Gergely.Horvath.
Samsara
In literal terms, the Sanskrit word samsara means "flowing on" or "passing through." It is illustrated by the Wheel of Life and explained by the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.
It might be understood as the state of being bound by greed, hate, and ignorance, or as a veil of illusion that hides true reality. In traditional Buddhist philosophy, we are trapped in samsara through one life after another until we find awakening through enlightenment.
For many Indian spiritual traditions, Samsara — particularly as it refers to death and rebirth — is something we seek to escape. This experience of escape, sometimes called Nirvana or Moksha, allows us to stop returning to earth. Instead, we are able to experience our true nature as divinity. This idea, then, is at the heart of the grandest wisdom traditions ever known to humanity. It is a way of seeing not only the course our own souls travel, but the course of all things — by the very nature of their being.
Image based on two large iron rings from a coal mine, placed on the top of a hill by Charles Jencks, landscape artist, as part of his Fife Earth Project, near Kingseat, Scotland.
Samsara
In literal terms, the Sanskrit word samsara means "flowing on" or "passing through." It is illustrated by the Wheel of Life and explained by the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.
It might be understood as the state of being bound by greed, hate, and ignorance, or as a veil of illusion that hides true reality. In traditional Buddhist philosophy, we are trapped in samsara through one life after another until we find awakening through enlightenment.
For many Indian spiritual traditions, Samsara — particularly as it refers to death and rebirth — is something we seek to escape. This experience of escape, sometimes called Nirvana or Moksha, allows us to stop returning to earth. Instead, we are able to experience our true nature as divinity. This idea, then, is at the heart of the grandest wisdom traditions ever known to humanity. It is a way of seeing not only the course our own souls travel, but the course of all things — by the very nature of their being.
Image based on two large iron rings from a coal mine, placed on the top of a hill by Charles Jencks, landscape artist, as part of his Fife Earth Project, near Kingseat, Scotland.