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Of the hundreds of Buddhist tantras, the Kalachakra is one of the most important. In Tibet-where these esoteric teachings have been practised purely for a thousand years-and now in the West, this tantra has come to be especially associated with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, one of the greatest Buddhist teachers alive today.
The Dalai Lama has given the initiation into the practice of Kalachakra a number of times, and this book is based on the first that he gave in the West, in Madison, USA in 1981. It presents the series of initiations that authorize practice of the first of the two stages involved in tantra-the stage of generation, in which the practitioners visualize themselves as an ideal being, a Buddha. The initiation ritual is translated and interspersed with commentary from the Dalai Lama.
In the first part of the book the Dalai Lama's translator, Professor Jeffrey Hopkins, explains the tantric techniques of deity yoga and how it is possible, by practising them, to transform oneself into a Buddha. He discusses the importance of having an altruistic motivation for practising these techniques, and includes the marvellous stanzas of Tok-may-sang-bo, The Thirty-seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. He describes the Kalachakra mandala and how it relates to the initiation, discusses the procedure of the initiation itself, recounts in brief the lives of the authors, both the Dalai Lama and Kay-drup, and outlines a short history of the Kalachakra Tantra.
Also included are three versions of the Six-Session Yoga, the rites for daily practice.
This is the first time that a tantric initiation ritual has been explained in detail and published in a Western language. The special techniques for transforming body, speech and mind into completely altruistic expression are presented for the benefit of not only those who intend, after taking the initiation, to practise these techniques, but also for those who want to learn about this remarkable system of spiritual practice.
This edition has been revised since it was first published for the Kalachakra initiation in Switzerland, 1985.
Front cover: Kalachakra: artist unknown; photo: Hiroki Fujita; courtesy of the Office of Tibet, Tokyo. Back cover photo: courtesy of the Office of Tibet, London.
Kalachakra Tantra Rite of Initiation, Dalai Lama & Jeffrey Hopkins, Wisdom Publications, 528 Pages, $34.95
Tenzin
Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, was born in northeastern Tibet in
1935. He is widely recognized as both the spiritual and temporal leader
of the Tibetan people. In 1950, Tibet was invaded by China, leading to
His Holinesss flight into India in 1959. Since then, His Holiness has
resided in Dharamsala, India, the site of the
Tibetan-government-in-exile. In recognition of his tireless work for the
liberation of Tibet, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
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Preface
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7 |
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Technical Note |
9 |
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Introduction by Jeffrey Hopkins |
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| 1 |
Altruistic Purification |
13 |
| 2 |
Deity Yoga: The Special
Tantric Technique |
23 |
| 3 |
Motivation: The Thirty-Seven Practices |
39 |
| 4 |
Emptiness Yoga
|
48 |
| 5 |
History of the Kalachakra Tantra |
59 |
| 6 |
Initiations and Mandalas |
66 |
| 7 |
Procedure of the Enhancement |
92 |
| 8 |
Procedure of the Initiations |
101 |
| 9 |
The Texts |
131 |
| 10 |
The Author of the Mandala Rite |
139 |
| 11 |
The Author of the Commentary |
146 |
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The Dalai Lama's Commentary on the Kalachakra Initiation
Rite: Stage of Generation |
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Part One: Enhancing the Students
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Background |
161 |
| 1 |
Motivation and Internal Initiation |
169 |
| 2 |
Supplication and Faith |
177 |
| 3 |
Vows and Blessing |
184 |
| 4 |
Tooth-Stick, Water, Kusha Grass, and Thread |
190 |
| 5 |
Six Lineages and Vajrasattva
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194 |
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Part Two: Entry into the Mandala
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| 1 |
Structure |
207 |
| 2 |
Outside the Curtain |
217 |
| 3 |
Seeing the Mandala |
236 |
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Part Three: The Initiations |
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Orientation |
257 |
| 1 |
Water Initiation |
263 |
| 2 |
Crown Initiation |
280 |
| 3 |
Silk Ribbon Initiation |
288 |
| 4 |
Vajra and Bell Initiation |
298 |
| 5 |
Conduct Initiation |
305 |
| 6 |
Name Initiation |
317 |
| 7 |
Permission Initiation and
Appendages |
327 |
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Part Four: Conclusion |
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| 1 |
Understanding the Time of Attainment |
357 |
| 2 |
Advice to Abandon the Root Infractions |
359 |
| 3 |
Prayer-Wishes |
365 |
| 4 |
Daily Practice |
373 |
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Rites for Daily Practice: Three Versions of the
Six Session Yoga |
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Introduction |
381 |
| 1 |
Guru Yoga of Kalachakra Tantra in Connection with
the Six Sessions in Completing Facilitating Form |
383 |
| 2 |
Six Session Yoga |
425 |
| 3 |
Abbreviated Six Session Yoga |
432 |
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Appendix |
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| 1 |
Mantra in the Kalachakra Initiation, Stage
of Generation |
437 |
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Bibliography |
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| 1 |
Sutra and Tantras |
461 |
| 2 |
Sanskrit and Tibetan Works |
463 |
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Notes |
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| 1 |
Notes to the Introduction |
476 |
| 2 |
Notes to the Commentary |
497 |
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