gift by a
neighboring king. It was the custom to offer in return to the giver another gift,
something of equal or greater value, but King Bimbasara was unable to find
anything that could match the beauty, distinction, expense and refinement of this
particular gift. Since King Bimbasara was a follower of the Buddha, he decided to
ask him how to reciprocate such a seemingly priceless gift.
Buddha is said to have sat down and drawn out ‘The Wheel of Life’ and given it
to Bimbishara, saying that the understanding of this image was worth more than
any other gift that could be created and would be a most suitable gift for the King
to give in return.
The Wheel of Life is a summary of our existence. It ‘paints a picture’ of Reality
and according to the Buddha the perception and understanding of Reality was
the very best of gifts and this is why this picture is painted at the door of every
Tibetan Buddhist monastery.