The first idea of the wheel of samsara arose even before the advent of Buddhism and takes its origins in late-medieval Brahmanism. Buddhists borrowed this concept, but it was they who interpreted it as we understand it now.
The wheel of samsara is the incessant cycle of birth and death. This is a constant formation and change, which is controlled by the master of death. The circle of samsara shows us all phases of a person’s life. In the center of the circle are three creatures, each of which has its own shortcomings: a pig - a symbol of greed and ignorance; rooster - a symbol of carnal passion; the snake is a symbol of malice. All these qualities bind a person to an illusory life and forced existence. On the circle adjacent to the center, on the left are monks and those laity who, through their pure lives, deserve a successful reincarnation and therefore move up. On the right side are sinful naked people who are destined for a miserable rebirth.
The next circle is divided into six parts. All of them depict the possible fate of a person after his death. Upstairs is heaven; on the left are ordinary people; on the right are gods and titans; in the lower right half - unfortunate spirits suffering from sensuality; in the lower left half - the animal kingdom; and at the very bottom is cold and hot hell. Everywhere there is certainly a Buddha who helps everyone come to the salvation of their souls. The very last outer circle consists of twelve paintings that depict a person’s life on the steps along which he again moves to death. Each picture has its own symbolism. We list their meanings clockwise - ignorance, driving force, consciousness, form, sensory organs, touch, sensation, thirst, attachment, becoming, birth, old age and death.
In another way, the wheel of samsara is called bhavachakra. Otherwise, it can still be called simply the wheel of being. The lord of death holds this wheel. Everything is closely interconnected - people, clinging to life, give rise to karma and already on it come to a new cycle of existence.
The wheel of karma is a constant movement along the path laid by one’s own actions. Decides the further destiny of man the lord of death - the god Yama. He makes his decision on the karma of a person accumulated over his life, and most often it turns out that karma is very bad, and all sinners are destined to go through a final judgment.
Summarize all of the above. The wheel of samsara is a complete cycle of a person’s life, reflecting his passions, sins, stages of life, karma and reincarnation. In interpreting the wheel of samsara, we have repeatedly mentioned karma. What is karma? This is any human action that inevitably carries with it certain consequences. Actions include not only a physical act, but also spoken words, and even thoughts. The total combination of these physical, mental and verbal actions committed in a lifetime, and determines the nature of the next birth, life and death. Karma can be bad or good, that is, it can lead to a happy or unhappy birth in the next reincarnation.