Kalachakra is a
Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles".
Kalachakra tradition
Kalachakra refers both to a Tantric deity
(Tib. yidam)
of Vajrayana Buddhism
and to the philosophies and meditation practices contained within the Kalachakra
Tantra and its many commentaries. The Kalachakra Tantra is more
properly called the Kalachakra Laghutantra, and is said to be an
abridged form of an original text, the Kalachakra Mulatantra which
is no longer extant. Some Buddhist masters assert that Kalachakra is the most
advanced form of Vajrayana practice; it certainly is one of the most complex
systems within tantric Buddhism.
The Kalachakra tradition revolves around the
concept of time (kāla) and cycles (chakra): from
the cycles of the planets to the cycles
of human breathing, it teaches the practice of working with the most subtle
energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment.
The Kalachakra system is clearly related to the
ancient Vedic tradition in India which existed
long before Buddhism appeared. The Kalachakra refers to many
different traditions, for example the Hindu; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the
Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism. For example, the
Kalachakra mandala includes deities which are equally accepted by Hindus,
Jainas and Buddhists
The Kalachakra deity resides in the center of
the Mandala in his palace consisting of four Mandalas, one within the other:
the Mandalas of body, speech, and mind, and in the very center, wisdom and
great bliss .
The Kalachakra sand Mandala is dedicated to both individual and world peace and
physical balance. The Dalai Lama explains: “It is a way of planting a seed, and
the seed will have karmic effect. One doesn’t need to be present at the
Kalachakra ceremony in order to receive its benefits.”
The Kalachakra Tantra is divided into five chapters.
Ground Kalachakra
The first two chapters are considered the "ground
Kalachakra." The first chapter deals with what is called the "outer
Kalachakra"—the physical world– and in particular the calculation system
for the Kalachakra calendar, the birth and death of universes, our solar system
and the workings of the elements.
Inner Kalachakra
The second chapter deals with the "inner
Kalachakra," and concerns processes of human gestation and birth, the
classification of the functions within the human body and experience, and the
vajra-kaya; the expression of human physical existence in terms of channels,
winds, drops and so forth. Human experience is by some described in terms of
four mind states: waking, dream, deep sleep, and a fourth state which is
available through the energies of sexual orgasm. The potentials (drops) which
give rise to these states are described, together with the processes that flow
from them.
Path and fruition
The last three chapters describe the "other" or
"alternative Kalachakra," and deal with the path and fruition. The
third chapter deals with the preparation for the meditation practices of the
system: the initiations of Kalachakra. The fourth chapter explains the actual
meditation practices themselves, both the meditation on the mandala and its
deities in the generation stage practices, and the perfection or completion
stage practices of the Six Yogas. The fifth and final chapter describes the
state of enlightenment (Relijin) that results from the practice.
Astrology
The phrase "as it is outside, so it is within the
body" is often found in the Kalachakra tantra to emphasize the
similarities and correspondence between human beings and the cosmos; this concept is the basis for Kalachakra astrology, but
also for more profound connections and interdependence as taught in the
Kalachakra literature.
In Tibet, the Kalachakra astrological system is one of the
main building blocks in the composition of Tibetan astrological
calendars The astrology in the Kalachakra is not unlike the Western
system, in that it employs complicated (and surprisingly accurate astronomical
calculations to determine, for example, the exact location of the planets.
History
and origin
Original Teaching in India and Later Teachings in Kingdom of
Shambhala
According to the Kalachakra Tantra, King Suchandra (Tib. Dawa Sangpo) of the Kingdom of Shambhala requested teaching from the Buddha that would allow him to practice the Dharmawithout renouncing his worldly enjoyments and
responsibilities.
In response to his request, the Buddha taught the first
Kālachakra root tantra in Dhanyakataka (Palden Drepung in Tibetan, near present day Amaravati), a
small town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India,
supposedly bilocating (appearing in two places at once) at the same time as he
was also delivering the Prajnaparamita sutras at Vulture Peak Mountain in Bihar. Along with King Suchandra, ninety-six minor
kings and emissaries from Shambhala were also said to have received the
teachings. The Kalachakra thus passed directly to Shambhala, where
it was held exclusively for hundreds of years. Later Shambhalian kings,
Manjushrikirti and Pundarika, are said to have condensed and simplified the
teachings into the "Sri Kalachakra" or "Laghutantra" and
its main commentary the "Vimalaprabha", which remain extant today as the
heart of the Kalachakra literature. Fragments of the original tantra have
survived, the most significant fragment "Sekkodesha" has been
commented upon the Maha Siddha Naropa.
