Sri Yantra, Feng Shui life & Astrology

[edit] Indian origin

According to the Kalachakra Tantra, King Suchandra (Tib. Dawa Sangpo) of the northeastern Indian Kingdom of Shambhala requested teaching from the Buddha that would allow him to practice the dharma without renouncing his worldly enjoyments and responsibilities. In response to his request, the Buddha taught the first Kālachakra root tantra in Dhanyakataka (Palden Drepung in Tibetan)(near present day Amaravati), a small town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India, supposedly bilocating (appearing in two places at once) at the same time as he was also delivering the Prajnaparamita sutras at Vulture Peak Mountain in Bihar. Along with King Suchandra, ninety-six minor kings and emissaries from Shambhala were also said to have received the teachings. The Kalachakra thus passed directly to Shambhala, where it was held exclusively for hundreds of years. Later Shambhalian kings, Manjushrikirti and Pundarika, are said to have condensed and simplified the teachings into the “Sri Kalachakra” or “Laghutantra” and its main commentary the “Vimalaprabha”, which remain extant today as the heart of the Kalachakra literature.

There are presently two main traditions of Kalachakra, the Ra lineage (Tib. Rva-lugs) and the Dro lineage (Tib.’Bro-lugs). Although there were many translations of the Kalachakra texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan, the Ra and Dro translations are considered to be the most reliable (more about the two lineages below). The two lineages offer slightly differing accounts of how the Kalachakra teachings returned to India from Shambhala.

In both traditions, the Kalachakra and its related commentaries (sometimes referred to as the Bodhisattvas Corpus) were returned to India in 966 AD by an Indian Pandita. In the Ra tradition this figure is known as Chilupa, and in the Dro tradition as Kalachakrapada the Greater. Scholars such as Helmut Hoffman have suggested they are the same person. The first masters of the tradition disguised themselves with pseudonyms, so the Indian oral traditions recorded by the Tibetans contain a mass of contradictions.

Chilupa/Kalachakrapada is said to have set out to receive the Kalachakra teachings in Shambhala, along the journey to which he encountered the Kulika (Shambhala) king Durjaya manifesting as Manjushri, who conferred the Kalachakra initiation on him, based on his pure motivation.

Upon returning to India, Chilupa/Kalachakrapada is said to have defeated in debate Nadapada (Tib. Naropa), the abbot of Nalanda University, a great center of Buddhist thought at that time. Chilupa/Kalachakrapada then initiated Nadapada (who became known as Kalachakrapada the Lesser) into the Kalachakra, and the tradition thereafter in India and Tibet stems from these two. Nadapada established the teachings as legitimate in the eyes of the Nalanda community, and initiated into the Kālachakra such masters as Atisha (who, in turn, initiated the Kālachakra master Pindo Acharya (Tib. Pitopa)).

The Kalachakra tradition, along with all Vajrayana Buddhism, vanished from India in the wake of the Muslim invasions.

[edit] Spread to Tibet

The Dro lineage was established in Tibet by a Kashmiri disciple of Nalandapa named Pandita Somanatha, who traveled to Tibet in 1027 (or 1064 AD, depending on the calendar used), and his translator Droton Sherab Drak Lotsawa, from which it takes its name. The Ra lineage was brought to Tibet by another Kashmiri disciple of Nadapada named Samantashri, and translated by Ra Choerab Lotsawa (or Ra Dorje Drakpa). The Ra lineage became particularly important in the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism, where it was held by such prominent masters as Sakya Pandita (1182-1251), Drogon Chogyal Pagpa (1235-1280), Budon Rinchendrup (1290-1364), and Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361). The latter two, both of whom also held the Dro lineage, are particularly well known expositors of the Kalachakra in Tibet, the practice of which is said to have greatly informed Dolpopa’s exposition of the Shentong view. A strong emphasis on Kalachakra practice and exposition of the Shentong view were the principal distinguishing characteristics of the Jonang school that traces its roots to Dolpopa.

