The Kalachakra: Wheel of Time

The Kalachakra, or Kālacakravajra in Sanskrit, is a high-ranking deity in the Unsurpassed Yoga Tantra of Esoteric Buddhism. This Vajra deity is typically depicted as blue, while his wisdom consort, the yellow-colored Prajna, embodies the Great Seal of Emptiness.

In their dual form, the Kalachakra deity embodies compassion. He has four faces, twenty-four arms, and red and white feet. He embraces his consort, the Prajna, who represents wisdom. She has four faces and eight arms.

The four faces and twelve arms symbolize the Buddha’s body, radiating five-colored light. The four faces are blue, yellow, white, and red, representing subduing, increasing, pacifying, and magnetizing actions, respectively, and the perfection of merit. Each face has three eyes, symbolizing complete insight. Each head is crowned with a human skull, a crescent moon, and two crossed vajras. The deity has twelve arms, with two hands on each arm, for a total of twenty-four hands. The hands are colored: four pairs are blue, four are red, and four are white. The fingers of each hand also differ in color: yellow, white, red, blue, and green from thumb to little finger. The colors change again from fingertip to palm: blue, red, and white. The meaning and function of colors in Tibetan Buddhism are fully utilized and expressed in this deity’s image. Of his 24 hands, two embrace the consort and hold a bell and vajra, representing the union of method and wisdom. The others hold various objects with religious symbolism, expressing wisdom and the power of great wrath and fearlessness. He stands with his right leg extended, stepping on a red desire god, and his left leg bent, stepping on a white demon.

His consort is yellow, with four faces and eight arms. Her faces have different colors, and she holds various objects, her legs positioned opposite to the deity.

The Buddha’s Kalachakra teachings are recorded in the Kalachakra Tantra (Paramadibuddha):

“The Buddha taught the Great Vehicle of perfect wisdom at Vulture Peak, and also taught esoteric practices in Shri Dhanyakataka.

For the bodhisattvas at Vulture Peak, the Buddha revealed the supreme Great Vehicle, the perfect system of wisdom. At that time, the Tathagata, together with the bodhisattvas and other followers, was in a large stupa, a mandala in the Dharma realm. He also resided in the abode of cosmic vajra, in the space of indistinguishable non-matter and endless light. He taught the Dharma in the beautiful Dharma realm for the merit and wisdom of sentient beings.”

The Kalachakra Tantra also mentions that King Suchandra of Shambhala, an emanation of Vajrapani Bodhisattva, entered this wondrously radiant Dharma realm. He first circumambulated the Buddha and then prostrated at his feet adorned with flowers and jewels. King Suchandra requested teachings from the Buddha and recorded and continued to teach the Buddha’s discourse.

The Kalachakra teachings come from our teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, who attained supreme enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, in the early morning of April or May of 533 BC. In the year that followed, the Buddha began to teach the Great Vehicle teachings, and at Vulture Peak, he specifically taught the main fundamental wisdom teachings of the Great Vehicle, the Paramita system.

Later, about twelve months after the Buddha’s enlightenment, around the full moon in March or April, the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle teachings at Vulture Peak; he also simultaneously appeared in the great stupa of Shri Dhanyakataka in South India to teach esoteric doctrines.

The great stupa was about 18 miles high. The Buddha radiated light, showing two mandalas, the lower Dharmadhatu Vagishvara mandala, and the bright constellation mandala above it. The Buddha was on a vajra lion seat in the center of the Dharma realm mandala (the abode of bliss), dwelling in the samadhi (meditative concentration) of the Kalachakra and standing in the form of the mandala’s deity.

The excellent listeners in the mandala included Buddhas, bodhisattvas, goddesses, heroes, dakinis, and dragon protectors. Outside the mandala was King Suchandra, an emanation of Bodhisattva Vajrapani. For unfathomable reasons, he came to Dhanyakataka from Shambhala to request the Kalachakra teachings from the Buddha. The assembly included 96 Shambhala leaders, generals, and countless bodhisattvas and deities.

