The material realization of a thangka, as indeed happens for most Buddhist art, is highly geometric in nature. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears and various ritual objects are all placed on a systematic grid of intersecting angles and lines. A good master of thangka generally chooses from a variety of pre-arranged forms, those to be inserted in the composition, on a range ranging from cups for alms, to animals, to the shape, size and angle of eyes, nose and lips of a figure. The procedure appears very scientific, but often requires a very deep knowledge of the symbolism of the scene that is being painted, in order to grasp its essence or spirit.

The material is cotton canvas, and the colors are water-soluble pigments, both minerals and organic materials, tempered with a solution of grass and glue.

THANGKA - Wheel of Life

This thangka represents the cycle of life, it speaks of various experimental realities and the possibility to go outside of the cycle of reincarnations.
There are six realities, and each is characterized by more or less pleasant experiences. The function of realities is to test the virtues of the experimenter, encountering vicious situations that tend to be "magnetic" Getting carried away by these situations, it makes possible the experimentation of different negative attitudes, that have the seed of ignorance, such as: anger, lust, greed, envy, fear...
These attitudes and actions produce a "disadvantaged Karma", which creates repetition of uncomfortable and misunderstood situations, as well as the incarnation in specific realities. So every reality, however pleasant it may be, proposes "attractive" situations and aspects that hold the experimenter until the necessary resolution. So understand and resolve these "attractive" situations bring to the consequent awareness and Knowledge. This is liberation.

The six realities are divided into two categories, one higher and one lower.
The three higher realities:
- Reality of the semi-gods (Up-left section): proposes a pleasant environment, but stimulates envy towards the gods, and therefore desire and lust push to conflict and contrast towards the reality of the gods. In different representations, these two realities don't have a totally separator section. This indicate that they are bound by a domain aspect.
- Reality of the Gods or paradise (Up section) : proposes an extremely pleasant environment, but a part of the gods are committed to defending their kingdom, and others are taken in the complacency of continuous sensory pleasures. Gods of higher levels remain in a flat state of “black-out”, without feeling any more pleasure or suffering.
- Reality of the world or of the human being (Up-right section): this reality is the most advantaged, compared to the others five. Because it is the only one that proposes all the situations that can be experienced in the other realities. This means that the human being can experience all the pleasures and sufferings of the other realities. The difference is that within other realities experiences are more intense. A balanced system of experiences. Is possible to thinking about this reality like a springboard to arrive at the end of the reincarnation cycle, where is possible obtain the conclusion of different cycle-aspects, in a single life experience.

The three lower realities:
- Reality of the underworld (Down section) : offers very dense, extreme and intense experiences, in fact fiery and icy scenarios are depicted, and representing the extreme difficulties to be experienced. The causes of these situations are the furious anger and anguish that indicate an out-of-control mind. This reality is inhabited by the divinity of death Yama, who acts as a guardian and judge, weighing up the Karma that someone produced in the last experienced reality.
- Ravenous or lustful reality (Down-right section): it proposes miserable situations where the beings who stay there, are moved by greed. Therefore they have an insatiable hunger and thirst, and with great difficulty they manage to obtain nourishment. The depictions of demons, in this reality, represent the obstacle to nourishment. The lustful attitude, in the reality of the human being, is an aspect that comes from the ravenous reality, because it indicates hunger, attention desire and self-importance.
- Reality of the animal world (Down-left section) : the experience of this realm is in function to have slavishly perpetuated and followed the desire of the senses. Experience is aimed at compensating for this. The animal therefore represents servility, exploitation by human beings, the worrying experience of being hunted, the need for shelter, the use of force to survive.

These six states of existence can also be interpreted as particular states of consciousness, which is possible get experience in analague way in the condition of human beings. In other words, the six realities are analogous to the fateful or pleasant experiences of life. To have experiences and understanding at 100% each of these realities, give the possibility to get out of the cycle of reincarnations. Enlightened beings within the six sectors of reality represent precisely this: the total realization of that reality and the associated situations. More internally there are two sections representing the acquisition of positive karma on the left crescent side , and negative karma on the right crescent side. Beings within these sections represent the ascending or descending into the forms of different realities. Even more internally there are three animals, which generally bite their tails, and represent three aspects inherent in every human being, which are the cause of all suffering and dissatisfaction : ignorance (pig), desire (pigeon) and wrath (snake). Having control of these three aspects allow us to do good actions and get good Karma, and so to continue the journey by ascending to the higher realms, or to the end of life cycle. The lack of control of these three aspects, leads to a lack of understanding of the situations experienced, and therefore involves the repetition of events or reality just experienced, or to the descend.

The 12 outer sections are called "rings" and they describe the various consequences that lead to experience in the various realities.
The deity that sustains the cycle of life is called YAMA.
YAMA has the task of assessing and judging the life experoence in the various realities and the proper performance of the life cycle. if needed, Yama introduce the being, again in the cycle, to resolve the missed experiences.

The beings above Yama symbolize the possibility of going out of the cycle of life, and represent two Noble Truths: the cessation of suffering, and the path of spiritual development that leads to this cessation.

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[Thangka - Wheel of Life - 36x30 cm - Version 1]