The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Vajrayana - Victory Banner

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are one of the most common, yet very popular in the Vajrayana Buddhism or  Tibetan Buddhism and culture for over thousands of years.

Eight Auspicious Symbols in the Sanskrit word is  "Ashtamangala". In the Tibetan language is known as "Tashee-tag-gyay" The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism is a genre of Buddhist symbolism. The symbols derive from Indian iconography and have become especially popular in Tibetan Buddhism. 

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are traditionally offered to Lama, teachers during long life ceremonies and are used in various forms of ritual art. It is believed that each of the Tibetan symbols represents one aspect of the Buddha’s teachings and when appearing all together their powers are multiplied. 

In this fascinating study,the Eight Auspicious Symbols are as follows:-

1. Right-Coiled White Conch Shell

2. Precious Parasol 

3. Victory Banner 

4. Golden Fishes 

5. Dharma Wheel 

6. Endless Knot 

7. Lotus Flower 

8. Treasure Vase

These eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the Gods, and Brahma to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he attained enlightenment. 

What do the eight symbols of Buddhism mean?

In Buddhism, these eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he gained enlightenment.

3. Victory Banner 

"Gyel-tsen" in the Tibetan word. The victory banner stands for the complete victory of the Buddhist doctrine over all harmful and pernicious forces, death, ignorance, and all the negativities of this world. The roofs of Tibetan monasteries are often decorated with victory banners of different shapes and sizes.

The victory banner symbolises the victory of one's own and others bodies, speech, and mind over obstacles and negativity. It also stands for the complete victory of the Buddhist Doctrine over all harmful and pernicious forces.

What is the victory banner's auspicious symbol?

In Tibetan Buddhism, the victory banner, also an auspicious symbol, symbolises eleven methods for overcoming some defilements. They are the development of knowledge, wisdom, compassion, meditation, and ethical vows. Also, taking refuge in the Buddha, abandoning false views, and generating spiritual aspiration.

What is the victory banner in Tibetan?

Kundadhvaja; (Tibetan: rgyal mtshan) represents "victory over all disagreement, disharmony, or obstacles, and the attainment of happiness, both temporary and ultimate."

In Sanskrit, the banner or sign of victory is known as the Dhvaja, meaning standard, flag, or sign.

Originally, the victory banner was a military standard carried in ancient Indian warfare and bore the specific insignia of its champion.

The victory banner was adopted by early Buddhism as an emblem of the Buddha's enlightenment, heralding the triumph of knowledge over ignorance. It is said to have been placed on the summit of Mt. Meru by Buddha himself, symbolizing his victory over the entire universe. Again, Mount Meru is believed to be the central axis supporting the world.

The flag of victory also denotes Buddha's triumph over Mara, who personifies hindrances on the path to spiritual realisation. Specifically, there are said to be four types of Maras, each representing an individual hurdle on the path to spiritual progress. These are:

1. The Mara of Emotional Defilement
2. Mara of Passion
3. Mara of the Fear of Death
4. Mara of Pride and Lust

It was only after conquering these four negative traits that Buddha could proclaim victory over ignorance and achieve nirvana.

Cylindrical victory banners made of beaten copper are traditionally placed at the four corners of monastery and temple roofs. These signify the Buddha's victorious Dharma radiating to the four directions and also his triumph over the four Maras mentioned above. 

As a symbol of the Buddha's victory over the four maras, the early Buddhists adopted Kamadeva's emblem of the crocodile-headed makaradhvaja, and four of these banners were erected in the cardinal directions surrounding the enlightenment stupa of the Tathagata, or Buddha. Similarly, the gods elected to place a banner of victory on the summit of Mt. Meru to honour the Buddha as the "Conqueror" (Sankrit. jina) who vanquished the armies of Mara.

Within the Tibetan tradition,a list of eleven different forms of the victory banner is given to represent eleven specific methods for overcoming defilements. Many variations of the banner's design can be seen on monastery and temple roofs, where four banners are commonly placed at the roof's corners to symbolise the Buddha's victory over the four maras.

