1) God Realm - only bliss here, but it's hard to enjoy because they worry about losing it.
2) Jealous Gods Realm - the minor gods have it good, but they can't really enjoy it because they keep comparing themselves to the major gods.
3) Human Realm - even though there are a variety of experiences here (many which are good), they tend to lose sight of the big picture as they trudge through day to day living.
4) Animal Realm - focused on 'tried and true' methods, this mindset is a life of dullness that never looks beyond avoiding pain or any threat to security.
5) Hungry Ghost Realm - this mental state is a voracious craving without ever finding satisfaction.
6) Hell Realm - those unable to escape the emotional torment of animosity have entered the Hell Realm (one of the hardest realms from which to emerge). Frustration and anger might be expressed in an explosive manner or cloaked in passive-aggression. If turned inward, it leads to self-loathing and depression.
What is interesting about the Tibetan Wheel is a lack of satisfaction whether one is at the top or bottom. The Embrace card suggests we make our outlook larger, including what we like and what we don't rather than desperately grasping at one and pushing away the other. Perhaps we could accept Eleanor Roosevelt's viewpoint: “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.”
If lack of satisfaction is the best I could hope for, I'd be for rolling off the edge ;) Maybe our never being satisfied (rightly so?) with the six stages is the single thing that keeps the world ticking over.
ReplyDeleteI think the Tibetan Wheel's point is to remind us that it is an internal response that brings contentment, not what we find on the outside (which is constantly changing). :)
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