Manjushrí Kírti (Tib. Rigdan Jampel Dakpa)
is said to have been born in 159 BCE and ruled over Shambhala which had 300,510 followers of the Mlechha (Yavana or "western") religion living in it, some of whom
worshiped the sun. He is said to have expelled all the heretics from his
dominions but later, after hearing their petitions, allowed them to return. For
their benefit, and the benefit of all living beings, he explained the
Kalachakra teachings. In 59 BCE he abdicated his throne to his son, Puṇdaŕika,
and died soon afterwards, entering the Sambhoga-káya of Buddhahood.[4]
In another version of the story, after much discussion and
controversy in which King Manjushtikirti called for all citizens to engage in
the Kalachakra teachings, the Mlechha factions decided to leave the kingdom.
They set out, but over days became lost in the wilderness, upset and
demoralized. Through magic, Manjushrikirti made them fall asleep. He sent
troops to gather them up and bring them back to the Kingdom. When they awoke,
Manjushrikirti's minister was there, suggesting that they ask the King for the
teachings. They suddenly felt much better and happy to be back home. They asked
for the teachings and the kingdom stayed together. Eventually, all the
inhabitants gained enlightenment through Kalachakra practice.
Chilupa/Kalachakrapada
There are currently two main traditions of Kalachakra, the
Ra lineage (Tib. Rva-lugs) and the Dro lineage (Tib.'Bro-lugs). Although
there were many translations of the Kalachakra texts from Sanskrit into
Tibetan, the Ra and Dro translations are considered to be the most reliable
(more about the two lineages below). The two lineages offer slightly differing
accounts of how the Kalachakra teachings returned to India from Shambhala.
In both traditions, the Kalachakra and its related
commentaries (sometimes referred to as the Bodhisattvas Corpus)
were returned to India in 966CE by an Indian pandit. In the Ra tradition this figure is known as
Chilupa, and in the Dro tradition as Kalachakrapada the Greater. Scholars such
as Helmut Hoffman have suggested they are the same person. The first masters of
the tradition disguised themselves with pseudonyms, so the Indian oral
traditions recorded by the Tibetans contain a mass of contradictions
Chilupa/Kalachakrapada is said to have set out to receive
the Kalachakra teachings in Shambhala, along the journey to which he
encountered the Kulika (Shambhala) king Durjaya manifesting as Manjushri, who
conferred the Kalachakra initiation on him, based on his pure motivation.
Upon returning to India, Chilupa/Kalachakrapada is said to
have defeated in debate Nadapada (Tib. Naropa), the abbot of Nalanda University, a great
center of Buddhist thought at that time. Chilupa/Kalachakrapada then initiated
Nadapada (who became known as Kalachakrapada the Lesser) into the Kalachakra,
and the tradition thereafter in India and Tibet stems from these two. Nadapada
established the teachings as legitimate in the eyes of the Nalanda community,
and initiated into the Kālachakra such masters as Atisha (who, in turn,
initiated the Kālachakra master Pindo
Acharya (Tib. Pitopa)).
A Tibetan history, the Pag Sam Jon Zang, as
well as architectural evidence, indicates that the Ratnagiri mahavihara in Orissa was an important center for the
dissemination of the Kalachakratantra in India.
The Kalachakra tradition, along with all Vajrayana Buddhism,
vanished from India in the wake of the Muslim invasions, surviving only in Nepal.
Spread to Tibet
The Dro lineage was established in Tibet by a Kashmiri disciple of
Nalandapa named Pandita Somanatha, who traveled to Tibet in 1027 (or 1064CE,
depending on the calendar used), and his translator Droton Sherab Drak Lotsawa, from
which it takes its name. The Ra lineage was brought to Tibet by another
Kashmiri disciple of Nadapada named Samantashri, and translated by RaChoerab Lotsawa (or
Ra Dorje Drakpa).
