Lama Gangchen Rinpoche

Kalachakra Transmission and Teachings

The Tantra of Kalachakra was taught by Buddha Shakyamuni approximately 2500 years ago as his last great teaching. It was requested by Suchandra, King of Shambala (whose reign is believed to be situated near Lake Baikal in Mongolia), who was searching for a healing method able to bestow enlightenment on him and his court and to create an ideal pacific society.

Buddha revealed the 772 divinities of Kalachakra and the 5 relative mandalas in a place called Sri Danyakota, in the south of India. Although there are differing opinions on the exact location, many practicing Buddhist identify it with Borobudur and its extraordinary stupa-mandala, on the island of Java in Indonesia, because the words Danyakota and Java both mean "mountain of rice". Additionally, some of the first Gurus from the Kalachakra linage were from Java and in the eleventh century, Atisha, the founder of the Kadampa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism (from which came the Galupa and hence the lineage of Ngalso Tantric Self-healing) lived and received many important teachings in Indonesia for twelve years.

The Tantra of Kalachakra, or the Tantra of the Wheel of Time, is one of the most famous and important practices of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. It’s a practice that offers the key to understanding and harmonizing the body and mind’s energies with that of the universe, using them to develop inner peace, world peace, healing and illumination. There are different practices of Kalachakra in relation to the Outer, Inner and Alternative Kalachakra.

Outer Kalachakra (Chyi Du Kyi Korlo) – deals with the structure of the universe, the external elements, the planets, the stars and the zodiac in cosmological terms, astronomy and astrology. It helps us understand the world in which we live.

Inner Kalachakra (Nang Du Kyi Korlo) – deals with the structure of our internal universe, our elements, our winds and energy drops and their movement through the body and the gross, subtle and extremely subtle mind, our channels and our chakras, or our inner zodiac. It is based on the theory of Tibetan medicine and helps obtain health and well-being.

Other Kalachakra (Shen Du Kyi Korlo) – it is the path that leads to harmonising and purifying the inner and outer worlds with the Generation Phase and the Completion Phase of special Tantric Yoga. It helps us obtain enlightenment, realise inner peace and world peace and transform our ordinary lives in transcending ones, in pure energetic bodies of light.

Since the times of Atisha, il Kalachakra has been practiced by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. More recently, the Alternative Kalachakra is associated with the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama; the Inner Kalachakra with Tibetan medicine; the Outer Kalachakra with the astrologists Tsurpu and Phugpa.