The teaching of the Kalachakra was further advanced by the great Jonang scholar Taranatha (1575-1634). In the 17th century, the Gelug-led government of Tibet outlawed the Jonang school, closing down or forcibly converting most of its monasteries. The writings of Dolpopa, Taranatha, and other prominent Shentong scholars were banned. Ironically, it was also at this time that the Gelug lineage absorbed much of the Jonang Kalachakra tradition.

Today Kalachakra is practiced by all four Tibetan schools of Buddhism, although it appears most prominently in the Gelug lineage. It is the main tantric practice for the Jonang school, which persists to this day with a small number of monasteries in eastern Tibet. Efforts are under way to have the Jonang tradition be recognized officially as a fifth tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

[edit] Kalachakra practice today in the Tibetan Buddhist schools

Buton had considerable influence on the later development of the Gelug and Sakya traditions of Kalachakra, and Dolpopa on the development of the Jonang tradition on which the Kagyu, Nyingma, and the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya draw. The Kagyu and Nyingma rely heavily on the extensive, Jonang-influenced Kalachakra commentaries of Ju Mipham and Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, both of whom took a strong interest in the tradition. The Tsarpa branch of the Sakya maintain the practice lineage for the six branch yoga of Kalachakra in the Jonang tradition.

It should be noted, however, that there were many other influences and much cross-fertilization between the different traditions, and indeed His Holiness the Dalai Lama has asserted that it is acceptable for those initiated in one Kalachakra tradition to practice in others.

[edit] Gelugpa

The Dalai Lama presiding over the Kalachakra initiation in Bodhgaya in January 2003.

The Dalai Lamas have had specific interest in the Kālachakra practice, particularly the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth, and the current (Fourteenth) Dalai Lamas. The present Dalai Lama has given thirty Kalachakra initiations all over the world, and is the most prominent Kalachakra lineage holder alive today. Billed as the “Kalachakra for World Peace,” they draw tens of thousands of people. Generally, it is unusual for tantric initiations to be given to large public assemblages, but the Kalachakra has always been an exception. The Dalai Lama, Kalu Rinpoche and others have stated that the public exposition of this tantra is necessary in the current degenerate age. The initiation may be received as a blessing for the majority of those attending, although many attendees do take the commitments and subsequently engage in the practice.

Kalachakra Initiations given by H.H. XIV Dalai Lama

• 1. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in May 1954
• 2. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in April 1956
• 3. Dharamsala, India, in March 1970
• 4. Bylakuppe, South India, in May 1971
• 5. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1974
• 6. Leh, Ladakh, India, in September 1976
• 7. Deer Park Buddhist Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, in July 1981
• 8. Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India, in April 1983
• 9. Lahaul & Spiti, India, in August 1983
• 10. Rikon, Switzerland, in July 1985
• 11. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1985
• 12. Zanskar, Ladakh, India, in July 1988
• 13. Los Angeles, USA, in July 1989
• 14. Sarnath, India, in December 1990
• 15. New York, USA, in October 1991
• 16. Kalpa, HP, India, in August 1992
• 17. Gangtok, Sikkim, India, in April 1993
• 18. Jispa, HP, India, in August 1994
• 19. Barcelona, Spain, in December 1994
• 20. Mundgod, South India, in January 1995
• 21. Ulanbaator, Mongolia, in August 1995
• 22. Tabo, HP, India, in June 1996
• 23. Sydney, Australia, in September 1996
• 24. Salugara, West Bengal, India, in December 1996.
• 25. Bloomington, Indiana, USA, in August 1999.
• 26. Key Monastery, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India, in August 2000.
• 27a. Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, in January 2002 (postponed).
• 27b. Graz, Austria, in October 2002.
• 28. Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, in January 2003.
• 29. Toronto, Canada, in April 2004.
• 30. Amaravati, Guntur, India in January 2006.

Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (1926-2006), The Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dampa Rinpoche, Ven. Jhado Rinpoche, and late Ven. Gen Lamrimpa (?-2003) are also among the prominent Kalachakra masters of the Gelug school.