The Ra lineage became particularly important in the Sakya
order of Tibetan Buddhism,
where it was held by such prominent masters as Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), Drogon
Chogyal Pagpa(1235–1280), Budon
Rinchendrup (1290–1364), and Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361). The latter two, both of whom also held the Dro
lineage, are particularly well known expositors of the Kalachakra in Tibet, the
practice of which is said to have greatly informed Dolpopa's exposition of the Shentong view. A strong emphasis on Kalachakra practice and
exposition of the Shentongview were the principal distinguishing
characteristics of the Jonang school that traces its roots to Dolpopa.
The teaching of the Kalachakra was further advanced by the
great Jonang scholar Taranatha (1575–1634). In the
17th century, the Gelug-led
government of Tibet outlawed the Jonang school, closing down or forcibly
converting most of its monasteries. The writings of Dolpopa, Taranatha, and
other prominent Shentong scholars were banned. Ironically, it was also at this
time that the Gelug lineage absorbed much of the Jonang Kalachakra tradition.
Today Kalachakra is practiced by all four Tibetan schools of
Buddhism, although it appears most prominently in the Gelug lineage. It is the
main tantric practice for the Jonang school, which persists to this day with a small number of
monasteries in eastern Tibet. Efforts are under way to have the Jonang
tradition be recognized officially as a fifth tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Practice
Initiation
As in all vajryana practices, the Kalachakra initiations
empower the disciple to practice the Kalachakra tantra in the service of
attaining Buddhahood. There are two main sets of initiations in Kalachakra,
eleven in all. The first of these two sets concerns preparation for the
generation stage meditations of Kalachakra. The second concerns preparation for
the completion stage meditations known as the Six Yogas of Kalachakra.
Attendees who don't intend to carry out the practice are often only given the
lower seven initiations.
The Kalachakra sand Mandala is dedicated to both individual and world peace and
physical balance. The Dalai Lama explains: "It is a way of planting a
seed, and the seed will have karmic effect. One doesn't need to be present at
the Kalachakra ceremony in order to receive its benefits."
Kalachakra practice today in the Tibetan Buddhist schools
Buton Rinchen had considerable influence on the later development of the
Gelug and Sakya traditions of
Kalachakra, and Dolpopa on the development of the Jonang tradition on which the
Kagyu, Nyingma, and the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya draw. The Nyingma and Kagyu rely heavily on the extensive, Jonang-influenced Kalachakra
commentaries of Ju Mipham and Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, both of whom took a strong interest in the
tradition. The Tsarpa branch of the Sakya maintain the practice lineage for the
six branch yoga of Kalachakra in the Jonang tradition.
There were many other influences and much
cross-fertilization between the different traditions, and indeed His Holiness
the Dalai Lama has asserted that it is acceptable for those initiated in one
Kalachakra tradition to practice in others.
Gelugpa
The Dalai Lamas have had specific
interest in the Kālachakra practice, particularly the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth, and the
current (Fourteenth)
Dalai Lamas. The present Dalai Lama has given over thirty Kalachakra
initiations all over the world, and is the most prominent Kalachakra lineage
holder alive today. Billed as the "Kalachakra for World Peace," they
draw tens of thousands of people. Generally, it is unusual for tantric
initiations to be given to large public assemblages, but the Kalachakra has
always been an exception.
The Dalai Lama, Kalu Rinpoche, and others have stated that the public
exposition of this tantra is necessary in the current degenerate age. The
initiation may be received as a blessing for the majority of those attending,
although many attendees do take the commitments and subsequently engage in the
practice.
Kalachakra Initiations given by H.H. XIV Dalai Lama
Kagyu
The Kalachakra tradition practiced in the Karma and Shangpa
Kagyu schools is derived from the Jonang tradition, and was largely
systematized by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, who wrote the text that is now used for
empowerment. The Second and The Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche (1954–1992) were also prominent Kalachakra lineage holders,
with the Jamgon Kontrul III giving the initiation publicly in North America on
at least one occasion (Toronto 1990).[7]
The chief Kalachakra lineage holder for the Kagyu lineage
was H.E. Kalu Rinpoche (1905–1990), who gave the initiation several times in
Tibet, India, Europe and North America (e.g., New York 1982[8]). Upon his death, this mantle was assumed
by his heart son the Ven. Bokar Rinpoche (1940–2004), who in turn passed it on to Ven. Khenpo Lodro
Donyo Rinpoche. Bokar Monastery, of which Donyo Rinpoche is now the head,
features a Kalachakra stupa and is a prominent retreat center for Kalachakra
practice in the Kagyu lineage. Ven. Tenga Rinpoche is also a prominent Kagyu holder of the Kālachakra; he gave
the initiation in Grabnik, Poland in August, 2005. Ven. Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche performed Kalachakra initiations and build Kalachakra stupa in Karma Guen buddhist center in southernSpain.
