of grasping for existence, and it is the grasping for existence that leads us to continual rebirths. This has been called the “wheel of becoming” and even though I simplified much of process in interest of space, it is a clear and simple formula of causation. In the Divyavadana (300) Buddha requires there to be built a “Five Spoked Wheel” for learning and reminding purposes. He describes how it is to be made: “The five spoked wheel ...is to be made with the five destinies (gati), the hells, the animals, ghosts (pretas), gods and human beings...” These are directly descended from the consciousness skandha and are addressed on the chart, but require too much space to go into here. Another interesting point is that the philosophers who wrote the texts for Americans (because at this point it is too interpretive to be called translation) have found that the wheel of gods and hungry ghosts can be relative to the six senses, And so, I have also included this in the chart for the sake of comparison, but unfortunately, not discussion. In some books (I’ve come across two; both Zen oriented and western) the explanations and discussions of skandhas are forsaken in favor of a simpler explanation of our craving and how it affects us: The first is Sensual Desire; the second is Craving Existence; and the last one deals with beings who are no longer ignorant of the fact that it is the material form and rebirths that cause us hardship but instead find craving in an ‘enlightened way’ and crave Non-Existence. The sensual desire is physical and at the same time mental. We want to be physically comfortable but we also desire mental pleasures as well, conversation, art, relationships, etc. The thirst for existence is pretty self-explanatory: we do not wish to die. Or, for that matter cease existing at all, and we have a thousand ways to ensure that we somehow continue to exist after we are gone. ...
