Overview of the Kalachakra System

We all have a type of consciousness that is basic to us: we have it from beginningless time and will have continuity all the way into and through our attainment of enlightenment. This type of mind or consciousness is known as the subtlest level of consciousness. This subtlest level of consciousness, however, is not usually manifest, and when it is manifest, it is non-conceptual, similar to the non-conceptual state you would have when you have direct perception of voidness. In this state, you have no appearance of any relative or apparent phenomena. It is under this sort of condition that the subtlest level of consciousness becomes manifest, namely a non-conceptual state similar to the experience of voidness.

The nature of this subtlest consciousness is not stained by obscurations, because if it were in its nature stained, it would be impossible to remove the stains from this type of mind. Since these are fleeting stains, and they are not of the nature of the subtlest level of consciousness, it is possible to remove them from this subtlest mind. When you start to separate the mind from the fleeting stains, this is the basis for gaining all good qualities and the basis for being able to transcend the worldly level – the level of perishably-based phenomena. When the mind has these fleeting stains over it and these stains obscure this finest level of mind, then this brings about all problems, troubles and difficulties. This is the root of samsara or our uncontrollably recurring problems and situations. This subtlest level of consciousness, which we are discussing, is also known as the primordial mind. It has together with it as its basis a type of energy-wind, which is its support that is always with it. This energy-wind is known as the subtlest body or primordial body. Thus, when you hear the terms “primordial mind” and “primordial body,” they are referring to this finest level of consciousness and the finest energy-wind that is always with it. When this subtlest consciousness and energy-wind are manifest, then, out of the four types of existence, it is the occasion of death existence. In other words, it is only at the time of death that normally this subtlest level of consciousness is actually manifest. 

The four periods of existence that we experience are the birth existence, bardo existence, existence before death and death existence. The birth existence is referring to the actual moment of conception. The entire period from that until one’s death is known as the prior existence, the existence prior to dying. The bardo or in-between existence is a state between death and taking the next rebirth. When you speak in terms of an actual sequence of a throwing karma, you have bardo existence, followed by a birth existence, followed by an existence prior to dying and then a death existence. This is one set of the throwing impulses or karma that produces both a bardo existence and a birth existence. Out of these four types of existence, it’s during the state of death existence that the finest level of consciousness is actually manifest. 

On the most basic level, we have primordial mind and primordial body or energy-wind. On the level of the path that you are taking, according to the other systems of anuttarayoga tantra, you accomplish out of these bases what’s known as an illusory body. In these other anuttarayoga systems, before you can make manifest out of the primordial consciousness and energy-winds the illusory body, you have to make manifest the approximating clear light of the third stage, known as the isolated mind stage. If you are able to realize and make manifest in this lifetime the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage, you have achieved a very high level of realization. Right after that, you are then able to accomplish the impure illusory body. If you are able to actually accomplish the impure illusory body and it is pervasive, you will achieve enlightenment in that very lifetime.

Now, in order to accomplish and make manifest the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage, according to the other systems of anuttarayoga tantra, it’s necessary to rely on a partner – either a visualized partner of deep awareness, or jnanamudra in Sanskrit, or specifically here an actual physical partner, or karmamudra in Sanskrit. The great Lama Tsongkhapa did not use this specific method in order to make stronger the pratimoksha vows, the monks’ and nuns’ vows for individual liberation. He achieved the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage at the time of his death. In other words, instead of achieving the clear light of death at the time of his death, he achieved the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage at the time of his death. After that, instead of achieving a bardo body, he achieved an impure illusory body. On this basis, he achieved enlightenment in the bardo. If instead of having the clear light of death, you are able to substitute at that time the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage, then it’s not necessary to rely on a karmamudra, because you can make manifest this clear light by the force of substituting it for the clear light of death. In that case, it is not necessary to rely on a physical partner. But if you are accomplishing or making manifest the approximating clear light of the isolated mind stage not by substitution, then it is necessary to rely on a karmamudra, or actual physical partner. 

