Kalachakra (Sanskrit: कालचक्र; IAST: Kālacakra; Telugu: కాలచక్ర Tibetan: དུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།; Wylie: dus-kyi 'khor-lo; Mongolian: Цогт Цагийн Хүрдэн: Tsogt Tsagiin Hurden; Chinese: 時輪) is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles".
The spelling Kalacakra is also correct.
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 deity represents a Buddha and thus omniscience. Since Kalachakra is time and everything is under the influence of time, Kalachakra knows all. Whereas Kalachakri or Kalichakra, his spiritual consort and complement, is aware of everything that is timeless, untimebound or out of the realm of time. In Yab-yum, they are temporality and atemporality conjoined. Similarly, the wheel is without beginning or end.
The Kalachakra Tantra
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– 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.
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.
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 (fruition) that results from the practice.
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."
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 & Origin
According to the Kalachakra Tantra, King Suchandra (Tib. Dawa Sangpo) of the Kingdom of Shambhala requested teaching from theBuddha that would allow him to practice the Dharma without 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 dayAmaravati), 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. LaterShambhalian 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 Tagpa) 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.[5]
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) 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 ofNalanda 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.
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 Ra Choerab Lotsawa (or Ra Dorje Drakpa).
The Ra lineage became particularly important in the Sakya order ofTibetan Buddhism, where it was held by such prominent masters asSakya 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.
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 Ra Choerab Lotsawa (or Ra Dorje Drakpa).
The Ra lineage became particularly important in the Sakya order ofTibetan Buddhism, where it was held by such prominent masters asSakya 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.
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.
Controversy
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."
Though the Kalachakra prophesies a future religious war, this appears in conflict with the vows of Mahayana andTheravada 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.
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.
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.
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.[who?] 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.
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 the Kalachakra practice but all are warned against this actual practice because base human factors can so easily enter what should be a pure practice.
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.
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