[edit] Kagyu

The Kalachakra tradition practiced in the Karma and Shangpa Kagyu schools is derived from the Jonang tradition, and was largely systematized by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, who wrote the text that is now used for empowerment. The Second and The Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche (1954-1992) were also prominent Kalachakra lineage holders.

The chief Kalachakra lineage holder for the Kagyu lineage was H.E. Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1990), who gave the initiation several times in Tibet, India, Europe and North America. Upon his death, this mantle was assumed by his heart son the Ven. Bokar Rinpoche (1940 - 2004), who in turn passed it on to Ven. Khenpo Lodro Donyo Rinpoche. Bokar Monastery, of which Donyo Rinpoche is now the head, features a Kalachakra stupa and is a prominent retreat center for Kalachakra practice in the Kagyu lineage. Ven. Tenga Rinpoche is also a prominent Kagyu holder of the Kālachakra; he gave the initiation in Grabnik, Poland in August, 2005. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, while not a noted Kalachakra master, became increasingly involved later in his life with what he termed Shambhala teachings, derived from the Kalachakra tradition, in particular, the mind terma which he claimed to have received from the Kulika.

[edit] Nyingma

Among the prominent recent and contemporary Nyingma Kalachakra masters are H.H. Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1894-1959), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991), and H.H. Penor Rinpoche.

[edit] Sakya

His Holiness Sakya Trizin, the present head of the Sakya lineage, has given the Kalachakra initiation many times and is a recognized master of the practice. The Sakya master H.E. Chogye Trichen Rinpoche is one of the main holders of the Kalachakra teachings. Chogye Rinpoche is the head of the Tsharpa School, one of the three main schools of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. One of the previous Chogye Trichen Rinpoches, Khyenrab Choje (1436-97), beheld the sustained vision of the female tantric deity Vajrayogini at Drak Yewa in central Tibet, and received extensive teachings and initiations directly from her. Two forms of Vajrayogini appeared out of the face of the rocks at Drak Yewa, one red in color and the other white, and they bestowed the Kalachakra initiation on Khyenrab Choje. When asked if there was any proof of this, his attendant showed various masters the kusha grass Khyenrab Choje had brought back with him from the initiation. It was unlike any kusha grass found in this world, with rainbow lights sparkling up and down the length of the dried blades of grass. This direct lineage from Vajrayogini is the ‘shortest’, the most recent and direct, lineage of the Kalachakra empowerment and teachings that exists in this world. In addition to being known as the emanation of Manjushri, Khyenrab Choje had previously been born as many of the Rigden kings of Shambhala as well as numerous Buddhist masters of India. These are some indications of his unique relationship to the Kalachakra tradition. Chogye Trichen Rinpoche is the holder of six different Kalachakra initiations, four of which, the Bulug, Jonang, Maitri-gyatsha, and Domjung, are contained within the Gyude Kuntu, the Collection of Tantras compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and his disciple Loter Wangpo. Rinpoche has offered all six of these empowerments to H.H. Sakya Trizin, the head of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche has given the Kalachakra initiation in Tibet, Mustang, Kathmandu, Malaysia, the United States, Taiwan, and Spain, and is widely regarded as a definitive authority on Kalachakra. In 1988 he traveled to the United States, giving the initiation and complete instructions in the practice of the six-branch Vajrayoga of Kalachakra according to the Jonangpa tradition in Boston. Chogye Rinpoche has completed extensive retreat in the practice of Kalachakra, particularly of the six-branch yoga (sadangayoga) in the tradition of the Jonangpa school according to Jetsun Taranatha. In this way, Chogye Rinpoche has carried on the tradition of his predecessor Khyenrab Choje, the incarnation of the Shambhala kings who received the Kalachakra initiation from Vajrayogini herself. When Chogye Rinpoche was young, one of his teachers dreamed that Rinpoche was the son of the King of Shambhala, the pure land that upholds the tradition of Kalachakra. (See biography of Chogye Trichen Rinpoche in “Parting from the Four Attachments”, Snow Lion Publications, 2003.)