The mandala, the Buddhist wheel of life, revolves through six realms. Each realm is populated by characters representing aspects of human existence—our various ways of being. In the beast realm we are driven by basic survival instincts and appetites such as physical hunger and sexuality, what Freud called the id. The denizens of the hell realm are trapped in states of unbearable rage and anxiety. In the god realm we transcend our troubles and our egos through sensual, aesthetic, or religious experience, but only temporarily and in ignorance of spiritual truth.