For actually achieving an illusory body, the main thing that is used is energy-winds. The energy-winds themselves are the obtaining cause (nyer-len-gyi rgyu, material cause) for achieving an illusory body, and the mind is the simultaneously acting cause. The main or obtaining cause of the illusory body would be energy-winds, while the mind or consciousness would be the simultaneously acting cause. The basis for actualizing the illusory body is energy-winds.

That’s in the other systems of anuttarayoga tantra, where you take energy-winds as the basis for accomplishing an illusory body. In the Kalachakra tradition, the energy-winds are not taken as the basis for achieving or actualizing the illusory body. Rather, the subtlest level of mind itself is taken as the basis for achieving both a Form Body (a physical body) and a Dharmakaya – a mental body encompassing everything. The complete stage is divided into various stages: the branches for accomplishing a body, the branches for accomplishing the breath, the branches for realizing bliss and the branches of realized bliss. In the first of these, the branches for accomplishing a body, the practices entail focusing on the upper end of the central energy-channel and dissolving the various things found there. One accomplishes out of that a Jnanakaya or a Body of Deep Awareness. It is through this type of process of visualizing a small body – in this system known as the devoid form – at the upper end of the central channel that one accomplishes a Deep Awareness Body. This is the practice performed during the period of the complete stage, known as the “branches for accomplishing a body.” In this way, it is a system that does not have practices like those in other anuttarayoga systems for taking a Sambhogakaya or Body of Full Use as a pathway for purifying the bardo.

As I explained a number of days ago, in the lam-rim teachings, grasping for true identities is the root of samsara. This was explained with many reasons and many scriptural quotations. This grasping for true identities is the root of samsara, in the sense that because of this grasping for true identities, we have various disturbing attitudes that arise. Because of these disturbing attitudes, we act impulsively and build up karma. As the comprehensive result shared by all beings that comes from this type of impulsive behavior, we have the ordinary environment of the world around us. As the result of our individual impulsive actions or karma, we have our own body and the aggregate factors of our own individual experience. Our human bodies are the result of this, and this is referred to as the internal cycles of time. Likewise, on the external level, we have the environment of the world, which is referred to as the external cycles of time. It is in this sense that we take these two as the bases to be purified by this system.

On the level of the basis that we are purifying, the external environment arises from part of a seed syllable, which is part of a mantra. On the internal level, our body as well arises from one part of a seed syllable of a mantra. The path for purifying these bases as well entails both the generation stage and complete stage. Both of these also have the environment and the body arising from part of a seed syllable of mantra. Now, on the resultant level, you have the same thing. The various types of bodies, for instance the Body of Deep Awareness or the Body of Definitive Meaning, which was alluded to earlier, the environment and the body of that time of the result also arise from a part of a seed syllable of mantra. Whatever way you look at it, you can say that on the basis level of both the internal and external cycles of time, on the path level of both generation and complete stages, and likewise on a resultant level, when one achieves all the various bodies of an enlightened being, all of these arise from parts of a seed syllable of a mantra. 

Yesterday we discussed a feature, namely doing practices to purify or practicing as if one had a pure body, environment and way of using and enjoying objects and activities. This is something that is common to all four classes of tantra. A type of practice, which is a practice in analogy with the process of birth, death and bardo, is something that is an exclusive feature of the highest class of tantra, anuttarayoga. In terms of a practice in analogy with birth, death and bardo, you have in the other systems of anuttarayoga tantra a way of practice on the generation stage that involves taking the three Buddha Bodies as paths for purifying these three things – birth, death and bardo. Whereas in Kalachakra, you take as the main basis for purification the external environment on the external level, and on the internal level the various cognitive spheres and aspects of one’s body and experience.