As a hand-held ensign, the victory banner is an attribute of many deities, particularly those associated with wealth and power, such as Vaishravana, the Great Guardian King of the North, Jambhala, Kubera, and many others.

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Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

 

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

 

The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Vajrayana - Precious Parasol

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are one of the most common, yet very popular in the Vajrayana Buddhism or  Tibetan Buddhism and culture for over thousands of years.

Eight Auspicious Symbols in the Sanskrit word is  "Ashtamangala". In the Tibetan language is known as "Tashee-tag-gyay" The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism is a genre of Buddhist symbolism. The symbols derive from Indian iconography and have become especially popular in Tibetan Buddhism. 

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are traditionally offered to Lama, teachers during long life ceremonies and are used in various forms of ritual art. It is believed that each of the Tibetan symbols represents one aspect of the Buddha’s teachings and when appearing all together their powers are multiplied. 

In this fascinating study,the Eight Auspicious Symbols are as follows:-

1. Right-Coiled White Conch Shell

2. Precious Parasol 

3. Victory Banner 

4. Golden Fishes 

5. Dharma Wheel 

6. Endless Knot 

7. Lotus Flower 

8. Treasure Vase

These eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the Gods, and Brahma to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he attained enlightenment. 

What do the eight symbols of Buddhism mean?

In Buddhism, these eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he gained enlightenment.

2. Precious Parasol 

According to mainstream Buddhism, the symbolic meaning of the Umbrella or Parasol is protection from illness, obstacles, harmful energies, and suffering experienced in the three lower realms of existence.

"Rin-chen-duke" in the Tibetan word Its depiction by the parasol denotes royalty and spiritual power and is symbolised as the shadow of protection. The coolness of the shade cast by the umbrella symbolises the wholesome activity of protecting and preserving beings from the heat of spiritually harmful forces, suffering, obstacles, and so forth in this life.

What does the parasol symbolise?

The parasol, being held aloft, represents honour and respect It is a symbol of high status. The parasol is normally depicted as a standard umbrella with a single, vertical handle. It is often ornamented with jewels and fabrics.

The Parasol also symbolises all kinds of temporary and enduring suffering in the three lower realms and the realms of men and gods in future lives. It also represents the enjoyment of a feast of benefits under its cool shade.

The Precious Parasol saves us from all this life’s obstacles—such as sicknesses, contagious diseases, spirit possessions, interferers, and so forth—and also from the next life’s obstacles—the sufferings of the three evil-gone-ones, of the devas, of human beings, and so forth. It saves us completely from being tormented by the heat of both temporary and long-term suffering. It has the dependent arising of giving the extended joy of a cooling shadow of peace and happiness.

What is the Buddhist protection parasol?

The Chatra, also known as the Precious Parasol or Sacred Umbrella,is a symbol of kingship, protection, and the Noble Eight-fold Path in Buddhism and Hinduism. One of the Eight Auspicious Signs, the Chatra is often depicted above the heads of important deities and is considered a symbol of spiritual protection.

What is the precious parasol in Buddhism?

The precious umbrella symbolises the wholesome activity of preserving beings from illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth in this life and all kinds of temporary and enduring sufferings of the three lower realms, and the realms of men and gods in future lives.

The Parasol (umbrella): This was a traditional Indian symbol of protection and royalty. The parasol denoted wealth and status; the more carried in a person's entourage, the more influential the person was; 13 parasols defined the status of king.

This concept was adopted by Indian Buddhists, who saw the Buddha as the universal monarch and 13 stacked parasols as the conical spire of the Buddha, or Tathagata stupa. In Buddhist mythology, a jewelled umbrella is said to have been given to the Buddha by the king of the Nagas (dragons)

Symbolically, the protection provided by the parasol is from the heat of suffering, desire, obstacles, illness, and harmful forces.

