"The Nine Progressive Stages of Mental Development"
It represents a monk (the meditator) chasing, binding, leading, and subduing an elephant whose colour progresses from dark to white. The monk represents the meditator,
the elephant represents the wildly untamed mind, and its dark colour the gross aspect of 'sinking' or mental dullness.
The monkey represents distraction or mental agitation; and its brown color, 'scattering'. The hare represents the more subtle aspect of sinking or mental torpor, represents the presence in the mind of passivity.
This work is often found on the walls of monasteries, indicating the importance 'of the six powers: study, contemplation, memory, understanding, diligence and perfection.