this represents the path to liberation. While in Theravada Buddhism this is the Noble Eightfold Path, in Mahayana Buddhism this is the Bodhisattva path, striving to liberation for all sentient beings. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is Lamrim, which details all the stages on the path, while Zen has its own complicated history of the entanglement of meditation practice and direct insight. Inscription Drawings of the Bhavacakra usually contain an inscription consisting of a few lines of text that explain the process that keeps us in samara and how to reverse that process. Alternative interpretations Theravada The Theravada-tradition does not have a graphical representation of the round of rebirths, but cakra-symbolism is an elementary component of Buddhism, and Buddhaghosa's Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) contains such imagery: Western psychological interpretation Some western interpreters take a psychological point of view, explaining that different karmic actions contribute to one's metaphorical existence in different realms, or rather, different actions reinforce personal characteristics described by the realms. According to Mark Epstein, "each realm becomes not so much a specific place but rather a metaphor for a different psychological state, with the entire wheel becoming a representation of neurotic suffering." Gallery See also , by Hieronymus Bosch References Footnotes Citations Sources Buddhist sources Chögyam Trungpa (1999). The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation. Shambhala Chögyam Trungpa (2000). The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo. Shambhala Chögyam Trungpa (2009). The Truth of Suffering and the Path of Liberation. Shambhala Dalai Lama (1992). The Meaning of Life, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins. Wisdom. Dzongsar Khyentse (2004). Gentle Voice #22, September 2004 Issue. Dzongsar Khyentse (2005). Gentle Voice #23, April 2005 Issue. Epstein, Mark (2004). Thoughts Without A Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective. Basic Books. Kindle Edition. Gampopa (1998). The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-Fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings, by Gampopa, translated by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Snow Lion. Goodman, Steven D. (1992). "Situational Patterning: Pratītyasamutpāda." Footsteps on the Diamond Path, Crystal Mirror Series I-III. Dharma Publishing. Geshe Sonam Rinchen (2006). How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising. Snow Lion Karunaratne, T. B. (2008). The Buddhist Wheel Symbol. Buddhist Publication Society. (http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh137.pdf) Khandro Rinpoche (2003). This Precious Life. Shambala Patrul Rinpoche (1998). The Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Altamira. Ringu Tulku (2005). Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles