Himalayan Art Resources

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Wheel of Life - Biggest in the World?

The Wheel of Life stone carving in the Dazu Grotto is very likely the largest depiction in the world. This particular model of the Buddhist cosmology, the environment and inhabitants, is based on the interpretation of one particular Chinese monk in the 12th century. Wheel of Life depictions are usually based on the Abhidharma literature of the Theravada and Sutrayana vehicles and the artistic examples that are copied or used for inspiration such as the famous Ajanta Cave depiction. Within the Vajrayana system various divergent models are presented with the foremost being that of the Kalachakra Tantra. At the Dazu Grotto we have what is possibly the worlds largest and most idiosyncratic Wheel of Life - carved from stone.