My name is Losang Samten.
I’m from Tibet, born in Tibet and then fled
Tibet in 1959 at the age of 5.
I came to Nepal first and then eventually
came to India.
And so I grew up in India and then eventually
came to the United States in 1988.
Ever since then I’ve been creating a lot
of ancient Tibetan sand mandalas.
Of course all the mandalas are tradition but
some of the mandalas are such – all are
so beautiful but sometimes it’s hard to
explain for the general public who do not
have that much background of Buddhists and
Buddhist philosophy.
What I’m showing to you here this image
is called Wheel of Life.
In our language it’s called srid pa'i 'khor
lo.
The wheel of life which in many ways is fascinating
and also me as an artist to display this art
in the schools, especially the schools and
kids can understand a lot better and not only
just intellectually understand better but
something to relate to in their life.
So what is in the Wheel of Life in the mandala
or in design, the middle there’s three animals.
And the three animals are a snake, a rooster
and pig.
Three animals are there.
They’re also chasing to each other, connecting
to each other which means what is their causes
of suffering?
What makes us so difficult?
What makes our wheel so stressful?
So each animal means something.
Not the animal itself but represents something
what we’re going through on a day to day
basis.
So the pig represents the ignorance, lots
are due to our emotions, special negative
emotions and the difficulties and frustrations
and even killing each other are due to the
ignorance – not seeing the true nature of
the reality.
And unfortunately sometimes we as a pure teaching
either Buddhism or Christianity and Judaism
and Islam and all of this, even though due
to how to peace – due to how to create human
peace and happiness but some individuals due
to the ignorance use as a killing tool in
the name of the religion.
So it’s the pig, the animal, which in the
middle symbolizes ignorance.
Two other animals are there too and the snake
represents the anger.
Hatred is such a big problem in my life or
anybody’s life in today and the past due
to our relationships, due to anything – anger
is really damaging.
When Buddha designed this what was original
was a pig and a snake.
In the rooster case we really don’t know
if the original was a rooster or a pigeon.
There’s a little different – scholars
have a different interpretations.
So that’s why when I draw sand mandalas
sometimes I draw it as a rooster, sometimes
I draw it as a pigeon to both will be happy.
No too much conflicts.
And so the pigeon represents – either the
pigeon or the rooster represents the greed,
the greed, the greed.
We see that today in the twenty-first century
and so much greed and all these problems in
the modern society.
Damaging for the environment, damaging for
many different things is truly greed.
So which I said earlier in the beginning of
my conversation these are the three – the
ignorance and the greed and the anger are
the difficult ones.
So these are the causes of the suffering.
Suffering rises from nothingness.
Suffering rises from due to something there
previously, something happened and because
of that and rises.
So that’s why the wheel of life is so famous
in the Buddhist field and especially in Tibet
or Mongolia and Bhutan or some of the ancient
Buddhist temples, wheel of life is in the
campus.
In a way the monastery or nunnery is like
your university.
So big campus.
In Tibet one monastery is like a 20,000 or
30,000 monks who are living there and study
there, debate there and that’s they’re
home.
So either in the library or meditation room,
somewhere wheel of life is always they paint
it in the big wall.
So that’s the middle of the design of the
wheel of life.
And the second design there and now I’m
talking about the middle.
And the second circle of the wheel of life
there is black and white or day and night
sort of it symbolizes.
More of these three animals, there’s more
difficulties, less of those – there’s
more joy.
So sometimes we call it as good karma and
bad karma.
And then there’s the third circle is divided
into six sections or called six rooms or six
different places we might reborn again and
again and again.
The six are – the number one is the heaven.
This is not necessarily we’re talking heaven
as the other tradition we call heaven but
a little different way.
And demigods and the human which we all are.
And then animal and then hungry ghosts and
then hell realm.
And then the last ring is called the 12 dependent
origination.
All are depending to each other.
One of the most important Buddhist teachings
not only the loving kindness and compassion
is so important but plus, Buddha is like a
revolutionary to me.
He really understood about everything is interdependent.
Everything is dependent to each other.
And so these are – so many of these are
the depth of teachings and simply and explained
through the art.
And this will be doing many years and thousands
and thousands of years.
The beginning was in India and then Buddhism
came to Tibet around the seventh century.
And especially around eight, nine, ten, eleventh
century really Buddhism was in Tibet was solely
sort of I would say that, you know, mixed
with their individuals or community’s life.
And we’ve been doing this wheel of life
either thangka painting they call it or drawing
the image in the wall.
But I’m not sure never done by the sand
but then the design is an ancient one but
the material used, the sand, is sort of like
my own idea.
I was doing a lot of sand mandalas in the
United States and Canada and in other places.
And our reason is because this is such a unique
painting, it explains so much things are and
relate to in our life.
But yet anybody can understand about this
design.
So that’s really the meaning of the Wheel
of Life.