This internal aspect is explained in great detail in terms of all the stages of taking birth and all the stages through which they arise. This is the main basis for purification in this system of Kalachakra. The basis therefore being taken for purification is the external environment and the internal aspects of one’s body. There is no presentation of this material in the abhidharma systems. The presentation of the other types of life forms, other than humans – in other words the gods, demigods and so forth – is only presented very roughly and not treated in detail. What will be purified by the generation and complete stages of this practice is the external and internal phenomena, and here specifically it’s dealing with the internal aspect of humans of the Southern Continent who are born from the various constituent substances. It is this particular type of human being that is explained in great detail. 

I am slowly going over the foundation or basis for this system and this type of practice because, just as in building a house, if you take great care in building the foundation, you will be able to erect the house very well. Similarly, if one jumps into a detailed discussion of the generation stage, for example, since you are not reciting the sadhana or doing the practice of actualizing the deity, and since most of you are not familiar with Tibetan, it may be overwhelming and may simply confuse you. I am now spending time building up a basis and a foundation so that, since all of you are intelligent, you should be able to comprehend this and the teachings that follow will be more intelligible.

Presentation of the Outer World

If we speak in general on the presentation of the universe or world systems according to the abhidharma texts, a world system consists of Mount Meru, the four island-worlds or continents and the subcontinents. There are many world systems made up of billions of such units. According to the Abhidharmakosha, A Treasure House of Special Topics of Knowledge, each world system in a collection of a billion world systems has underneath it its own individual mandalas of the elements. The presentation in the texts that are divisions of the Yogacharabhumi, or Levels of Mind for Integrated Behavior, is that a supercluster of a billion world systems is all on one very large set of mandalas of the elements. The third chapter of Abhidharmakosha explains all of this in very fine detail. In the Yogacharabhumi and in the sutras, it states that due to one’s grasping for true identities and the karma that arises from that, the environment of a world system can appear in many different aspects. For instance, for some, an entire world system may appear as tiny as the size of a thumb. At present, due to the collective karma of everybody, the world appears to all of us in common as a globe or sphere. 

These appearances are reasonable and can be established logically. It is reasonable that you have all these appearances in terms of all the various types of karma that have given rise to them. It says in the Madhyamakavatara, Engaging in the Middle Way, that you can have a basis, which would be a vessel of liquid, and have three different types of beings looking at that vessel – a hungry ghost, a human and a god. The imputed object is the same, namely a vessel of liquid, but the appearance of the liquid would be quite different for each life form. For the god, the liquid would appear as nectar and be extremely delicious. For the human, it would appear as ordinary water. For a hungry ghost, it would appear to be pus and blood. These different appearances are not similar to one who is cross-eyed and sees two similar moons. These are not distorted cognitions but, in fact, are all valid cognitions for each of these life forms, because the appearance is established by their own past karma. Again, these are not distorted cognitions for each of these life forms, but for each of them it is valid to have this appearance.

The presentation that you have in the abhidharma teachings, where you have a world system with a sun, moon and so forth, is similar to what is experienced on this planet. When the sun is over the Western continent and it is daytime there, then the Eastern continent, which is on the opposite side, has night. The same thing is true in terms of the Northern and Southern continents: when one has day, the other has night. To say that the Southern continent is referring to India and the Northern continent refers to America is not correct. There is no reason to mix the two presentations of a world system. You shouldn’t think that everything needs to be neat and symmetrical. You can’t find exact correspondence between the abhidharma system and Western scientific presentation. You should consider each system within its own context and not try to force the analogy. 

