The Future Lord of Kalachakra: Padmasambhava
Kalachakra New Year: April 11th (Tibetan Calendar, 3rd Month, 3rd Day)
Padmasambhava will become the Lord of Kalachakra
The secret prophecy of the treasure revealer, Deden Bar, states: “I, Padmasambhava, will become a wrathful deity, with twenty-five disciples forming an army…” This is a prophecy of the future. Padmasambhava said, “I will transform into the wrathful deity, the powerful wheel king, becoming the Lord of Kalachakra. When barbarians from border regions prepare to destroy the Dharma, I will lead the Kalachakra army to India, Tibet, and other regions of Jambudvipa to subdue all those with evil views. I will then propagate the esoteric teachings, with the Kalachakra Tantra at its core.” This is clearly described in the history of the Kalachakra Tantra. Especially now, if we can establish a connection with Kalachakra and Padmasambhava’s teachings, we will all attain liberation in the future.
At that time, Mipham Rinpoche will transform into the general, Sengge Bupa, of the Kalachakra army; while the Supreme Dharma King, will become the commander, Vajra, and their disciples will become their army. However, this is not like worldly warfare, where there is a lack of compassion and the harming of beings. Instead, they will subdue the demonic forces, evil beings, and heretics with magical transformations, using compassion to liberate them and teach them accordingly. Therefore, if we can be reborn at that time, we will be very fortunate, and many highly realized masters have made aspirations for this.
In the past, when Padmasambhava was about to leave Tibet, the Tibetan king and his subjects were reluctant to see him go. Padmasambhava said, “I have no coming or going. Whoever has faith in me, I will appear before them to teach the Dharma. On the tenth day of each month, I will come to visit my disciples.” Padmasambhava personally proclaimed, “As long as you call upon me, I will swiftly bestow my blessings and never break my promise.”
Kalachakra is a high-ranking deity in the Anuttarayoga Tantra of Vajrayana Buddhism. The practice of Kalachakra is a path to attaining Buddhahood in this very lifetime.
In the Kalachakra Mula Tantra, Shakyamuni Buddha stated: “The Kalachakra Tantra is a stainless scripture of the Buddha, the essence of all eighty-four thousand teachings, the ultimate of all Prajnaparamita sutras, and the king of all Vajrayana teachings.”
The Origins of the Kalachakra Mandala
The Buddha’s Kalachakra teachings are recorded in the Kalachakra Mula Tantra (Paramadibuddha):
“The Buddha taught the Great Vehicle’s perfect wisdom teachings on Vulture Peak, and simultaneously, he also taught the esoteric teachings in the city of Shri Dhanyakataka.”
The Kalachakra teachings come from our teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. When the Buddha turned the Wheel of Dharma, teaching the Great Vehicle on Vulture Peak, he also appeared in the great stupa in Shri Dhanyakataka in South India to proclaim the esoteric teachings.
The great stupa was about 18 miles high. The Buddha emanated light within it, revealing two mandalas. The Buddha was seated on a vajra lion throne in the center of the Dharmadhatu mandala, abiding in the Samadhi of Kalachakra, and standing in the posture of the mandala deity.
This time, he taught the supreme Dharma, including both worldly and ultimate empowerments, and taught the Kalachakra Mula Tantra. King Suchandra recorded this Dharma, compiling the 6,000 verses of the Kalachakra Tantra. He also built a Kalachakra mandala with countless precious treasures.
The Appearance of Kalachakra
The form of Kalachakra is similar to that of Chakrasamvara. He has four heads, each with three eyes. The main deity is usually blue in color. The dual form of Kalachakra has four heads and twenty-four arms, with red and white legs, embracing his consort, who embodies wisdom, the empty form of great bliss, and who is yellow in color with four heads and eight arms. The colors of the main deity’s arms are different, and he holds various ritual implements, each symbolizing different meanings such as merit, wisdom, attraction, auspiciousness, and subjugation. The figures trampled underfoot symbolize the desires of ignorance and delusion. The common iconographic form is of the deity and his consort in a bow stance, with the left leg bent and the right leg extended outward, standing on a lotus seat. Most thangkas, murals, and clay sculptures of Kalachakra have a flaming halo.
Kalachakra: The King of Tantras
Master Tsongkhapa praised, “Understanding the practice of Kalachakra is to understand all tantric practices.”
The Kalachakra Tantra was introduced to Tibet around the 11th century (approximately 1027). By the 13th century, it had become one of the most important scriptures for practice in Tibetan Buddhism. In 1292, Master Kunkhyen Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen founded Jonang Monastery in the Jonang Valley of Lhatse County in Tibet. The Jonang tradition thus became the main representative of the Kalachakra teachings in Tibet.
