Wheel of Fire
Standard means of transportation
of the
Taoist
child-deity
Nezha,
who is also known by the titles
Marshal
of the Central Altar (fig.) and Third Lotus Prince
(fig.).
With this wheel, he can freely travel through the sky at great speed and it
is able to carry him to whichever place he wishes to go. In
iconography,
the Wheel of Fire is depicted as either one or two ordinary wheels
with spokes, underneath the foot or feet of Nezha (fig.). The wheel or
wheels are typically depicted with some flames or
even engulfed in flames, and sometimes the vehicle is represented
rather as a ball of fire (fig.).
The tem
Wheel of Fire could perhaps also
be interpreted as a symbol of the
Dhamma,
akin to the
Wheel of Law,
which by its continuous motion
endlessly
spreads
the teachings of the
Buddha,
which warms the hearts of his followers like an encroaching fire. In
Chinese, the
Wheel of Fire is
known as
Feng Huo Lun, literally ‘Wind Fire Wheel’.
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