Some readers left a message and wanted to know the content of the life and death flow chart, so I have sorted out the general life and death flow chart for you here.

The cycle of life and death, also known as the six realms of reincarnation, is an important part of the Buddhist theory of karma. The first step in believing in Buddhism is to believe in the six realms of reincarnation and the continuum of cause and effect, which gives rise to fear and renunciation. This is the most basic motivation to promote the practice of good people who study Buddhism, and without understanding the six realms of reincarnation, it is impossible to understand the twelve causes and conditions. If we don't understand the 12 causes, we can't untie the chain of the cycle of birth and death and attain liberation. This is the reason why a few believers have been studying Buddhism for many years and are still in circles, pursuing supernatural powers and sideways, and they cannot be diligent in their cultivation and cannot endure hardships. Buddhism believes that people and sentient beings do not have only one birth and death, but have past lives, future lives, and even lifetimes, and the vast majority of them are in the cycle of birth and death, and reincarnate in the six realms according to the amount of good and evil karma possessed by sentient beings. These six realms are (1) the heavenly realm; (2) humanitarian; (3) the path of asuras; (4) animal tract; (5) Hungry Ghost Road; (6) Hell Road. Among the six paths, the first three are the good paths, and the last three are the evil paths, also known as the "three evil paths" and "three tu". Beginners to Buddhism, both Mahayana and Hinayana students, begin to renounce from fear of the endless suffering of the three evil paths, and only then can those who study Mahayana develop bodhichitta and enter the bodhisattva line. Without renunciation as a foundation, developing bodhichitta is meaningless. For example, human beings are born unable to fly, and if they do not have the yearning for lift-off, the envy and imitation of birds flying freely, they will never be able to invent and create airplanes, and the same is true for spiritual practice. A person himself is happy to enjoy the five desires of the world, and he can't extricate himself, and he doesn't want to extricate himself, for the three evil realms. The Three Good Paths, who will believe in doubts, how can they save themselves and save sentient beings from the sea of suffering?

So, although there are a few people who have preconceptions about Hinayana people, they cannot object to the need for practitioners to have renunciation.

So, what are the factors that cause sentient beings to circulate between life and death, and how can they attain enlightenment and renunciation? We will not make a purely theoretical discussion here, but explain this principle in conjunction with a Tibetan Buddhist "Diagram of the Circulation of Life and Death" (also known as "The Diagram of the Six Paths of Reincarnation").

Tibetan Buddhism attaches great importance to image thinking, and many Tibetan Buddhist temples use thangka paintings, murals, ghee flowers, and cut piles (also known as pile embroidery) to explain Buddhist principles, and the "Circulation of Life and Death" is often painted on the outer wall of the large scripture hall of each temple, which is one of the indispensable pictures. The structure of "The Flow of Life and Death" is rigorous and profound, and the center part of the picture is a round wheel, which is grasped by a large turtle. In fact, according to ancient legends, it is the tortoise that carries the earth, which is similar to the idea of the toad carrying the earth as shown in the Han silk paintings. The turtle on the picture was beautified by the painters as a protector of the Dharma, and the body was solemn and beautiful.

The flow of life and death can be divided into six parts, and the six parts D, E, F, G, and H are pictures depicting the six reincarnations, which are:

Diagram D: Heavenly Dao (Celestial Realm). In the middle is Mount Meru, in the lower part is the sea, on the left is the celestial beings who are making fun, and there is a row of celestial generals wearing armor and helmets, holding bows and arrows, and the direction of the arrows points to the following picture (i.e., "human inhumanity"). It is said that the beings in the heavenly realm live long and are wealthy, and other religions regard the "ascension" as the highest and ultimate thing. But Buddhist theories say that the gods and immortals also have troubles, and they often fight against the asura (inhuman) way for beauty and wealth. And at the end of their lives, if they occasionally make mistakes, they will still flow to the other five realms.

E: Humanity. There are mountains and rivers in the picture. Houses, farming, cattle and sheep, etc., but human life is not happy, born one

Step by step towards death, there are only a few short decades in the middle, and there will be illness and aging, and I don't know when death and impermanence will come suddenly, so birth, old age, sickness, and death are all suffering, plus love and separation, resentment and hatred. The suffering of not being able to ask for it, the five aggregates being blazing, etc., is really bitter.

Figure F: The Asura Path, also known as human non-human, inhuman. It's a non-human being who can't see a body, and it's very rich, an asura

The female is extremely beautiful, but she is jealous and loves to fight, so there is also a row of asuras in the picture pointing at the heavenly realm with bows and arrows, and they often ask the heavenly realm for wine and drink in the way of war, and the heavenly realm robs their asura women.

G Figure: Livestock Road. There are fish and dragons in the water, elephants, deer, cows, horses, sheep, etc. on the land. They are as big as whales and as small as bacteria, and they are often killed or whipped and driven by humans, and their living space is getting smaller and smaller, and one species after another is tending to extinction and it is difficult to speak.

H Picture: Hungry Ghost Road. The main karmic cause for being born in this path is miserliness. The image of the hungry ghost is ugly, his belly is as big as a drum, his throat is as thin as a needle, and all his food and drink are turned into flames when he reaches his mouth.