Now, the presentation of a world system according to either abhidharma or Yogacharabhumi is something we, at present, are unable to see. The reason for this is that we haven’t built up the potentials or karma that would allow us to see it in that way. Simply stating that, because we don’t see it that way, it therefore does not exist is unreasonable. In the abhidharma, there is a presentation of the basis upon which a world system rests on a wind mandala, and likewise the Kalachakra presents a wind mandala as the bottom basis for a world system. In the Kalachakra system, the wind mandala has a diameter of 400,000 yojanas or ancient miles. In the systems other than Kalachakra, the basis of a world system consists of three mandalas – wind, water and earth. In the Kalachakra system, it is on four mandalas – wind, fire, water and earth. The fire mandala is 300,000 ancient miles in diameter. The water mandala is 200,000 ancient miles in diameter, and on top of that is an earth mandala of 100,000 miles in diameter. On top of the earth mandala is Mount Meru, and around it there are four island-worlds or continents. Each of the continents has two subcontinents. Thus, the four continents plus the eight subcontinents together make twelve, which is the basis for the presentation of twelve divisions of land or areas around a central core mountain. 

In this system, there is the Southern continent Jambudvipa or the Roseapple Island, and this is in two – a Large Roseapple Island and a Small Roseapple Island. The Large Southern continent is a 100,000 ancient miles in diameter, and the small one is 25,000 ancient miles in diameter. It’s not necessary to go into detail on the presentation of the universe according to abhidharma. You find it in other texts as well, such as the Avatamsaka Sutra, and likewise in the Mahasmrti-upasthana Sutra, in Pali the Satipatthana Sutra, the Sutra of Placement of Close Mindfulness. In each of these, one finds presentations of how a universe comes into being. The unit of yojana or ancient mile, which is used in the Kalachakra system, is of a different length than that used in other texts. The measurement in Kalachakra of an ancient mile is twice as much as that used in other texts. They share a similar name, but the yojana used in Kalachakra is equal to two yojanas used in other texts. In the Kalachakra system, the smaller Southern continent contains the four holy places – Shambhala, Potala, The Place of Five Peaks and Oddiyana. In Shambhala is the royal line of the Twenty-five Holders of the Caste or Kalki Kings. It is also the place where the Kalachakra teachings flourish. 

In the Kalachakra system, it is presented that the teachings of tantra flourish on all four of the continents. In history, as explained according to the Kalachakra, during the reign of the Twenty-fifth Holder of the Caste, the king will come to rule all twelve of the landmasses. At that time, the Kalachakra teachings will pervade and flourish extensively throughout this world system. In the Kalachakra system, where it discusses Shambhala, a great war will occur during the reign of the Twenty-fifth Kalki King, and he will defeat the 500,000 barbarians. It is not necessary to think of this strictly in external terms. All of this can also be applied internally to the defeat of the various disturbing attitudes and so forth within a person. These are defeated by the discriminating awareness that understands reality and the lack of true identities. Shambhala and the other things mentioned in the Kalachakra teachings need not be considered as a physical, external event or place. In the teachings, it states that Shambhala will be a place with the greatest and most sophisticated development of machinery and mechanical devices. At present, we see a sign that this is correct, because we now see an enormous development of gadgetry, machines, computers and so forth. This is a sign that the development of this world system is heading in that direction and that the highest development of this will occur in Shambhala. Fifty years ago, when I was eleven or twelve years old, there was a great lama who said that now there is the development of mechanics, and in the future this will develop extensively, and this points to signs that things are moving in the direction of the Shambhala teachings. Not only will mechanical things come to pervade, but likewise the teachings of Kalachakra will become extensive and flourish. 

As was mentioned the other day, the great Buddha Shakyamuni manifested himself at the stupa called Mound of Rice or Shri Dhanyakataka, and there in the stupa he gave these great Kalachakra teachings. The way the stupa was formed was that long, long before that time, there was an assembly of five hundred arhats. They caused a great rain of rice to fall, and then various gods, such as Vishnu, built out of this mound of rice an enormous stupa or relic monument. This then was called the Great Mound of Rice Stupa and was in the southern part of India. On the outside, the stupa had the appearance of being made of sheer rock, and on the inside, of blue lapis lazuli. Inside was a huge vase-like inner sanctum. Around the circumference of the inner sanctum, there were twenty-eight pillars. In Tibet, in the great temple in Lhasa, there was a painting of this. In this inner sanctum, there were two levels, and on the upper level, the Buddha manifested the various mandalas of body, such as Guhyasamaja and Kalachakra. He presented the root tantras and teachings of these practices in that fashion. On the lower level, he manifested the mandala of speech of the dharmadhatu system, or the mandala of chos dbyings in Tibetan.

