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General
Buddhism |
Namo Kalachakraya !
Hail to Kalachakra
INTRODUCTION TO KALACHAKRA
CONTENTS:'A Wondrous Calendar....' By Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:
"Our outer world - environment and beings -
Subject to time and the auspicious conjunction of planets and stars,
Our inner being - aggregates and sense bases -
Subject to the movement of subtle channels, winds and essences,
Are in fact the deities of Glorious Kalachakra - the Wheel of Time.
One who knows this should so compose a wondrous calendar...
Such is the delirious chatter of the old man Dilgo Khyentse."
Kalachakra means Time-Wheel, as "Kala" is Sanskrit for Time and "Chakra" (or Cakra) is Wheel in Sanskrit. One could also translate it as Time-cycles. Much in this tradition revolves around the concept of time and cycles: from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of the breath and the practice of controlling the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment. The Kalachakra deity represents omniscience, as everything is under the influence of time, and he is time and therefore knows all. Similarly, the wheel is beginningless and endless. (For some fun information on time, see the howstuffworks site.)
Among the four main Tibetan schools, the Kalachakra practice appears most prominent in the Gelug tradition, although the practice is found in all four schools. The Dalai Lamas have had specific interest in the Kalachakra practice, specifically the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth and the current Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
The Kalachakra is somewhat unusual among the other practices of the Highest Yoga Tantra (Anuttarayoga in Skt.). Several of the explanations in this system deviate from the other tantras, but they are often also complementary to the other tantric systems. In fact, when it was first introduced in the great Buddhist university of Nalanda (India), these differences did cause some confusion. After extensive study, the greatest masters agreed the system was genuinely Buddhist, and the Kalachakra received its own place in the vast array of Mahayana Buddhist teachings. In many aspects, the Kalachakra system clearly shows its Buddhist core with concepts like renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness and enlightenment etc. being of major importance to the practice. Kalachakra is also called the "clear" tantra, because its language is unusually clear and straightforward as compared to most other Highest Yoga Tantras.
In Tibet, the Kalachakra astrological system forms one of the main building blocks to compose astrological calendars. The astrology in the Kalachakra is not unlike the Western system, where for example, complicated calculations are required to determine e.g. the exact location of the planets.
The Kalachakra teachings as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha were written down in the "Root Kalachakra Tantra" by Shambala King Suchandra, but this text never reached us. According to tradition, the King Manjushri-Yashas composed the "Abridged Kalachakra Tantra", which for us now fulfils the function of the main tantric root text, together with the "Stainless Light" (Vimalaprabha) commentary written by Shambala King Pundarika.
These two basic Kalachakra were transmitted to India by Chilupa and Kalachakrapada the Elder. Both texts follow the same sequence. The first two chapters concern the external (outer) and internal (inner) cycles of time, respectively. The last three present the so-called alternative cycles: the third chapter discusses the empowerment (initiation), the fourth the generation stage and the fifth the complete (or completion) stage and the attainment of enlightenment. All later commentaries follow this five-part structure.
OUTER, INNER AND ALTERNATIVE KALACHAKRA
Outer Kalachakra refers to the outer world which is the vessel supporting
the living beings. It is compounded by the six elements of earth, water, fire,
air, space and wisdom; and all objects of smell, sight, taste, touch, sound
and dharma. Another division follows the cosmic build-up of the universe; the
center made up by Mt. Meru, surrounded by the four continents and the eight
subcontinents. Around its' peak circle the planets of our solar system, the
moon, sun, stars and so forth. This system is dictated by time cycles of years,
months and days; also described as "the procession of the external solar and
lunar days."
Inner Kalachakra consists of the body and mind of living beings, the
psychophysical aggregates, the sensory and psychic capacities so forth. This
includes the six types of living beings (gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry
ghosts and hell-beings), the six energy centres (chakras) of the body, the ten
vital energies, the energy channels, the eight drops that carry the instincts
of the two obscurations, and so forth.
In other words, Inner and Outer Kalachakra includes all the living beings and
the external world in an astrological relation to the living beings. The relation
is similar to the Greek exspression "as above, so below".
Alternative (or 'Other') Kalachakra describes the spiritual method leading
to enlightenment in the form of Kalachakra. It describes the initiation and
the Generation and Completion Stage Yogas. The two Yoga stages are methods that
have the power to purify the Outer and Inner Kalachakras (living beings and
the universe).
Outer and Inner Kalachakras are the bases to be purified, whereas Alternative Kalachakra refers to the yogic practices that effect this purification and produce the three purified results.
David Reigle says (in #4:)
'There exists an archetypal pattern behind both {inner and outer Kalachakra}, and it is this pattern which is the "other", shown in the Kalachakra mandala. .... Through the practice of the Kalachakra sadhana, the practitioner who is the microcosm, can become an instrument for manifesting in the world, which is the macrocosm, the cosmic order or universal harmony from the blueprint which is the Kalachakra mandala. ... the whole cosmos is a single living entity, and all that makes it up is interconnected. This single living entity is depicted as the Purusa, or "cosmic Person", in the Vedic teachings, and as the Adi-Buddha, or "cosmic Buddha" in the Kalachakra teachings. ... A Buddha is described as one who has the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks of a Maha Purusa, or "Great Person", and in Kalachakra this is applied to the Adi-Buddha, which represents the cosmos.'
#1: Taking the Kalachakra Initiation, Alexander Berzin, Snow Lion, 1997 ISBN
1-55939-084-0
#2: Commentary given by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche December 1989, Bodh Gaya India
#3: The Wheel of Time, the Kalachakra in context. Geshe Lhundub Sopa et al.
(Snow Lion, 1985)
#4: Kalacakra Sadhana and Social Responsibility, David Reigle, Spirit of the
Sun Publications 1996.
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Last updated: April 4, 2001
