Life progresses, day by day, through both tough times and joyful times.

As life
continues, it seems that there is an ending, like a timeline that starts and stops at a point.
However, through the teachings of Buddhism, life does not stop at a point; but the ending
sparks a new beginning. To many people, there seems to be more to life than death.
Many sculptures created in the Buddhist age reflect the cyclical aspects of life. By
looking at the Dharmachakra, known as the Buddhist wheel of life, one can appreciate
the cyclical nature of life; this is important because life represents a cycle that can be
achieved fully through striving to have the right moral conduct.

The Dharmachakra, or the Dharma wheel presently remains in the Metropolitan
Museum of art, a prestigious museum on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The museum
carries artifacts, paintings, sculptures, and exhibits. The Dharma wheel stands in the
Lost Kingdoms exhibit, accompanied by other sculptures of symbols and figures
pertaining to Buddhism. This ancient wheel was prevalent in the 8
th
century, particularly
in central Thailand, the main location of the newly spread religion Buddhism. Made of
sandstone, the Dharma wheel takes the shape of a circular sculpture. Because it has
survived thousands of years, the artifact does not appear to be in perfect condition. The
cyclical object contains some rough edges and bumps; however, it remains in a healthy
state relative to the amount of years it has lasted. It was sculpted beautifully, with
meticulously designed carvings around the edge. Each detail reveals an aspect of the
vital artifact in the 8
th
century, which survives today.
1

Buddhism became both a religion and a way of life about 2,500 years ago. The
religion focuses on a life devoted to the end of suffering, leading to ultimate
happiness. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gotama, spread his ideas of
enlightenment. Ultimately, the ideas were contained into symbols, statues, and
objects. In the 8th century, the Dharma Wheel became a key symbolic object to the
religion Buddhism, as it carried the main teachings of the religion. The Dharma wheel
contains the principles of the religion primarily from the Buddha himself.
2


The Dharma wheel can be represented in many forms, commonly having eight
spokes, symbolizing the Noble Eightfold Path. The cyclical nature of Buddhism, as seen
on the Dharma Wheel, taught the followers that there is an afterlife, but to reach it, one
must follow the Noble Eightfold Path comprising of four noble truths that lead to the end
of suffering. Samsara, or the endless cycle of rebirth, gives Buddhists an understanding
of the representation of the wheel. In history, there were three important turnings of the
wheel that affiliated with the Noble Eightfold Path; according the magazine Shambhala
Sun, each turning initiated new cycles of teachings for the benefit of sentient beings.
3


1
Lost Kingdoms. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1000 Fifth Avenue New York,
New York, 3 May 2014.

2
Brian, White. Buddhanet, "A Five Minute Introduction." Last modified 1993.
Accessed May 11, 2014. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm.

3
Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche. "What the Buddha Taught." Shambhla Sun, May 2006.
http://shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2911&Itemid
=0&limit=1&limitstart=0 (accessed May 11, 2014).
As Buddhism spread, the Dharma wheel spread too throughout the region. During the
first turning of the wheel, Buddha delivered his first sermon. He explained the principles
of the four noble truths, the foundation of his teachings. Zen and Dharma teacher Reb
Anderson explained that Buddha had to speak in a language that the people listening to
him could understand, so in this first turning of the dharma wheel he offered a
conceptual, logical teaching. He [The Buddha] showed us how to analyze our experience
and he set out a path for people to find freedom and liberate themselves from suffering."
4

This was the basis of the religion, which led into the next turning of the wheel. The
second turning of the wheel occurred about 500 years after the first. Buddha was not
alive at this time; however, it is believed that Buddhas sermons were the seeds that
sprouted during the second turning of the Dharma wheel. After realizing goals for the
path that many people want to take, the second turning was based on Bodhisattva, when
one strives for enlightenment. This is explained by Buddhism student Barbara OBrien in
the Buddhism article, stating, Another way to explain the second turning is that the basic
elements of the second turning can be found in the historical Buddha's sermons, planted
here and there like seeds, and it took about 500 years before the seeds began to sprout in
the minds of living beings.
5
The Buddhist people were seeds too, they had to sprout to
find their personal enlightenment. Finally, the third turning of the wheel may have arisen


4
(Publishers Group West,
2012)http://books.google.com/books?id=0w76DA6GHjcC&printsec=frontcover&so
urce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

5
O'Brien, Barbara. About.com, "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel." Accessed
May 11, 2014. http://buddhism.about.com/od/mahayanabuddhism/a/Three-
Turnings-Of-The-Dharma-Wheel.htm.

soon after the second. Buddhist teacher Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche explains the third
turning, stating, our fundamental nature of mind is a luminous expanse of awareness that
is beyond all conceptual fabrication and completely free from the movement of
thoughts.
6
This showed the realization that all beings received enlightenment. This
represented samsara, the end of the wheel, the end of life, and the start of a new one.
Each turning of the wheel corresponded with a point on the circle of life, which made its
way into Buddhist history.

Buddhism carries strong ideas that shape its history and its future. The eightfold
path helped Buddhists follow their own cyclical path of life. However, the teachings of
Dharma helped Buddhists stay on the right path. Dharma, known as protection, means
that if one follows their teachings of their religion or life, they will be able to have a
genuinely peaceful mind. In addition, one can use dharma to guide them through each
stage of life in a cyclical nature. Life, death, and rebirth follow the circle shown on the
Dharma wheel. In the hymn, The Gatha of Impermanence, this is explained:
All composite things are impermanent, They are subject to birth and death; Put an end
to birth and death, And there is a blissful tranquility.
7

This hymn explains the fate of life for Buddhists; if life is lived in the morally correct

6
ibid.
7
Daisetz Suzuki, Zen Buddhism, (Nuvision Publications,
2004)http://books.google.com/books?id=dMWJSm2M9loC&pg=PT12&lpg=PT12&d
q=THE GATHA OF IMPERMANENCE&source=bl&ots=fJYvr1D4bU&sig=qCsR4QJC-
p0yH7-
TDwEvQVeDkZ8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kDVwU8qiFKfLsATMvYHwDQ&ved=0CE4Q6AE
wBQ

way, their life will continue its cycle. Buddhists live by dharma, and the wheel is a
reminder to keep pushing through. Although it may not seem like it, people throughout
the world use the wheel without being aware of it. For example, Native Americans used
the medicine wheel, a sacred artifact, to show each aspect of life: birth, youth, adult,
elder, and death. They believed in the cyclical nature of life, like the Buddhists. In
modern day, people automatically think about their life in these stages. Although it is no
conscious thinking, the people are categorizing each part of their life into a circle. The
Dharma wheel was one of the original artifacts to guide people through the cyclical
nature of life through moral conduct.
8

The cycle of life gives people something to look forward to, something to work
toward, and something to cherish. Through the Dharma wheel of Buddhism, one can
examine the choices made to represent life and the paths one takes to reach the finish
line. Many people feel that a visual object can serve as a reminder for the symbolism of
it. People can remember that the Dharma wheel represents life, and that it is important to
have the right moral conduct. Visual representations often result in successful messages,
and the Dharma achieves that goal universally.




8
U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Medicine Ways: Traditional Healers and
Healing." Accessed May 11, 2014.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/exhibition/healing-ways/medicine-
ways/medicine-wheel.html.