A typical Tibetan parasol consists of a thin round wooden frame with 8, 16, or 32 thin arched wooden spokes. Through its centre passes a long wooden axle-pole embellished at its top with a metal lotus, vase, and jewel filial. Over the domed frame is stretched white, yellow, or multicoloured silk, and from the circular frame hangs a folded or pleated silk skirt with 8 or 16 hanging silk pendants attached. The parasol dome represents wisdom, and the hanging skirt represents compassion.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

 

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

 

The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Vajrayana - Right Coiled White Conch Shell

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are one of the most common, yet very popular in the Tibetan Buddhism and culture for over thousands of years.

Eight Auspicious Symbols in the Sanskrit word is  "Ashtamangala". In the Tibetan language is known as "Tashee-tag-gyay" The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism is a genre of Buddhist symbolism. The symbols derive from Indian iconography and have become especially popular in Tibetan Buddhism. 

The Eight Auspicious Symbols are traditionally offered to Lama, teachers during long life ceremonies and are used in various forms of ritual art. It is believed that each of the Tibetan symbols represents one aspect of the Buddha’s teachings and when appearing all together their powers are multiplied. 

In this fascinating study,the Eight Auspicious Symbols are as follows:-

1. Right-Coiled White Conch Shell

2. Precious Parasol 

3. Victory Banner 

4. Golden Fishes 

5. Dharma Wheel 

6. Endless Knot 

7. Lotus Flower 

8. Treasure Vase

These eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the Gods, and Brahma to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he attained enlightenment. 

What do the eight symbols of Buddhism mean?

In Buddhism, these eight symbols of good fortune represent the offerings made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he gained enlightenment.

1. The Right Coiled White Conch Shell

"Doong-kahr-yay-kyeel" in the Tibetan word, which represents the heavenly sound of the Buddhadharma Its beautiful sound is far-reaching and melodious; upon hearing it, it will awaken beings from ignorance. 

The white conch shells, which spiral to the right in a clockwise direction, are a rarity and are considered especially sacred. The right-spiralling movement of such a conch is believed to echo the celestial motion of the sun, moon, planets, and stars across the heavens. Today, the conch is used to call together religious assemblies. During the actual practise of rituals, it is used both as a musical instrument and as a container for holy water.

The Right White Conch Shell is a dependent arising announcing the sweet melody of the profound and extensive Dharma that fits the elements, level of mind, and wishes of sentient beings who are the objects to be subdued. It awakens transmigratory beings from the ignorant sleep of unknowing and persuades them to accomplish works for the benefit and happiness of themselves and others.

 

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

 

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

 

Kalachakra - Adi Buddha

 

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Adi-Buddha is the "First Buddha" or the "Primordial Buddha. Another common term for this figure is Dharmakaya Buddha.

Vajradhara, the main Adibuddha, depicted in the Sarma schools.

The term emerges in tantric Buddhist literature, most prominently in the Kalachakra. Adi" means "first", such that the Adibuddha was the first to attain Buddhahood. Adi" can also mean "primordial", not referring to a person but to an innate wisdom that is present in all sentient beings.

In Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, the term Adibuddha is often used to describe the Buddha Samantabhadra (in Nyingma), Vajradhara, or Kalachakra (in the Sarma schools). 

In the Nyingma (ancient) School

A painting depicting Samantabhadra in union with his consort, Samantabhadri.

In the Nyingma School, the Adi-Buddha is called Samantabhadra in Sanskrit, In Tibetan it is called Kuntu Zangpo. In the Nyingma tradition,  art often depicts Kuntu Zangpo as a naked blue Buddha. According to Dzogchen Ponlop:

The color blue symbolizes the expansive, unchanging quality of space, which is the ground of all arisings, the basis of all appearances, and the source of all phenomena. The absence of robes symbolizes a genuine reality beyond any dualistic, conceptual, or philosophical clothing. That is the dharmakaya Buddha: the genuine body of absolute truth. 

 In the Nyingma school's Dzogchen tradition, Samantabhadra ("All-Good") is not a God but "our timeless Pure Perfect Presence beyond cause and effect."  In Nyingma, Samantabhadra is also considered to be the source of all Dzogchen teachings.