It was in this way that the various root tantras were taught. Specifically, the Kalachakra Root Tantra in Twelve Thousand Verses was taught to King Suchandra, who came from Shambhala together with his retinue of ninety-six rulers of the ninety-six districts of Shambhala. King Suchandra wrote the commentary to the root tantra, a work of 60,000 verses. After this, came the first Holder of the Caste, known as Jampal Drakpa, or Manjushri Yashas in Sanskrit; he was a manifestation of Manjushri. 

At this time, there were people of different castes who held to the teachings of the lalos or barbarians. Manjushri Yashas said to these people that if they held on to this kind of religious practice, they would not be allowed to stay in Shambhala. They all moved to the far border regions beyond Shambhala. The time was then ripe for taming these people, and Manjushri Yashas emanated various manifestations and called them all back into the kingdom. They came back, including forty million brahmins, and stated that they would give up their former religious beliefs. They requested the initiation and teachings of Kalachakra, and Manjushri Yashas accepted them. He gave them the initiation and teachings of Kalachakra at a place where Suchandra had erected an enormous three-dimensional mandala of Kalachakra. He set his throne in the eastern gateway of the mandala and gave them all the initiation of Kalachakra and the commentary in 1,030 verses. Since the people had come from different castes and were all born together and made into one caste, Manjushri Yashas became known as the Holder of the Caste, since he unified all the different castes into one. It is from him that the Twenty-five Holders of the Caste or Kalki Kings derive.

The abbreviated form of the tantra was composed by Manjushri Yashas in 1,030 verses. It was written in very exquisite poetry, and the title is The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra (Kalachakra Laghu Tantra), often called the The Metered Tantra Called Holding a Flower Garland, referring to the Sanskrit meter in which it was written, called “holding a flower garland,” puṣpitāgrā. This was compiled for the newly initiated at their request. The commentary is divided into five chapters. 

There are ten branches of learning or knowledge – five major and five minor. The five major ones are language, logic, medicine, crafts or artistry (including alchemy) and inner knowledge. Nagarjuna mastered alchemy and through it making gold. With this, he made available conducive circumstances for his disciples. A thousand units of iron can be transformed into one unit of gold. The gold-making elixir is used in terms of an analogy of the development of the dedicated heart of bodhichitta, because a base substance can be transformed into something great. Others sometimes criticized Nagarjuna for practicing alchemy. One of his disciples was the great Chandrakirti, and he was in charge of milking the cows at the monastery. Once he let the cows go out to pasture and didn’t get them back in. As he was a highly realized and accomplished being, he simply drew a picture of a cow and milked that and received milk from it. He was criticized as well for doing this. Inner knowledge refers to the various measures that will bring liberation and omniscience.

The minor branches of knowledge include poetry, knowledge of similes or synonyms (poetical allusions), astrology and mathematics, dance and drama, and finally the study of metre. Sanskrit has long and short syllables making a large number of variations of rhythm and metre used in poetry. As for the knowledge of similes, there are some pertaining to numbers: the number one can be moon or rhinoceros.

Concerning the five chapters of Holding a Flower Garland, the external basis, or world systems, is discussed in the first chapter. The internal basis, or the individual human body, is discussed in the second chapter. The path that will purify the bases are the generation and complete stages. To enter into the practices, it is necessary to receive the initiation, or empowerment. The alternative or other Kalachakra is what does the purification of the external and internal Kalachakra, and this has three parts – the initiation, the generation stage and the complete stage. These respectively are the subjects of the last three chapters. The third chapter is on the empowerment. The fourth chapter is the sadhana chapter, or the chapter on the methods for actualizing the deity, for short the actualizing chapter. The fourth is on the complete stage practices and is known as the deep awareness chapter. 

