THE KALACHAKRA INITIATION FOR WORLD PEACE

Tantra According to Tibetan Buddhist teachings, one way to categorize the teachings of the Buddha is to divide them into two groups: Sutra and Tantra. Sutra teachings are considered to have been taught directly by Shakyamuni Buddha to his disciples and later written down for future generations. This path is based on taking ordination vows and letting go of worldly desires and happiness. Tantra, a sub-division of the Bodhisattva path, on the other hand, was taught primarily by manifestations of the Primordial Buddha in the form of Vajradhara as a way for beings to attain enlightenment while still living in the world. Because the path of Sutra takes many thousands of lifetimes to complete, the Tantric path was taught in order to enable those of great compassion to complete the path in only a few, or even a single, lifetime. Tantric practices themselves are divided into four sub-categories: Kriyatantra (Action Tantra), Charyatantra (Performance Tantra), Yogatantra (Union Tantra), and Annutarayogatantra (Highest Union Tantra). These divisions are based on the ability of students to transform negative emotions into wisdom.

Highest Yoga Tantra

The Kalachakra or Wheel of Time Tantra belongs to the class of Annutarayogatantra, or Highest Yoga Tantra. Tantras of this class typically are for students of the highest capacity who are able to use desire as the path and can, therefore, attain enlightenment in this very life, or at least at the time of death. Initiations into these tantras are usually given only to individuals or small groups of students.

Kalachakra Tantra

By contrast, the Kalachakra Tantra has traditionally been given to large gatherings. It is also one of the few (perhaps the only) tantras considered to have been taught by Shakyamuni Buddha during his lifetime. He taught it at the request of Dharma King Suchandra of Shambhala, who asked the Buddha to teach a complete path to enlightenment that would allow him to fulfill his royal responsibilities and still attain liberation. The Kalachakra Tantra contains vast teachings on all aspects of life (i.e. astrology, etc.).

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said about Kalachakra:
The entire meaning of the subject matter of the Kalachakra tantra is included within the three Kalachakras, or Wheels of Time: The Outer Wheel of Time, the Inner Wheel of Time, and the Other Wheel of Time. The Outer Wheel of Time is the external world of the environment, and it is also called "The procession of the external solar and lunar days." The Inner Wheel of Time is the human body, that is an inner Jambudvipa, or earth-surface. Likewise, the inner channels, elements, and movements of the winds are set forth as the Inner Wheels of Time. The Other Wheel of Time is the initiations and paths of Shri Kalachakra, together with their results. It is "other" than the preceding two Wheels of Time. The guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum with the initiations, and the disciple meditates on the path that consists of the generation process and the completion process. In this way the yogi actualizes the result: the buddha body that is the divine image of emptiness. This is the Other Wheel of Time.

The Kalachakra Initiation

The Kalachakra initiation is a major initiation into Highest Yoga Tantra and thus has commitments which must be kept by the recipient. To begin with, one must commit to attending the entire initiation, which lasts three days, four hours per day, even if one is receiving it as a blessing*. In addition, one must perform the Six-Session Guru Yoga practice daily for the rest of one’s life. Booklets of this practice can be ordered online at www.fpmt.org.

*One may receive the Kalachakra Initiation as a blessing, in which case there are no further commitments.