Hog eats Cockerel eats Snake

One of the basic notions of Buddhism is that the ego of each individual is an illusion. There are three main aspects of the ego, traditionally portrayed in Tibetan iconography as three animals: a hog, a cockerel and a snake, chasing each other’s tails.

The hog portrays delusion, the cockerel, greed and attachment, and the snake, hate and aversion. Each of these aspects of ego is seen as feeding on another, perpetually in the cycle of Samsara. The surrounding circle of Tibetan calligraphy reiterates the continuous cycle of existence in the Tsugmakhyug script.