Wheel of Becoming

The wheel of becoming presents the following elements: old age and death, birth, becoming, grasping, desire, perception, sense impressions, six senses, body and mind, consciousness, impulse to action, and ignorance. It is determined by this wheel that all of these elements follow some sort of order to understand how man lives on this earth. Old age and death symbolizes suffering and if there is death, there is birth because they believe that after death, a birth or reincarnation will follow. Without death, there would be no birth. Without birth, there would be no becoming forces. Becoming forces depend to grasping and clinging to life. Grasping depends in the desires. Desires depend to perception. Perception depends to sense impressions. Sense impressions depend to the six senses. The six senses depend to the body and bind. These two depend to consciousness. Consciousness depends to impulse of action because consciousness is an activity that needs action. The last element, Ignorance, depends to all the elements. The wheel may be interpreted in clockwise or counter-clockwise motion.

Let’s take examples regarding the life of a rich man and a poor man. A poor boy is born in an environment of poor people. Their house is made up of wood and it is small. Together with all the poor people, they live with a poor life, with less food to eat. Sometimes, they do not have any that’s why they sleep starving. When he was still a child, he only played with his friends, instead of studying. He wasn’t able to go to school because they have insufficient money. When he grew up, his mother got sick and she needed to be supplied of medicines every day. Because of lack of money and the immediate need for money, he robbed a department store. Because of this, he was arrested and was sent to prison. With nothing, his mother died and he was stocked in prison. What a miserable life, right?

When the poor man’s mother was ill, the poor man desired one thing – to get a cure for his mother. Because of the fact that they have nothing and the man has no job at all, he perceived things in a negative way. His mind, his consciousness decided to find a way for him to save his mother from being ill or from death. The way that he decided to do is to rob a store. With this way of thinking, he used his senses and body to act on what he decided to do. Because of the immediate need for money for his mother’s medicine, he became ignorant. Ignorant in what way? He was ignorant that there are other far more better possible actions to do. Instead, the only thing he chose was to commit a sin – stealing. Because of this, he suffered greatly. He was sent to prison, his mother died and he committed one of the gravest sins.

Every suffering exists because of the ignorance of man from other choices and possibilities that appear. We have our weakness that prevents us from contemplating well, from choosing well and from acting for the common good. All we need to do is to think over a situation first before acting on it because our actions will lead us to gain reward or punishment.

If I would be that poor man, I will go to my family, friends, to the government officials or to the priests and ask for money and I will promise to pay my debt in time. It would be better because no sins are committed compare to robbery. No sins, less problems and less suffering. Problems are just challenges for us to make us stronger. We must look at these challenges positively for us to live a life of goodness.