Another prominent Kalachakra master is H.E. Beru Khyentse Rinpoche. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche,
while not a noted Kalachakra master, became increasingly involved later in his
life with what he termed Shambhala teachings, derived in part from the
Kalachakra tradition, in particular, the mind terma which he received from the Kalki.
Nyingma
Among the prominent recent and contemporary Nyingma
Kalachakra masters are H.H. Dzongsar
Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1894–1959), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–1991), and H.H. Penor Rinpoche (1932–2009).
Sakya
His Holiness Sakya Trizin, the present head of the Sakya lineage,
has given the Kalachakra initiation many times and is a recognized master of
the practice.
The Sakya master H.E. Chogye
Trichen Rinpoche is one of the main
holders of the Kalachakra teachings. Chogye Rinpoche is the head of the Tsharpa School, one of the three main schools of the Sakya
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
One of the previous Chogye Trichen Rinpoches, Khyenrab
Choje (1436–97), beheld the sustained vision of the female tantric deity Vajrayogini at Drak Yewa in central Tibet, and received extensive
teachings and initiations directly from her. Two forms of Vajrayogini appeared
out of the face of the rocks at Drak Yewa, one red in color and the other
white, and they bestowed the Kalachakra initiation on Khyenrab Choje. When he
asked if there was any proof of this, his attendant showed the master the kusha
grass that Khyenrab Choje brought back with him from the initiation. It was
unlike any kusha grass found in this world, with rainbow lights sparkling up
and down the length of the dried blades of grass. This direct lineage from
Vajrayogini is the 'shortest', the most recent and direct, lineage of the
Kalachakra empowerment and teachings that exists in this world. In addition to
being known as the emanation of Manjushri, Khyenrab Choje had previously been
born as many of the Rigden kings of Shambhala as well
as numerous Buddhist masters of India. These are some indications of his unique
relationship to the Kalachakra tradition.
Chogye Trichen Rinpoche is the holder of six different
Kalachakra initiations, four of which, the Bulug, Jonang, Maitri-gyatsha, and
Domjung, are contained within the Gyude Kuntu, the Collection of Tantras
compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and his disciple Loter Wangpo. Rinpoche has
offered all six of these empowerments to H.H. Sakya Trizin, the head of the
Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche has given the Kalachakra initiation
in Tibet, Mustang, Kathmandu, Malaysia, the United States, Taiwan, and Spain,
and is widely regarded as a definitive authority on Kalachakra. In 1988 he
traveled to the United States, giving the initiation and complete instructions
in the practice of the six-branch Vajrayoga of Kalachakra according to the
Jonangpa tradition in Boston. Chogye Rinpoche has completed extensive retreat
in the practice of Kalachakra, particularly of the six-branch yoga
(sadangayoga) in the tradition of the Jonangpa school according to Jetsun Taranatha. In
this way, Chogye Rinpoche has carried on the tradition of his predecessor
Khyenrab Choje, the incarnation of the Shambhala kings who received the
Kalachakra initiation from Vajrayogini herself. When Chogye Rinpoche was young,
one of his teachers dreamed that Rinpoche was the son of the King of Shambhala,
the pure land that upholds the tradition of Kalachakra
Jonang
Once deemed heretical by the dominant Gelugpa sect and even thought to be extinct, the Jonang tradition has in
fact survived and is now officially recognized by the Tibetan Government in
exile as a fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism. Jonang is particularly important in
that it has preserved the Kalachakra practice lineage, especially of the
completion stage practices. In fact, the Kalachakra is the main tantric
practice in the Jonang tradition. Khenpo Kunga Sherab Rinpoche is one contemporary Jonangpa master of Kalachakra.
