Kalachakra

Kālacakra (Sanskrit कालचक्र; Tibetan དུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ dus kyi 'khor lo) is a term used in Tantric Buddhism that means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles". It 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 system within tantric Buddhism.

The Kalachakra tradition revolves around the concept of time and cycles: from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of human breathing, it teaches the practice of controlling the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment. The Kalachakra deity represents a Buddha and thus omniscience. Since Kalachakra is time and everything is under the influence of time, he knows all. Similarly, the wheel is without beginning or end.

The Kalachakra Laghutantra

The Kalachakra Tantra is divided into five chapters, the first two of which are considered the “ground Kalachakra.” The first chapter deals with what is called the “outer Kalachakra”—the physical world, in particular the calculation system for the Kalachakra calendar. It also explicates the basic symbolism of the Kalachakra system

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 described as consisting of four mind states: waking, dream, deep sleep, and a fourth state, the experience of sexual orgasm. The potentials (drops) which give rise to these states are described, together with the processes that flow from them.

The last three chapters describe the “other 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 that results from the practice.

Initiation

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 generally only given the lower seven initiations.

Astrology

The phrase "as it is outside, so it is within the body" is often found in the Kalachakra tantra to emphasize the similarities between human beings and the cosmos; This concept is the basis for Kalachakra astrology, but also for even 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 which complicated calculations are required to determine, for example, the exact location of the planets.

History

Indian origin

According to the Kalachakra legend, King Suchandra (Tib. Dawa Sangpo) of the northeastern Indian Kingdom of Shambhala requested teaching from the Buddha that would allow him to practice the dharma without renouncing his worldly enjoyments and responsibilities. In response to his request, the Buddha gave the first Kālachakra root tantra in Dhanyakataka (present day Amaravati), a small town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India, supposedly emanating at the same time 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 the 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" respectively, which remain extant today as the heart of the Kalachakra.

There are presently 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) returned to India during in 966 AD by an Indian Pandita. 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 encounters the Kulika 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 as it was known thereafter in India and Tibet stemmed 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)).

The Kalachakra tradition, along with all Vajrayana Buddhism, vanished from India in the wake of the Muslim invasions.

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 1064 AD, 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 Ra Choerab 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 later 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, along with exposition of the Shentong view, were the principle distinguishing characteristics of the Jonang school that Dolpopa was at the roots from.

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 scholars were banned. Ironically, it was also at this time that the Gelug lineage absorbed much of its Kalachakra tradition from the Jonang.

Today Kalachakra is practiced by all four Tibetan schools of Buddhism, although it appears most prominently in the Gelug lineage. It is also remains very important to the Jonang school, which persists to this day despite the surpression, with a small number of monasteries in eastern Tibet. Efforts are under way to have the Jonang tradition be recognized officially as the fifth tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Kalachakra practice today in the four Tibetan Buddhist schools

Buton 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 and Nyingma draw. The Kagyu and Nyingma 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.

It should be noted, however, that 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 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 such advanced teachings to be given to large public assemblages, but the Kalachakra has long been an exception. The initiation is received as a blessing for the vast majority of those attending, although many attendees do subsequently engage in the practice as well.

Kalachakra Initiations given by H.H. XIV Dalai Lama

1. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in May 1954
2. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in April 1956
3. Dharamsala, India, in March 1970
4. Bylakuppe, South India, in May 1971
5. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1974
6. Leh, Ladakh, India, in September 1976
7. Madison, USA, in July 1981
8. Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India, in April 1983
9. Lahaul & Spiti, India, in August 1983
10. Rikon, Switzerland, in July 1985
11. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1985
12. Zanskar, Ladakh, India, in July 1988
13. Los Angeles, USA, in July 1989
14. Sarnath, India, in December 1990
15. New York, USA, in October 1991
16. Kalpa, HP, India, in August 1992
17. Gangtok, Sikkim, India, in April 1993
18. Jispa, HP, India, in August 1994
19. Barcelona, Spain, in December 1994
20. Mundgod, South India, in January 1995
21. Ulanbaator, Mongolia, in August 1995
22. Tabo, HP, India, in June 1996
23. Sydney, Australia, in September 1996
24. Salugara, West Bengal, India, in December 1996.
25. Bloomington, Indiana, USA, in August 1999.
26. Key Monastery, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India, in August 2000.
27a. Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, in January 2002 (postponed).
27b. Graz, Austria, in October 2002.
28. Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, in January 2003.
29. Toronto, Canada, in April 2004.
30. Amaravati, Guntur, India in January 2006.

Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, The Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dampa Rinpoche, Ven. Jhado Rinpoche, and Ven. Gen Lamrimpa are also among the prominent Kalachakra masters of the Gelug school.

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.

The chief Kalachakra lineage holder for the Kagyu lineage was Ven. Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1990), who gave the initiation in the United States in 1982 in Boulder, Colorado. 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. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, while not a noted Kalachakra master, became increasingly involved later in his life with what he termed Shambhala teachings, derived from the Kalachakra tradition, in particular, the mind terma which he claimed to have received from the Kulikas.

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.

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 asked if there was any proof of this, his attendant showed various masters the kusha grass Khyenrab Choje had 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

Though not (yet) officially recognized as the fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Jonang tradition is very 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

The Kalachakra Tantra has occasionally been the center of controversy in the west, because the text contains passages which are sometimes seen as demonizing the Abrahamic religions, particularly Islam. Further, it contains the prophecy of a future holy war between Buddhists and so-called "barbarians" (Skt. mleccha), which is sometimes interpreted as encouraging inter-religious conflict. This should be understood to reflect in part the fact that the Islamic incursions into central Asia and India deliberately destroyed the Buddhist religion in those regions. This was predicted by the Buddha in the Kalachakra Tantra, where the Buddha gave detailed descriptions of the future invaders, and suggested ways for the Buddhist teachings to survive these onslaughts.

It is not only the Buddhist teachings that has taken note of the war-like tendencies of some followers of the Abrahamic religions. From ancient times, the Vedic traditions of Hinduism have regarded many of the deities, and hence some of the ideas, of Middle Eastern religion as being originally derived from the class of beings known as "asuras", These are races of non-human demi-gods perpetually at war with the gods of the higher heavens. The view that some Middle Eastern deities had their origins in the "asuras" of the Vedic tradition is well documented in works such as David Frawley's "Gods, Kings, and Sages".

Historical grievances aside, the mentality that perpetuates violence in the name of religion has survived from ancient times and is one of the unexamined pillars of the underlying belief systems of some "fundamentalist" followers of the Abrahamic religions. One need only look at the literal meaning of certain scriptures to understand this interpretation. An impartial consideration of the last five thousand years of Middle Eastern and European history might suggest that this appraisal, at least allegorically, merits some consideration. The sanctification of war on religious grounds is thus challenged by the Buddha, and in this light, teachings in the scriptures of various religions that openly promote violence are to be relegated to the sphere of allegory and symbolism. They are to be understood to represent the battle against the inner enemies of the passions and egotism, which Islamic Sufism calls the "greater jihad".

It could not be the intention of the Buddha to advocate a religious war, since the vows of Mahayana Buddhist teachings prohibit harming any sentient being. The only exception would be that of a Buddhist Mahasiddha, a great adept who genuinely possessed the ability to dispatch a particularly pernicious evil-doer to the pure realms, thus saving that being from the karma of the lower realms as well as saving his potential victims from suffering. Buddhist teachings that portray military conflict, such as elements of the Kalachakra Tantra and the Gesar Epic, are 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 Tantra that address religious warfare should be viewed as an admonition by the Buddha to the followers of all religions to turn away from the religious justification of war and violence, and embrace the precepts of love and compassion which are also found within their teachings. The Kalachakra masters take the description of "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 in the world, since according to the Kalachakra tantra, the outer conditions found in the world depend on the inner condition of the minds of the beings in the world. Viewed in this light, the prophesied Shambhala war takes place on the plane of ideas. It depicts the subduing of the archaic mentality of violence in the name of religion and ideology by a higher form of spiritual power and wisdom.

The Shambhala war represents the triumph of the human race over religious militarism and materialistic nihilism The Kalachakra Tantra offers a vision of the elevation of the human spirit beyond these forces. It envisions a uniting of humanity into a single "vajra" race, through the acknowledgement that each of us individually possesses the same essential being or "buddha nature", beyond historical and religious enmities.

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