Adi Buddha - Vajradhara

The Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra calls Samantabhadra the "All-Creating King" (Tibetan: Kunjed Gyalpo), because all phenomena are said to be manifestations or displays of Samantabhadra. According to Namkhai Norbu (A Tibetan Buddhist master of Dzogchen), this does not mean there is some being called Samantabhadra that creates the universe; instead, what it refers to is that all things arise from "the state of consciousness of Samantabhadra, the state of Dharmakaya." In this sense, Samantabhadra is seen as a symbolic personification of the ground or basis in Dzogchen thought.

Namkhai Norbu explains that the Dzogchen idea of the Adi-Buddha Samantabhadra "should be mainly understood as a metaphor to enable us to discover our real condition." He further adds that:

If we deem Samantabhadra an individual being, we are far from the true meaning. In reality, he denotes our potentiality, which, even though at the present moment we are in samsara, has never been conditioned by dualism. From the beginning, the state of the individual has been pure and always remains pure; this is what Samantabhadra represents. But when we fall into conditioning, it is as if we are no longer Samantabhadra because we are ignorant of our true nature. So what is called the primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, is only a metaphor for our true condition.

In the Longchenpa's Treasure Trove of Scriptures, explains that Samantabhadra—one of the most common Dzogchen names for the state of original buddhahood—is nothing other than the primordial, innate awareness that is naturally free, even before any notions of "buddhas" or "sentient beings" have emerged.

In Dzogchen thought, there are said to be five aspects of Samantabhadra. Longchenpa explains these as follows:

• Samantabhadra as teacher: "Means that all Buddhas, while residing in the forms of the Sambhogakaya and the Dharmakaya in Akaniṣṭha, promote the welfare of all sentient beings through sending forth countless emanations to all the distinct realms of those to be guided.
• Samantabhadra as ground: "Is the Dharmata of all phenomena — suchness. This is also called "Samantabhadra as nature". 
  
• Samantabhadra as adornment: "The appearance of all phenomena, which are self-arising as the play of the bearers of the nature of phenomena, This consists of all that is completely pure, in that its nature is illusory.
• Samantabhadra as awareness: "self-arising wisdom, the sugata heart," i.e., the Buddha-nature described in the Uttaratantra.
• Samantabhadra as realisation: "The fundamental, basic nature. Through realising it well, the eyes of freedom are found. This is also called "Samantabhadra as the Path."

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Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?  

 We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in the year 2008, we had been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years.  We have exceptionally constrained supports and do not receive subsidized or funding from people in general. 

Please help us and to develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you, but to all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us to enhance our work and to accomplish for a better and brighter prospect to come. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and or studios.

Picture(s) is/are intended for editorial use only.

Kalachakra - The Manifestations of Cyclic Existence and Nirvana

 

What is meant by Kalachakra?

The word Kalachakra means cycles of time, and the Kalachakra system presents three such cycles: external, internal, and alternative. The external and internal cycles deal with time as we normally know it, while the alternative cycles are practises for gaining liberation from these two.

Kalachakra is one of the many Tantric teachings and esoteric practises in Tibetan Buddhism. The tradition's roots are in India, but its most active history and presence have been in the monasteries of Tibet. The tradition is a form of nondualism, and it is believed that the Kalachakra was taught by the Buddha himself.

What is the Kalachakra practice?

It depicts a mythic reality whereby cosmic and socio-historical events correspond to processes in the bodies of individuals. These teachings are meant to lead to a transformation of one's body and mind into perfect Buddhahood through various yogic methods.

What is Kalachakra meditation?

In the practice of Kalachakra , and any other anuttarayoga tantra , there is a special way of meditating on voidness ( emptiness ) in which we meditate not just on the actual meaning of voidness , but also try to simulate doing this with a clear, light mind .

What are the stages of the Kalachakra Tantra? 

Like all Anuttara Tantras, the Kalachakra practise is divided into two stages: 

1. A generation stage where the primary concern is with the visualisation of oneself as a deity within the context of a mandala.
2. A completion stage where the primary concern is with the purification of one’s winds and drops within the central channel, a process that culminates in the attainment of Buddhahood.