In this gathering, the Buddha taught the supreme Dharma, including worldly and ultimate initiations, and predicted that everyone present would achieve Buddhahood. He then began to teach the Paramadibuddha, the Kalachakra Tantra containing 12,000 verses. King Suchandra recorded this teaching and returned to Shambhala miraculously.

In Shambhala, King Suchandra composed the 6,000-line Kalachakra Tantra and built the Kalachakra mandala with countless treasures. Before passing away, King Suchandra passed the throne to his son Sureshvara and appointed him as the teacher of the scriptures. Many great kings, such as Kalki Yashas and Kalki Pundarika, have appeared in the Kingdom of Shambhala. Their protection makes the profound Kalachakra teachings shine like the sun and moon.

The Kalachakra Tantra

The Kalachakra Tantra, also known as the Wheel of Time, is believed to have been personally transmitted by Shakyamuni Buddha to King Suchandra, the first king of Shambhala, along with the “Fundamental Kalachakra Tantra,” comprised of 12,000 verses. The Kalachakra Tantra is one of the primary esoteric practices of the Kingdom of Shambhala, and the Kalachakra teachings are inseparable from the Shambhala Kingdom.

“Kalachakra” is a symbol, the secret of the flow of time and the infinite space in the universe. This secret includes the external Kalachakra and the internal Kalachakra. It covers the sun, moon, and stars of the cosmos, the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness within the human body, and the earth, water, fire, wind, and space in the universe, as well as the secret teachings of the flow of time.

The Kalachakra is the crystallization of the wisdom of Shakyamuni Buddha, the fundamental nature of all Buddhahood in the universe. It is similar to the five elements and eight trigrams in Taoism. Perhaps the Kalachakra mantra plaque is equivalent to the Buddhist five elements and eight trigrams and the celestial stems and earthly branches! The Kalachakra teachings encapsulate the secrets of the material and spiritual realms, as well as all time and space.

Regarding the transmission of the Kalachakra Tantra, two well-known figures in the world currently hold and teach this lineage. One is the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, and the other is the late 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje of the Karma Kagyu lineage. Additionally, some high lamas of the Gelug tradition are qualified to transmit the teachings, but the most famous teacher is still the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Kalachakra is one of the primary deities and practices in Tibetan Buddhism‘s Vajrayana. The Kalachakra system has unique theoretical views and practices. The Jonang school is particularly renowned for its exclusive focus on the Kalachakra practice, through which many have achieved realization. Among the most famous achievers is Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, who mastered the Kalachakra and propagated it throughout Tibet. He also authored numerous texts on the Kalachakra teachings that are still circulated today.

The Special Function of the Kalachakra in the Degenerate Age

Those who have received the initiation and have firm faith, even without practice, are sure to become a Buddha within seven lifetimes. The Kalachakra Tantra states:

Those who hear this teaching and develop faith and frequently recite the mantra are spared from various disasters in the end times: wind, floods, fires, illnesses, wars, epidemics, contagious diseases, and incurable diseases, overcoming natural disasters.

Those who hear this teaching and receive the initiation, if they do not commit serious offenses, will surely attain a human body or be born in Shambhala. They will never fall into the three lower realms. Serious offenses can be reduced, and minor offenses can be eliminated. Even animals and insects that hear this teaching (mantra) can be liberated. We have firm faith in this.

The Kalachakra Mandala

The Kalachakra Mandala, translated from Tibetan as “Glorious Temple of Emptiness and Existence,” signifies utter perfection, encompassing emptiness and all the pure lands of the Buddhas.

All beings who encounter the Dharma hope to eliminate their various calamities and increase their blessings by practicing the Dharma and receiving the tremendous blessings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to the law of cause and effect taught by the Buddha, we must constantly cultivate good relationships and create good causes to continuously increase our blessings, benefit our families and descendants, escape the suffering of the six realms of reincarnation, and be reborn in the pure land of the Buddha.

