FOLLOWING THE BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS- THE WHEEL OF LIFE

Buddhists do not believe that death is the end of life. When one dies, one's consciousness leaves and enters one of the six paths of rebirth.

• Heavenly Beings

• Humans

• Asuras are beings who have many good things in life, but still like to fight. They appear in the heavens or on earth as people or animals.

• Hungry ghosts are beings who suffer from constant hunger.

• Hell-beings

These are the six states on the wheel of life. At the top are the heavens, where everyone is happy. Below are the hells where the suffering is unbearable. Beings can rise or fall from one path to another. If one does good deeds, one will be born into the paths of gods, humans, or asuras. If one does evil deeds, one will be born into the paths of animals, hungry ghosts, or hell-beings. From one life to the next one can suddenly change from a human to an animal or from a ghost to a hell-being, according to the things one has done.

How to Escape the Turning Wheel

The wheel of life and death is kept turning by the three poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity. By cutting off the three poisons, we can escape the wheel and become enlightened. There are four stages of enlightenment.

• Buddhas- perfect in enlightenment.

• Bodhisattvas- enlighten themselves as well as others.
• Pratyekabuddhas- hermits who retreat from the world to enlighten themselves.

• Arhats- enlighten themselves.