|
|
 |
 |
|
Geschichte (only available in English)
The Buddha was born in India. Until his 28th year he was the son of
a king. At the age of 29 he
renounced the worldly life, became ordained, and for six years underwent
a lot of hardships. When 35
he attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya, and following his attainment
he went to Varanasi and turned
for the first time the wheel of Dharma. When the Buddha was 36 years
old, he was teaching the
Perfection of Wisdom at Vulture Peak. At the same time he manifested
in the south of India, at the
stupa of Dhanyakataka, and originally taught the Kalachakra. The teachings
were requested by the
king Suchandra of Shambhala. Also present were 96 minor kings and
emissaries from Shambhala. They
requested the Buddha to please turn the wheel of Kalachakra and to
give an explanation. This marks
the beginningof the Kalachakra tradition.
Also read the teaching of Kirti Tsenshab
Rinpoche about Kalachakra >>
|
|
|
When giving the initiation at the stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha
manifested 11 additional mandalas on top of the completely perfected
mandala of body, speech and mind of Kalachakra. These three Kalachakra
mandalas formed the basis and above it were, in sequence, the mandala of
Guhyasamaja, of Heruka Chakrasamvara, and other deities. All together
these formed 14 mandalas.
The Buddha mainly taught the Kalachakra tantra to the king of Shambhala,
Suchandra, and to 96 minor kings of Shambhala. Suchandra is considered to
be an emanation of Vajrapani, and a Bodhisattva on the 10th ground,
whereas the minor kings are regarded as emanations of Avalokiteshvara
and Manjushri.
They all received the initiation; in addition the king Suchandra obtained the
Kalachakra root tantra which he took to Shambhala. At that time nothing
remained in India since everything was taken to Shambhala.
|
After receiving the Kalachakra initiation, the king Suchandra returned to Shambhala where the teachings
remained for many years. At that time the king composed the extensive commentary to the root text,
passed the lineage on to his heir and build a palace for Kalachakra. The construction took him three
years, after which he passed away. The tradition was kept alive by the six Dharma-kings. After
Suchandra, each one of them held the throne for one hundred years, accordingly for 600 years.
After 600 years of the Dharma kings followed the Lineage Holders, so called Kalkins. The first Kalkin was
Manju Yashas . During his reign he gave many teachings to countless people. Since the root tantra and
the commentary were so vast and difficult to grasp, his students requested him to write a shorter version.
The summary he wrote came to be known as The Abbreviated Kalachakra Tantra. From the Kalachakra
Root Tantra only sections were brought from Shambhala to India and Tibet. Only The Abbreviated
Kalachakra Tantra has been passed in its complete form from Shambhala to India and then to Tibet,
and it is this condensed version that is included in the Tibetan Kangyur.
|
 |
Manju Yashas was the first of the 25 lineage holders of the Kalachakra
in Shambhala. His heir and son Pundarika subsequently wrote his vast
commentary on the Abbreviated Kalachakra Tantra, named The
Great Commentary: A Stainless Light. This text is included in the
Tibetan Tengyur. Manju Yashas is considered to be an emanation of
Manjushri, and Pundarika is considered to be an emanation of
Avalokiteshvara; that Manju Yashas is an emanation of Manjushri,
and Pundarika an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, has already been
|
mentioned in the Kalachakra Root Tantra itself. In this tantra the Buddha stated that, after six hundred
years of his passing, an emanation of Manjushri would write an abbreviated Kalachakra tantra as well as
an emanation of Avalokiteshvara would write a great commentary. To do so will be acceptable and these
texts will be authoritative. This is prophesized in the Kalachakra root tantra itself.
In this way Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara have summarized both the root tantra as well as the
commentary. In Tibet, we consider the Panchen Lama to be an emanation of Manjushri, while the Dalai
Lama is the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Either one of them often give the Kalachakra initiation -
also to each other - and this is, above all, because both have a strong connection with Shambhala and
with Kalachakra.
Some people might have heard that the Panchen Lama is the emanation of Amitabha [and wonder how
he also can be an emanation of Manjushri]. There are the five Buddha families, and Manjushri belongs
to one of these families. In the case of Avalokiteshvara and Amitabha, they belong to the same lotus
family. There is no contradiction in that. The Panchen Lama is also considered to be an emanation of
Atisha, as well as of Guru Rinpoche. Atisha's student was Dromdönpa, whose reincarnation is thought to
be the Dalai Lama. They have kept the teacher-pupil relation. Guru Rinpoche is a manifestation of the
three kayas: he is the Dharmakaya of Samatabhadra, the Sambhogakaya of Amitabha, and the
Nirmanakaya of Padmasambhava .
In the root tantra, the Buddha prophesized that after 600 years there
would be a summary to the root
tantra and a commentary to the abbreviated root tantra.
|
|