Time and cycles

The Kalacakratantra revolves around the concepts of time (kala) and cycles or wheels (chakra). Conventionally speaking, this refers to the cycles of the planets, the cycles of human breathing, and the subtle energies in the body. 

Regarding the outer or external aspect of conventional reality, the wheel of time refers to the passage of days, months, and years (as well as the cycles of the zodiac), while with regard to the individual or inner aspect, it refers to "the circulation of pranas [vital airs] within the wheel of the nadis [subtle channels] in the body," which is linked with the 12 aspects of dependent origination and the 12 signs of the zodiac. These different cycles are interconnected and correspond to each other.

In the first chapter, it is stated that the world emerges from emptiness and the force of time, which is a kind of power that originates the universe.

Because of time (kalat), from the voids (sunyesu), originate wind, fire, water, and the earth; the continents, mountains, and oceans; the constellations, the sun, the moon, the host of star-planets, and the sages; gods, bhutas, and nagas; animals that have four types of birthplace; humans and hell beings also, on the manifold earth and below; originate in the middle of the void (sunyamadhye), like salt in water, and the egg-born in the middle of an egg.

The nonduality of two facets of a single reality—namely, wisdom (prajña), or emptiness (sunyata), and method (upaya), or compassion (karuna). The word "time" refers to the gnosis of imperishable bliss (aksara-sukha-jñana), which is called a method consisting of compassion, and the word "wheel" designates wisdom consisting of emptiness. Their unity is the Buddha Kalacakra

Thus, Kalacakra refers to the manifestations of cyclic existence and nirvana, as well as their causes. Kalacakra therefore represents a single unified reality (also called Adibuddha, Sahajakaya, Jnanakaya, Sahajananda, and Vajrayoga). When this reality manifests itself as numerous phenomena, it is called samsara. 

Adibuddha

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Adi-Buddha is the "First Buddha" or the "Primordial Buddha". Another common term for this figure is Dharmakaya Buddha. 

Adibuddha : The original Buddha, eternal with no beginning and no end.

Adi Buddha (the primaeval Buddha) The original Buddha Buddhist. The primordial force in the cosmos from whom the five Dhyani Buddhas arose. The embodiment of the concept of emptiness. He is considered by some authorities to be identical with Vaharaja and Vajrasattva. His image, sitting on a lotus leaf, is often carried by other Buddhist deities.

However, the Kalacakratantra is clear that Kalacakra is itself empty of inherent existence (i.e., essence) and is not an independent phenomenon but one that is dependent on conditions (a classic Madhyamaka position). 

The cosmic body and the body of the individual are made up of various cycles of dependent origination. Furthermore, "each cycle of dependent origination, which comprises progressively smaller cycles of dependent origination, arises in dependence upon other cycles of dependent origination and is therefore itself empty of inherent existence."

The Kalacakratantra summarises its fundamental doctrines in the following passage:

Identitylessness, the maturation of karma, the three realms, the six states of existence, the origination due to the twelve-limbed dependence, the Four Truths, the eighteen unique qualities of the Buddha, the five psycho-physical aggregates, the three bodies, the Sahajakaya, and animate emptiness. The system in which these are taught is the clear and definite instruction of the Vajri.    

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Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?  

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in the year 2008, we had been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years.  We have exceptionally constrained supports and do not receive subsidized or funding from people in general. 

Please help us and to develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you, but to all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us to enhance our work and to accomplish for a better and brighter prospect to come. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and or studios.

Picture(s) is/are intended for editorial use only.

