Editing Bhavacakra (section)

===The figure holding the wheel: impermanence===
The wheel is being held by a fearsome figure who represents [[impermanence]].<ref name="impermanence"/>

This figure is often interpreted as being [[Mara (demon)|Mara]], the demon who tried to tempt the Buddha, or as [[Yama (East Asia)|Yama]], the lord of death.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=112}} Regardless of the figure depicted, the inner meaning remains the same–that the entire process of cyclic existence (samsara) is transient; everything within this wheel is constantly changing.<ref name="BMA">{{cite book | last1 = Birmingham Museum of Art | author-link1 = Birmingham Museum of Art | title = Birmingham Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection | publisher = GILES | year = 2010 | location = London, UK | pages = 32 | url = http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/gutoco.html | access-date = 2011-07-12 | isbn = 978-1-904832-77-5 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110910171202/http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/gutoco.html | archive-date = 2011-09-10 }}</ref>

Yama has the following attributes:
* He wears a crown of five skulls that symbolize the impermanence of the [[Skandha|five aggregates]].<ref name="Khantipalo">Khantipalo (1995-2011)</ref> (The skulls are also said to symbolize the five poisons.)
* He has a third eye that symbolizes the wisdom of understanding impermanence.<ref name="Khantipalo"/>
* He is sometimes shown adorned with a tiger skin, which symbolizes fearfulness.<ref name="Khantipalo"/> (The tiger skin is typically seen hanging beneath the wheel.)
* His four limbs (that are clutching the wheel) symbolize the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death.<ref>Thubten Chodron (1993), Part 1 of 5, p. 1</ref>