Kalachakra

A question and answer with Dr. Berzin and his students about participating in a Kalachakra initiation.

External Kalachakra presents the external cycles the universe goes through and includes the teachings on world systems, astronomy, astrology, the motion of the planets, the calendar and history.

The Kalachakra depiction of the non-Indic prophets and its prophecies of a future war with their followers must be understood in its historical and cultural context.

A Tibetan-Mongolian horoscope reveals possible courses one’s life can take due to karma and thus indicates that no course is inevitable. Everything that happens arises dependently on innumerable causes and circumstances and what one does contributes to the course of one’s life.

Several postwar writers on the Occult have asserted that Buddhism and the legend of Shambhala played a role in the German-Tibetan official contact during the Nazi era.

The legend of Shambhala was used by Mongol rebels against the Soviets in the “Shambhala Wars” as well as by the Japanese in attempts to control Mongolia in the 1920s and 30s.

A Kalachakra initiation is a Buddhist ceremony in preparation for tantric meditation and for bringing harmony to the world.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia tried to gain influence in Tibet by claiming Russia was Shambhala. Japan also tried to win over Tibetan and Mongolian support by claiming that Japan was Shambhala.

Bibliography of major Sanskrit, Tibetan and Western language sources on Kalachakra.

Dr. Berzin recounts the road that led to his works on Kalachakra.