His Holiness the Dalai Lama pointed out:
"I feel that the
Kalachakra mandala is somehow associated with the kingdom, with the community,
with society ... In brief, the mandala of Kalachakra is not like other mandalas.
Other Tantric practices are related to the individual, but the Kalachakra seems
to be related to the community, to the global society as a whole."[1]
"In
my opinion, you Westerners who are taking an interest in eastern religions should
remain connected with and serve your own society. It's not good to extricate or
remove yourself from your own society. You yourself in time will experience some
difficulties. Since the heart of the Buddhist practice is to help others, to engage
in altruistic deeds, then the best thing is to stay within society offering service
to society. You need to stay in those very places where there is trouble, where
there are problems. Wouldn't it be selfish if you escaped from the places where
there are difficulties and went off by yourself to practice a so-called religion.
I will make prayer-wishes that this comes about. Please strive very hard."
[2]
Vesna Wallace in Inner Kalachakratantra
[3] dedicates a full chapter to the social aspects of the Kalachakra. To mention
just a few subjects: the sharp criticism of the caste divisions and social bias,
the integration of concepts and terminology of many non-Buddhist traditions, the
tantric beginner should not transgress the customs of his country and social group
as long a certain siddhis are achieved, and the symbolic relation of social classes
to aspects of the body and mind of the practitioner etc.
David Reigle makes
a similar point in his booklet Kalacakra Sadhana
and Social Responsibility [4], the fact that practicing Kalachakra is certainly
related to our responsibilities for society.
MEDICINE
"Buddhist
tantric medical treatises and the Kalacakratantra literature integrate classical
Ayurvedic medicine, alchemy and magic ... into a unique and comprehensive system
of Buddhist tantric medicine."[3]
The Kalachakra Tantra
describes various malignant spirits that can be warded off, mantras to treat diseases,
but also pranayama (energy-yoga) techniques (mainly for advanced practitioners)
and more conventional treatments like; dietary therapy, hydrotherapy, massage,
drugs (mostly herbal), fumigation, inhalation, anointing etc. The medical system
in the Kalachakra appears mainly based on the balancing of the three humors -
wind, phlegm and bile.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama mentions in a discussion
with Alex Berzin (see studybuddhism.com):
"Now
if you ask what specific points in Tibetan medicine derive from Kalachakra, there
is the formula for making one of the precious pills ngülchu-tsodey
(dngul-chu rtso-sde) out of mercury. This comes from The Kalachakra Condensed
Tantra."
SANSKRIT
A
considerable part of the Kalachakra Tantra deals with the symbolic relationship
between the Sanskrit language and the Kalachakra. Probably only genuine Sanskrit
scholars may fully appreciate the extent of the explanations that are given, for
example in the Chapters 5 of the Kalachakra Tantra and the Vimalaprabha, related
to the Speech Mandala. (As can be found in [6].) As in all tantras, deities arise
in the visualization from Sanskrit seed syllables, but the symbolism of the Kalachakra
extends way beyond that.
MACHINES
The
texts of the Outer Kalachakra contain descriptions of a fair number of machines,
including war machines, but also for peaceful use.
For example in [5]:
"If
an enemy defeated in battle suddenly enters into a fort, construct machines outside.
... Now are stated the machines for destroying the forts of wicked enemies."
This
is followed by very technical and precise directions for construction of for example
a catapult, a boat to 'destroy a water fort', a kite from which burning oil is
thrown onto a fort, a 'cleaver machine' with rotating swords, an armoured vehicle
to approach the fort, a harpoon machine, and a chariot. However, these descriptions
are accompanied by the instruction [5]:
"Do all these things
in order to protect your own place, O Surya, not out of hatred and greed!"
More
peaceful machines that are described are a merry-go-round, a chariot for kings,
and a machine to irrigate the land. It appears that the types of machines described
could be called high-tech around the time the Kalachakra teachings emerged (11th
century).
SPECIAL
KALACHAKRA PLACES
This
page contains details on several places which are of special importance to
the practice of Kalachakra, enjoy!
WAR & PEACE
The
Kalachakra tantra is often mentioned in it's context of the predictions of war.
The War & Peace page contains
a collection of Buddhist views on the subject.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]: The Bodhgaya Interviews: His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, edited by Jose Ignacio Cabezon, Snowlion 1988.
[2]: The Kalachakra Initiation
in Rikon, Switzerland in 1985 by his Holiness the Dalai Lama. (Available
to initiates.)
[3]: The Inner Kalacakratantra,
A Buddhist Tantric View of the Individual, by Vesna A. Wallace (Oxford University
press, 2001)
[4]: Kalacakra Sadhana and Social
Responsibility, David Reigle, Spirit of the Sun Publications 1996.
[5]:
The Outer Wheel of Time: Vajrayana Buddhist
cosmology in the Kalacakra tantra, John Ronald Newman,1987, UMI dissertation.
[6]: Tantric Yoga: A Study of the Vedic
Precursors, Historical Evolution, Literatures, Cultures, doctrines, and Practices
of the 11th Century Kasmiri Saivite and Buddhist Unexcelled Tantric
Yogas, by James Francis Hartzell, 1997, UMI dissertation