Kalachakra Tantra And Cosmology

The Kalacakra Tantra is divided into five chapters. The content of the five chapters is as follows:

• The first chapter deals with what is called the "outer Kalacakra" (the world system, loka-dhatu), which provides a cosmology based on Vaibhasika Abhidharma, Samkhya, the Puranas and Jain cosmology. The Kalacakra calendar, the birth and death of universes, our solar system and the workings of the elements are expounded. The myth and prophecy of the kingdom of Shambhala is also discussed.
• The second chapter deals with "inner Kalacakra," which concerns human gestation and birth, the functions within the human body, and the subtle body aspects, mainly the channels, winds, drops and so forth. Human experience is described by four mind states: waking, dream, deep sleep, and a fourth state which is available through the energies of sexual orgasm. The potentials (drops, bindus) which give rise to these states are described, together with the processes that flow from them.
• The third chapter deals with the requirements and preparation for meditation, mainly, the initiations (abhiseka) of Kalacakra.
• The fourth chapter explains the Sadhana and yoga (spiritual practices), both the meditation on the mandala and its deities in the generation stage, and the perfection stage practices of the "six yogas".
• The fifth chapter describes the state of gnosis (jnana), which is the result or fruit of the practice.

The Kalachakra is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "Kālacakra" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practise lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.

What is the significance of Kalachakra?

This is a sacred event where key Buddhist teachings are passed on to devotees. The word Kalachakra actually means "wheel of time" in Vajrayana Buddhism. Kalacakra also refers both to a patron tantric deity or yidam in Vajrayana and to the philosophies and yogas of the Kalacakra tradition. 

It depicts a mythic reality whereby cosmic and socio-historical events correspond to processes in the bodies of individuals. These teachings are meant to lead to a transformation of one's body and mind into perfect Buddhahood through various yogic methods.

Who teaches Kalachakra?

The Kalachakra Path is fully integrated with the foundational practices of the sutra tradition of Buddhism as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, but in order to practice Kalachakra, it is necessary to be formally invited, which is the primary purpose of taking an initiation. As is evident, receiving an invitation to this great path is based on causes and conditions of both the receiver and the giver – simply attending the ceremony does not guarantee that one will receive true initiation. 

So too, the ceremony may form a connection to the path yet it is not the path. One can liken Kalachakra initiation to receiving a seed for practice however it is the practitioner that plants, nurtures and cultivates the seed.

Cosmology

The Kalacakra Mandala depicts the teachings of the tantra in visual and symbolic form.

In the Kālacakratantra's cosmology, samsara (cyclic existence) is made up of innumerable Buddha fields and of the five elements or properties (characterised by origination, duration, and destruction). 

The whole cosmos arises due to the collective karma of sentient beings, which produces vital winds (vayu) that mold and dissolve the atomic particles that make up the various inanimate things of the world and the bodies of sentient beings.

A key element of the Kalacakratantra is the correspondence between macrocosmic processes and microcosmic processes. The Kalacakratantra maps the various features and developmental processes of the world system to the various features of the human body. 

The phrase "as it is outside, so it is within the body" (yatha bahye tatha dehe) is often found in the Kalacakratantra to emphasise the similarities and correspondence between human beings (inner Kalacakra) and the cosmos (outer Kalacakra), as well as with the enlightened Kalacakra mandala of deities (alternative Kalacakra).

This correspondence comes about because both the cosmos and the bodies of sentient beings come into existence due to the efficacy of the habitual propensities of their minds. In this sense, the cosmos is like a cosmic replica of a sentient being's body. Thus, one can say that the cosmos and the individual are nondual and mutually pervasive, even in terms of their conventional existence. They are interconnected, and they influence each other. 

In terms of ultimate reality, the cosmos and the individual are also of the same nature, the nature of gnosis (jnana), which manifests in the form of emptiness (sunyata-bimba). Those who are free of the afflictive and cognitive obscurations nondually perceive the world as the form of emptiness in a nondual manner; that is, they perceive the world as an inseparable unity of form and emptiness. 

On the other hand, ordinary sentient beings, whose perception is influenced by afflictive and cognitive obscurations, see the world in a dual fashion, as something other than themselves. They see the world as an ordinary place inhabited by ordinary sentient beings. But in reality, the entire cosmos, with Mount Meru in its center, is a cosmic body of the Jina, a cosmic image or reflection (pratima) of the Buddha, having the nature of form. 

As such, it is similar to the Nirmanakaya of the Buddha. Therefore, according to this tantric system, one should attend to this cosmic image of the Buddha as one attends to the statue of the Buddha, created for the sake of worship.

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Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

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