The third layer represents the six realms of samsara. The images in the hub of the wheel represents the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and aversion. The meanings of the main parts of the diagram are:
In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, it is believed that the drawing was designed by the Buddha himself in order to help ordinary people understand the Buddhist teachings. The Bhavacakra is a symbolic representation of samsara (or cyclic existence) found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibet region. and 10) wrathful deities and 11) other Bodhisattvas. Thangkas (also spelled tankas) generally fall into 11 categories: 1) mandalas, 2) Tsokshing (Assembly Trees), 3) Tathagata Buddhas, 4) Patriarchs, 5) Avoliteshvara, 6) Buddha-Mother and female Bodhisattvas, 7) tutelary deities, 8) dharma-protecting deities, 9) Arhats. Traditionally, they were never bought or sold. The idea is to lose oneself in thangka not express it. Alike mandalas both making a thangka and gazing at one are regarded as forms of meditation. Painted on cotton or linen, they usually contain images of deities and religious figures and often are representations of spiritual or historical events. Thangkas are traditional Tibetan painted tapestries or cloth scrolls designed as aids in meditation.
