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This model of Buddhist cosmology, the environment and inhabitants, is based on the Abhidharma literature of the Theravada and Sutrayana vehicles. Within the Vajrayana system various divergent models are presented with the foremost being that of the Kalachakra Tantra.
The early models of the Wheel of Life present five divisions of beings; gods, humans, animals, ghosts and hell beings. Later models from Central Asia and China also divide the gods into two groups, happy gods and jealous gods. In this model the two types of gods are always depicted at war with each other. In the Himalayas and Tibet both models of five and six divisions are found and explained according to different literary sources.
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Wheel of Life |
Wheel of Life |
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Yama: Lord of Hell |
Wheel of Life |
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