Kalachakra

A critical edition of the original Sanskrit text of the Kālacakratantra was published by Biswanath Banerjee in 1985 based on manuscripts from Cambridge, London and Patna.

The Sanskrit texts of the Kālacakratantra and the Vimalaprabhā commentary were published on the basis of newly discovered manuscripts from Nepal (5) and India (1) by Jagannatha Upadhyaya (with Vrajavallabh Dwivedi and S. S. Bahulkar, 3 vols., 1986–1994).

[16] The content of the five chapters is as follows:[17] In the Kālacakratantra's cosmology, samsara (cyclic existence) is made up of innumerable Buddha fields and of the five elements or properties (characterized by origination, duration and destruction).

In the first chapter, it is stated that the world emerges from emptiness and the force of time, which is a kind of power that originates the universe:Because of time (kalat), from the voids (sunyesu), originate wind, fire, water, the earth; the continents, mountains, and oceans; the constellations, the sun, the moon, the host of star-planets, and the sages; gods, bhutas, and nagas; animals that have four types of birthplace; humans and hell beings also, on the manifold earth and below -originate in the middle of void (sunyamadhye), like salt in water, and the egg-born in the middle of an egg.

[29]Chakra, in turn, refers to the universe and all things in it (i.e. the five aggregates, constituents and bases of the world), which exist as cyclical patterns powered by time.

[30] According to Wallace, from the point of view of ultimate reality, "Kālacakra" refers to, the nonduality of two facets of a single reality—namely, wisdom (prajña), or emptiness (sunyata), and method (upaya), or compassion (karuna).

[28] However, the Kālacakratantra is clear that Kālacakra is itself empty of inherent existence (i.e. essence) and is not an independent phenomenon, but one which is dependent on conditions (a classic Madhyamaka position).

The Kālacakratantra summarizes its fundamental doctrines in the following passage:Identitylessness, the maturation of karma, the three realms, the six states of existence, the origination due to the twelve-limbed dependence, the Four Truths, the eighteen unique qualities of the Buddha, the five psycho-physical aggregates, the three bodies and the Sahajakaya, and animate emptiness.

[35]According to Vesna Wallace, the Kālacakra tradition has a unique interpretation of emptiness which is not just a mere negation of inherent existence (svabhava), but also refers to "the absence of material constituents of the individual's body and mind."

The actualization of that transformation is believed to be perfect and full Buddhahood in the form of Kālacakra, the Supreme Primordial Buddha (paramadi-buddha), who is the omniscient, innate Lord of the Jinas, the true nature of one's own mind and body.

[37] Thus, the Kālacakra tradition stresses the importance of not avoiding sexual bliss, but using it on the path, since it is a kind of facsimile of the realization of emptiness and it produces mental joy.

[49] Regarding the difficult and complex term Adibuddha, Hammar concludes that one can see it as one way of describing Buddha-nature, "which means that there is a Buddha-seed in human beings which is always there."

According to Wallace, "to demonstrate the untenability of social discrimination, the Kālacakratantra at times uses a type of analysis that is similar to the one frequently applied in Buddhist refutations of the independent existence of a personal identity.

They combined their idea of Shambhala with Kalki to reflect the theo-political situation they faced after the arrival of Islam in Central Asia and western Tibet.

[68][69] The text prophesies a war fought by a massive army of Buddhists and Hindus, led by King Raudra Kalkin, against the Muslim persecutors.

[76][7] This supports the dating of this Kālacakra tradition text to the 11th century by Tibetan and Western scholars, as well as the link to the Indian history of that era which saw conflicts with Islamic Ghaznavid invaders.

[76] Alexander Berzin also notes that Tibetan sources mention the "barbarians" slaughtering cattle while reciting the name of their god, the veiling of women, circumcision, and five daily prayers facing their holy land, all of which leaves little doubt that the prophecy part of the text is referring to Muslims.

Furthermore, some passages of the Kālacakratantra describes the holy war against the barbarians from a microcosmic perspective as taking place within the body and mind of the Buddhist practitioner.

In Kālacakra (as in other tantric traditions), the human body is believed to contain certain subtle elements, mainly the three channels (nadis, left, right and central), the vital winds (lung, prana), the four drops (bindus) and six chakras.

In the Kālacakra system, the six chakras that lie along the central channel are as follows: These subtle elements are used during tantric meditation practice to attain immutable bliss and primordial wisdom.

[82] Alexander Berzin writes that "during the Kalachakra empowerment, visualizations of different syllables and colored discs at these spots purify both the chakras and their associated elements.

"[84] According to Vesna Wallace, in the Kālacakratantra one finds "a self-conscious absorption, or appropriation, of the modes of expression that are characteristic of the rival religious systems of India."

Wallace argues that this is "inextricably related to Buddhist tantric conversionary efforts" and is justified by the tantra "as a skillful means for leading individuals of diverse mental dispositions to spiritual maturation.

The first method, which is characteristic of the stage of generation (utpatti krama), is contrived and based on one's faith in the innately pure nature of one's own mind, and it uses primarily one's powers of imagination.

The second method, which is characteristic of the stage of completion (sampatti krama), draws upon the experience of imperishable bliss and the direct perception of the innately pure nature of one's own mind, which is devoid of grasping onto any identity.

[117] In Kālacakra, the yoga of the generation stage is seen as being characterized by ideation or imagination (kalpana), and thus can only indirectly induce spiritual awakening (as well as mundane siddhis).

A strong emphasis on Kālacakra practice and exposition of the shentong view were the principal distinguishing characteristics of the Jonang school that traces its roots to Dölpopa.

The initiation may be received simply as a blessing for the majority of those attending, however, many of the more qualified attendees do take the commitments and subsequently engage in the practice.

In 1988 he traveled to the United States, giving the initiation and complete instructions in the practice of the six-branch Vajrayoga of Kālacakra according to the Jonangpa tradition in Boston.

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.