We continuously transmigrate through the six realms of gods, humans, asuras, hungry ghosts, animals, and hells. It is rare and precious to be born as a human in this lifetime; this is due to the vast accumulation of merit in our past lives. It is a great blessing to have the good fortune to hear the Dharma. It is every practitioner’s greatest wish to be reborn in a Buddha’s pure land through practice.

The compassionate Buddha, understanding that sentient beings have different capacities, taught countless Dharma methods to satisfy their needs. Vajrayana Buddhism is considered the pinnacle of the nine vehicles because of its profound teachings, immense power, and rapid achievement. Within the unsurpassed yoga tantra of Vajrayana, the “Kalachakra Mandala” is a unique method for quickly purifying all past negative karma and increasing one’s accumulation of merit.

Besides Amitabha’s Pure Land of the Western Paradise, there are also Maitreya’s Pure Land, Manjushri‘s Pure Land on Mount Wutai, Avalokiteshvara’s Pure Land on Mount Putuo, the Rakshasa Country Pure Land, and so on. But the most important one is the Shambhala Buddha Land, where the “Kalachakra” abides.

In his later years, the Buddha led his followers and arhats to the Shambhala Drepung Temple, where, at the stupa, he transmitted esoteric teachings to King Dawa Sangpo, the first king of Shambhala, as well as to other saints and those with good roots, wisdom, and merit. The Buddha observed that the King of Shambhala possessed the necessary capacities for esoteric teachings and thus transmitted the unsurpassed secret Dharma, enabling the King to attain Buddhahood in that lifetime. All the esoteric teachings of the Shambhala Pure Land originate from the lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha. Later, King Dawa Sangpo constructed a three-dimensional Kalachakra Mandala in the Maralya Garden in southern Shambhala, following the mandala model given by the Buddha. Since then, the three-dimensional Kalachakra Mandala has been built by successive Kalki kings, starting with the first, Kalki Yashas, benefiting countless beings. Therefore, the construction of the three-dimensional Kalachakra Mandala is of great significance.

Many great achievers know that the Shambhala Pure Land preserves the most complete teachings and practices of Shakyamuni Buddha. Many important esoteric lineages, Dharma treasures, and countless hidden treasures are all entrusted to the Shambhala Pure Land. In the Tibetan region where the Kalachakra teachings flourished, many monasteries, particularly the Jonang school, known for its exclusive focus on Kalachakra practice, have records of the construction of the three-dimensional Kalachakra Mandala, due to the merit of great masters and translators. For them the Kalachakra Mandala is particularly important.

Considering the suffering of sentient beings in samsara, their ignorance, and their endless cycles through the three lower realms, the Venerable Ahwang Baimano, with his great compassion, is building the largest Kalachakra Buddha Land in Longshijia Monastery in Gande County, Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province. This will benefit countless beings and is a path of liberation through seeing. The Kalachakra Mandala is the Buddha Land where the Kalachakra Buddha and many other Buddhas and bodhisattvas reside.

The Kalachakra Mandala covers an area of over 2,000 square meters and is about four stories high. Its specific structure is as follows:

• First Floor: The center is the Kalachakra Buddha surrounded by 636 Buddhas. The surrounding walls are covered with gilded thangkas, each 2.5 meters high, of the Jonang lineage teachers.
• Second Floor: On the left and right are: the founder of the Jonang school, Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, and the fifth Buddha of this fortunate aeon, Maitreya Buddha. There are also eight bodhisattvas, including Manjushri, the bodhisattva of perfect wisdom; Vajrapani, the bodhisattva of great power and courage; Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of great compassion; Ksitigarbha, who vows not to achieve Buddhahood until hell is empty; and Akasagarbha, who saves sentient beings with great magical powers. The twenty-five kings of the Shambhala Dynasty are also present, with their names: “Miao Shan Shen Cheng, White Lotus, Jia Shan, Holy Reverence, Good Friend, Precious Hand, Pervading Collection, Sun Name, Yang Shan, Sea Victory, Difficult Victory, Sun, Various Colors, Moonlight, Limitless, Protecting the Country, Embracing Zen, Lion, Subduing, Great Power, Imperishable, Human Lion King, Great Freedom, Boundless Victory, and Armed Wheel King.” Each king is an emanation of the Buddha with great wisdom and abundant merit. Also present are the Green Tara and White Tara, emanations of Avalokiteshvara’s tears; the Medicine Buddha of the Eastern Lapis Lazuli World; the Dzambhala Wealth Buddha, who protects the wealth and fortune of sentient beings, and Vajrasattva, who quickly purifies all negative karma. The five Dhyani Buddhas, who represent the completeness of the Vajrayana, are also present: Vairochana Buddha, the central Buddha, also known as Mahavairochana; Akshobhya Buddha of the East; Ratnasambhava Buddha of the South; Amitabha Buddha of the West, who welcomes sentient beings with nine-grade lotus flowers; and Amoghasiddhi Buddha of the North, who fulfills the wishes of all sentient beings by eliminating negative karma and afflictions.
• Third Floor: The top floor is the pure land of Shakyamuni Buddha.

The entire mandala is magnificent and spectacular, with exquisite hand-carved wooden carvings and authentic Nepalese hand-gilded Buddha statues. The design is ingenious, solemn, and magnificent, and it is considered a “National Treasure of China and the Best in the World.”

The Buddha’s teachings state that those who build temples, monasteries, and Buddha statues or donate to build a mandala will accumulate immeasurable merit and quickly eliminate evil, increase blessings, and prolong life. They will not suffer from illness or disasters. They will be protected from yakshas, ghosts, poisonous snakes, and fierce tigers. The foolish will become wise, the sick will become healthy, and the distressed will become happy. Women will be reborn as men. Past heavy offenses will be reduced, and minor offenses will be forgiven. They will be protected by all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, devas, nagas, and the eight classes of beings.

Venerable Ahwang Baimano has made a grand vow that any sentient being who comes to this mandala, whether kneeling, bowing, or circumambulating it, will surely not fall into the three lower realms upon death. If any sentient being falls into the lower realms, he is willing to descend into hell.

The merit of building the Kalachakra Mandala, and especially if one can build a three-dimensional mandala the size of oneself, is beyond description. Like an immeasurable ocean that goes down from top to bottom, it can hold an immeasurable amount of water, which is composed of countless water droplets, and each water droplet is composed of countless dust particles. One can imagine how many dust particles make up the entire volume of seawater and thus how many lifetimes one could be reborn as a King of Shambhala. Therefore, the merit of benefiting countless beings is indescribable.

May all beings become disciples with the capacity for Vajrayana practice, quickly attain Buddhahood, achieve the four bodies of a Buddha in this lifetime, and become the chief disciples of the Kalki Kings.

May the merit of building the Kalachakra Mandala through the aspiration of sentient beings, by Venerable Ahwang Baimano, be dedicated to:

• All suffering beings continuously reincarnating in the three lower realms, so that all those who come to this mandala may be reborn in the three higher realms; cherish human life, hear the Dharma, practice according to the Dharma, and be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.
• All beings who reincarnate in the three higher realms, so that all who come to this mandala may gain great wisdom, cultivate fields of merit, do much good, hear the Dharma, and be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.
• All beings who died in past wars, may they quickly be liberated from the six realms, practice according to the Dharma, and be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.
• All beings in all realms who lost their lives in past disasters, may they quickly obtain human bodies, practice according to the Dharma, and be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.
• All beings of the six realms who have met me, have a karmic connection with me, including those who have seen my Dharma images, and heard my name and voice, may they practice according to the Dharma, achieve realization, and be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.
• All beings who contributed money and effort to build the Kalachakra Mandala, all beings who prayed for the smooth construction of the mandala, may all their wishes be fulfilled and may they be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss. content_copy download Use code with caution.