Controversy
Prophesies on Holy War
The Kalachakra Tantra has occasionally been a source of
controversy in the west because the text contains passages which may be interpreted
as demonizing Islam. This is principally because it contains the
prophecy of a holy war between Buddhists and so-called "barbarians"
(Skt. mleccha). One passage of the Kalachakra (Shri Kalachakra I. 161)
reads, "The Chakravartin shall come out at
the end of the age, from the city the gods fashioned on Mount Kailasa. He shall
smite the barbarians in battle with his own four-division army, on the entire
surface of the earth."
This prophecy could also be understood to refer in part to
the Islamic incursions into central Asia and India which deliberately destroyed
the Buddhist religion in those regions. The prophecy includes detailed
descriptions of the future invaders as well as suggested (non-violent) ways for
the Buddhist teachings to survive these onslaughts.
Symbolical meaning
Though the Kalachakra prophesies a future religious war,
this appears in conflict with the vows of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist teachings
that prohibit violence. According to Alexander Berzin,
the Kalachakra is not advocating violence against people but rather against
inner mental and emotional aggression that results in intolerance, hatred,
violence and war. Fifteenth century Gelug commentor Kaydrubjey interprets
"holy war" symbolically, teaching that it mainly refers to the inner
battle of the religious practitioner against inner demonic and barbarian
tendencies. This is the solution to violence, since according to the Kalachakra
the outer conditions depend on the inner condition of themindstreams of beings. Viewed
that way, the prophesied war takes place in the mind and emotions. It depicts
the transformation of the archaic mentality of violence in the name of religion
and ideology into sublime moral power, insight and spiritual wisdom
One interpretation of Buddhist teachings that portray
military conflict - such as elements of the Kalachakra Tantra and the Gesar Epic - is that they may be taught for the sake of those who
possess a karmic tendency towards militancy, for the purpose of taming their
minds. The passages of the Kalachakra that address religious warfare can be
viewed as teachings to turn away from any religious justification of war and
violence, and to embrace the precepts of love and compassion.
The controversial passages about the holy war, which most
probably had been incorporated into the Kalachakra tradition during the time of
massive advances of Islam into northern India when Buddhism had been on
retreat, were later in modern time hijacked and used by several adventurous
schemers both on the Left and on the Right to justify their political agendas.
These questionable activities as well as the abovementioned passages from old
Kalachakra texts about the holy war and the ritual use of sexuality, prompted
Victor and Victoria Trimondi, two German writers and philosophers, to launch a
radical critique of the entire Kalachakra tradition. In contrast, Alexander
Berzin, another prominent student of Tibetan Buddhism, seeks to provide a
balanced and nuanced account of the same tradition.
Iconography
Tantric iconography including sharp weapons, shields, and
corpses similarly appears in conflict with those tenets of non-violence but
instead represent the transmutation of aggression into a method for overcoming
illusion and ego. Both Kalachakra and his dharmapala protector Vajravega hold a sword and shield in their paired
second right and left hands. This is an expression of the Buddha's triumph over
the attack of Mara and his protection of all sentient beings.Symbolism researcher Robert Beer writes the
following about tantric iconography of weapons and mentions the charnel ground:
Many of these weapons and implements have their origins in
the wrathful arena of the battlefield and the funereal realm of the charnal
grounds. As primal images of destruction, slaughter, sacrifice, and necromancy
these weapons were wrested from the hands of the evil and turned - as symbols -
against the ultimate root of evil, the self-cherishing conceptual identity that
gives rise to the five poisons of ignorance, desire, hatred, pride, and
jealousy. In the hands of siddhas, dakinis, wrathful and semi-wrathful yidam
deities, protective deities or dharmapalas these implements became pure
symbols, weapons of transformation, and an expression of the deities' wrathful
compassion which mercilessly destroys the manifold illusions of the inflated
human ego.
Women
Another portion of the Kalachakra teachings describes women
in a very negative way. In his teaching of the Kalachakra in Illinois in 1999,
the Dalai Lama even paused in his rendition of the teachings to almost
apologize for the seeming harshness of the text regarding women and noted that
this part was directed to monks who should avoid women. Further controversy,
especially in the West, centers on the sexual dimension of the teachings and
the graphic representation of the united couple in Kalachakra paintings. The
ecstatic state of sexual union is an elementary part of Highest Yoga Tantra,
the class of tantra to which Kalachakra practice belongs, but all are warned
against this actual practice because base human factors can so easily enter
what should be a pure practice.
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