The main scripture for practice is the Kalachakra Sutra (Sanskrit: Kālacakrasūtra), the final scripture of the tantras, representing the pinnacle of tantric doctrine. Compared to other scriptures, the Kalachakra Sutra has the most complex and authoritative explanation of the tantric worldview. It especially emphasizes the importance of practitioners meditating on time. Precisely because meditating on Kalachakra has such miraculous powers, the Kalachakra tantra has received special importance after being introduced to Tibet.
The Kalachakra tantra believes that all sentient beings are in the “deluded realm” of the past, present, and future “three times,” which is why Kalachakra symbolizes the suffering of ignorance of sentient beings in the “three times.” To escape the suffering of ignorance, one must practice the Kalachakra tantra. Practicing the Kalachakra tantra can also maintain and control the “life winds” within the body, which can prolong life. By meditating on the “Five Buddhas,” one can attain the corresponding “Five Wisdoms” and attain the state of “union,” which leads to the complete merit of “attaining Buddhahood in this very lifetime.”
The Kalachakra Mandala
The universe is a mandala, a single grain of sand is a world; the glory of this world is but a handful of sand.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a mandala generally refers to the sacred space of a Buddha, Bodhisattva, or monastic practitioner during meditation. Based on the construction method, mandalas can be divided into natural mandalas, two-dimensional drawn mandalas, and three-dimensional constructed mandalas. Sand mandalas are two-dimensional drawn mandalas (others include thangka drawn mandalas and mural mandalas). Natural mandalas generally refer to Mount Kailash, and three-dimensional constructed mandalas include monasteries and ancient cities.
Sand mandalas are exquisite artworks created by Tibetan monks. Among the numerous mandalas in Tibetan Buddhism, the Kalachakra mandala is the most complex and exquisite. The creation of a Kalachakra sand mandala is also a “highlight” of the Kalachakra initiation ceremony.
The sand mandala is a two-dimensional and microcosmic representation of the Buddha’s world and an ideal land, and its religious significance is profound and extensive. As a major Tibetan Buddhist ceremony, it was traditionally open only to disciples receiving empowerment. In recent years, it has been selectively opened to the public. The mandala has great power. Scriptures record that those who have seen a sand mandala in person must have accumulated profound merit in past lives.
Most mandalas are made by hand-scattering colorful sand, rock powder, or grains— impermanent materials. These sand grains are all mined from natural minerals.
The creation of a mandala is an arduous process. Every step must be performed in accordance with the mind teachings of the Buddha. The process involves necessary purification rituals and recitations of scriptures. Steps to prepare materials, sketch, and follow ritual recitations transform the site into a gathering of the Mandala. A spiritual home, a cycle of rebirth, a mandala where one practices with purity and devotion bestowing all wisdom, auspiciousness, and completion until layer upon layer of sand manifest — a small thousand world, a middle thousand world, a great thousand world…
However, this exquisite work of art is swept away by the monks after the ceremony, and the magnificent mandala instantly transforms back into a handful of sand.
The sand is collected and divided into two halves. One half is given to the participating believers, and the other half is scattered into a nearby river, allowing the flowing water to carry the blessings to the ocean and spread them throughout the world.
How Mysterious is the Kalachakra?
It can be said that all the informational factors of heaven, earth, and humanity are completely and scientifically expressed and demonstrated in the three aspects of time within the Kalachakra mandala. The Kalachakra mandala is also the concentrated essence of Eastern and Western cultures. For example, Western astrology, as well as Eastern Yin-Yang theory, the Eight Trigrams, the Thirty-Two Trigrams, the Sixty-Four Trigrams, etc., can all be found within the symmetry and precise deductions of the Kalachakra mandala. We can view the Kalachakra mandala as a root source of information, where all Eastern and Western cultures can trace their origins. The mandala also has a function of subduing disasters.
Additionally, the mandala uses the language of architectural art to present the meaning and value of life. This encompasses many contents, including celestial bodies, the body’s energy channels, and the path and methods of purifying them.
The astronomical calculations, Tibetan medicine, and the Six Yogas of the Jonang school that are derived from the Kalachakra teachings cover profound philosophical and natural scientific contents.
Each palace within the mandala has specific dimensions. Each Buddha image corresponds to celestial bodies and constellations, and also correlates with certain energy channels and joints in the human body. The data and stars involved are not imaginary; they are real. The astronomical calculations also correspond to these and are almost synchronized with modern technology.
It is through this form that the meaning of cosmic life is conveyed.
Buddhism speaks of enlightenment, of seeing one’s own nature; aesthetic appreciation is also related to this.
When we behold, appreciate, and pay homage to the mandala, we are engaging in an intimate encounter with wisdom. From this perspective, the mandala can awaken our capacity for understanding, open our wisdom, and allow us to see our true nature.
The Buddha taught that everyone possesses Buddha nature, with such functions, power, and potential. If we can awaken it, our lives will be fulfilled.
Everyone who sees the mandala is very fortunate.
English 
简体中文