Diagram I: Hell Road. We are already familiar with the eighteen layers of hell, the eight hells, and the sixteen minor hells. In the middle of the picture (slightly lower) are two ghost pawns cooking human heads in a big iron wok, in the upper middle is the king of Yama is trying the case, the lower left side is the hot hell, the lower right side is the cold ice hell, the life span of hell beings is countless times that of the human world, one day is equal to nine million years in the world, and the 30th day is a month, December is a year, and the suffering in hell is ten million years, which can be said to be an astronomical amount, so there is no time for suffering.

So, what are the causes that cause sentient beings to be reincarnated in the six realms?

Buddhism does not worship the superhuman god of sovereignty, and the reincarnation of sentient beings in the six realms is not endless, and there is not any special external force that punishes or dominates sentient beings there, and the only reason why sentient beings continue to circulate in the six realms is the "karma" created by sentient beings themselves. "Karma" means a career, or it can be understood as the sum of "mind" and fait accompli. Because of ignorance, greed arises. Hatred and naivety are driven by the three poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance and create all kinds of negative karma; Creating good karma out of compassion, compassion, bodhichitta; There are also some "unrecorded karma" that has no good or evil, such as eating and drinking, defecating, etc., but it is not absolute, for example, some people are greedy and gluttonous, and often take pleasure in eating raw seafood, rare animals and slaughtering live animals, which is a great negative karma.

In the center circle (A) of the picture, a bird, a snake, and a pig are depicted, representing the three poisons of greed, smell, and ignorance, respectively, indicating that the root cause of the six realms of reincarnation is here. How, then, does a living being pass on to other paths when it dies? This is the doctrine of the bardo body, which is called "alayya" in the schools of consciousness and some sutras. It is the carrier of the intangible nature of karma, and it is the total repository of good and bad karma that sentient beings have done since the beginningless. In the picture, there are two semi-circles of B and C surrounded by circle A, which is a depiction of the bardo body. In Figure B, it is the bardo body with more good karma, which is carried out in a higher realm in the middle of the clouds; In Figure C, the bardo body carrying bad karma is led naked by the ghost king to hell and other evil paths.

This cannot be regarded as exhaustive, because the relationship between the six realms of reincarnation is only explained by diagram A to diagram I, and the specific deeper meaning has not yet been explained. Therefore, on the outside of these diagrams, there is a circle, which interprets the teachings of the twelve causes and conditions mentioned by the World-Honored One in the way of "diagrams":

1. Drawing a blind man walking, representing "ignorance";

2. A potter is painted making pottery, representing "line";

3. Drawing a monkey on a tree, representing "knowledge";

4. There is a boat in the painting, which represents the "famous color";

5. Draw an empty house, represented? Six in";

6. Male and female contact, representing "touch";

7. An arrow in a person's eye represents "receiving";

8. When a person drinks alcohol, it represents "love";

9. In the painting, a person picks fruits, representing "taking";

10. There is a tent in the painting, a male and female acacia or a pregnant woman, representing "there";

11. There is a pregnant woman in labor in the painting, representing "birth";

12. The old man and the dead body, representing "old death".

Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world and said the Dharma for 49 years, the purpose of which is to educate all sentient beings to be free from suffering and happy. The cause of sentient beings' suffering is the many negative karma created by sentient beings in the past caused by greed, hatred, ignorance, ignorance, and darkness, and the initial motivation for happiness from suffering should be attributed to the understanding of the twelve causes. Some people think that the theory of the 12 causes and conditions is only an outline for Hinayana practitioners to study, and we don't need to understand it when we practice Mahayana. In fact, no matter what Mahayana or Hinayana is, no matter what sect or school, if they do not understand the theory of karma and the connotation of the 12 causes and conditions that cause the flow of life and death, they are just burning incense and kowtowing, and they are still inseparable from the category of superstition, and the root cause of the flow of life and death - ignorance is difficult to get rid of. The 12 causes and conditions are the 12 links in the process of the birth and death of sentient beings. Also known as the "Twelve Branches" and "Twelve Dependent Births", ignorance is the initial cause, which means ignorance, confusion, ignorance and lack of wisdom. From this ignorance arises and acts, and does all kinds of body, mouth, and mind; Knowing by doing; Giving birth to names and colors (aggregates) from recognition; Six into the name and color (also known as the six places, that is, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind); From the six into the touch (six roots to six dust); Receiving by touching is said to be receiving; Love is born from receiving; greed is blazing and gives birth to (persistent pursuit); Born from taking; (All kinds of life activities, born in the Three Realms and Six Realms); Born from existence; Born old and dead. This ring of the vicious circle of sentient beings' lives cannot be opened for a day, and there will be no liberation for a day. With the urging of ignorance, sentient beings waste their lives and continue to suffer in the six realms. This truth cannot be explained clearly in a few words, but it is easier for us to understand it through visualization in the picture. The entire wheel contains the four noble truths, the true sufferings and the true concentrations. The word "liberation" that we often talk about in our daily lives means that practitioners first develop fear of the six realms of samsara, and then give rise to renunciation (Hinayana). We should further develop compassion and bodhichitta through the three disciplines of precepts, concentration, and wisdom to achieve the goal of enlightening wisdom and eliminating ignorance...... And so on, and finally cut off old age and death, then life and death will be eternal and immortal, and there will be no birth and no destruction, and nirvana will be achieved. Ordinary practitioners follow this path. However, the author also has a humble opinion, that is, to deal with the 12 karmas, no matter which link you start from, you can cut them off (such as breaking love), you can follow the teachings and achieve liberation.

The above is a summary of the flow of life and death, I hope you can get what you want to know from here.