The subject matter of these five chapters is referred to as the “eighty points.” The enlightening body of a Buddha has thirty-two major marks and eighty exemplary features or minor marks, and these eighty points are correlated to the eighty exemplary features of the enlightening body of a Buddha. The way the analogy is made is that just as the enlightening body of a Buddha is adorned with eighty exemplary features, likewise the Kalachakra Tantra is adorned with the eighty points. The discussion can be presented in terms of either eighty points or eighty-one points. The way one can arrive at eighty-one is that there are the eighty exemplary features, but there is also the basis of the features, the body itself, which is adorned with these features, so in that way you have eighty-one.

The second Holder of the Caste, Pundarika, an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, composed a further commentary to the root text called Stainless Light. It takes the eighty points and condenses them into a discussion of thirty-two points. The first chapter of Holding a Flower Garland on the external sphere is abbreviated into ten points. Within these, ten abbreviated points of the chapter on the external sphere include twenty-four of the eighty points. 

The actual root tantra, which was delivered by the Buddha, and the text written by King Suchandra are extent only in Shambhala and were not spread to India or Tibet. The ones that are now extent and known are the ones from Manjushri Yashas and Pundarika. These were translated into Sanskrit and then Tibetan, so these are the texts known today. However, in these texts, there are quotations from the root tantras. We have now covered how these teachings were spread in Shambhala, and now we will discuss how they spread to India. There are several descriptions of how the teachings spread to India, and I will explain according to one tradition.

There was a great practitioner called Chilupa. Chilupa knew of the existence of the Kalachakra teachings and went off to find Shambhala to receive the empowerment and teachings. On the way, he met an emanation of Manjushri, and it was from him that he received the initiation and commentaries. The lineage descended from him in India, and there was a great practitioner from Kashmir named Somanatha who brought the Kalachakra to Tibet. The lineage descended after him in Tibet and eventually reached the great Lama Tsongkhapa. From him, it went to Khedrub Je and continued to the present. The omniscient Kunkhyen Rinpoche (Taranatha) composed many volumes of commentaries on Kalachakra. There is also Dro Lotsawa (’Bro lo-tsa-ba), who wrote extensively, including his An Ocean of Teachings Well Explained. Khedrub Je composed The Great Commentary on Kalachakra. Through these teachers and commentaries, the Kalachakra system was spread. There have been many great yogis of Kalachakra, for instance Khedrup Norzang Gyatso, who lived at the time of the Second Dalai Lama. There are also great texts written by the master Jamyang Tsewa, also dealing with Kalachakra, who lived at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and one of whose teachers visited Shambhala.

As has been mentioned, the subject matter of Kalachakra is discussed in terms of three aspects – the external, internal and alternative. There is a set of three texts called the Three Rounds of Commentaries by the Beings (sKyes bu’i mdor bsdus pa gsum). One of these is Stainless Light (’od dag, Skt. Vimalaprabhā); the second is the Commentary of Praises (gNas brjod tshig le’u zhal ’byed, Skt. Pindārthavivaraṇa) by the bodhisattva Vajrapani; the third text was composed by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, and it is called Condensed Commentary of Vajragarbha or Dorje Nyingdrol (rDo rje snying grol gyi mdor bsdus pa, Skt. Pindarthatika). Of these three texts, the first is Stainless Light. In the naming of texts, the title is often given for the place in which it was given, in terms of the name of the person requesting it, or it could be named for an analogy used in the text or in terms of the subject matter of the text. In the three rounds of transmission of the Dharma, there are texts named according to the subject matter. Here in the Three Rounds of Commentaries, the names are given in terms of the authors.