Kalachakra
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Kalachakra is a term used in tantric Buddhism that means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles". The Kalachakra tradition, which is described in the Kalacakra Tantra, revolves around the concept of time and cycles: from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of our breath and the practice of controlling the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment. The Kalachakra deity represents a Buddha and thus omniscience. Everything is under the influence of time, he is time and therefore knows all. Similarly, the wheel is beginningless and endless.
Very often, the phrase "as it is outside, so it is within the body" can be found in the Kalachakratantra to emphasize similarities between ourselves and the cosmos; the basis for astrology, but also for even more profound connections and interdependence as taught in the Kalachakra literature.
The Kalachakra tradition (like all Buddist tantric systems) originates in India, but with the disappearance of Buddhism from India around the 13th century, the tradition continued in Tibet.
In Tibet, the Kalachakra astrological system is one of the main building blocks to compose Tibetan astrological calendars. The astrology in the Kalachakra is not unlike the Western system, where for example, complicated calculations are required to determine e.g. the exact location of the planets.
Among the four main Tibetan schools of Buddhism, the Kalachakra practice appears most prominent in the Gelug tradition, although the practice is found in all four schools. The Dalai Lamas have had specific interest in the Kalachakra practice, specifically the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth, and the current Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
The Kalachakra Tantra has occasionally been the center of controversy because it contains passages which are seen as demonizing the Abrahamic religions. Further, it contains the prophecy of a future holy war between Buddhists and so-called "barbarians", which is sometimes interpreted as encouraging inter-religious conflict. However, the history of Buddhism as most peaceful of the major world-religions clearly shows that this interpretation is probably caused by a much too literal reading of a very complicated text. Rather, the description of a sort of "holy war" refers to the inner battle which is to be fought by every religious practitioner against one's inner demonic and barbarian tendencies.
External links
- International Kalachakra Network (http://kalachakranet.org)
- The Archives of Alexander Berzin (http://www.berzinarchives.com/kalachakra)de:Kalachakra