Bhavacakra and Mindfulness

Is the Bhavacakra a map of the mind? In a cross cultural approach we offer the interpretation of this Tibetan Buddhist painting in the light of Dzogchen psychology and modern neurosciences... The premise on which the psychological reading of the bhavacakra are based was aptly expressed by the H.H. the XIVth Dalai Lama: “Being malleable, mind is able to change... Samsara is the cycle of existences, nirvana its over- coming... both are mental states. Samsara is a deviation from mindful understanding, a distorted vision of reality that subjects the mind to mental afflictions, while nirvana is a state of inner freedom, released from every conceptual and emotional obstacle.”