The wheel of time

KALACHAKRA means the wheel of time and is derived from two Sanskrit words, "kala" meaning time and "chakra" meaning wheel. In the Tibetan language it is known as dus khor meaning time cycle. Kalachakra is based on the concepts of time and cycles: from the cycles of the planets to the cycles of one's breath and the practice of controlling the subtlest energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment. The Kalachakra deity represents omniscience, as everything is under the influence of time, he is time and therefore knows all. Similarly, the wheel has no beginning and end.

Among the four main Tibetan Buddhist schools, the Kalachakra practice is the most prominent in the Gelug tradition. Kalachakra 2006 is significant because it is believed that the first Kalachakra initiation was given by the Buddha himself at Amaravati, one year after attaining Enlightenment, says organising committee Chairman Kelsang Yeshi.

The Dalai Lamas, especially the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth and the current one who is the Fourteenth, have had a deep interest in the Kalachakra practice. However, the relatively small Jonangpa tradition (which was even thought to be extinct for centuries) is proving quite significant for the Kalachakra practice. The Jonangpa tradition has preserved a unique lineage of the Kalachakra practice and established it as its main system for practice.

In Tibet, the Kalachakra astrological system forms one of the main building blocks to compose astrological calendars. Astrology in the Kalachakra is not unlike the Western system, where for example, complicated calculations are required to determine the exact location of the planets.

Very often, the phrase "as it is outside, so it is within the body" can be found in the Kalachakra tantra to emphasise the similarities between human beings and the cosmos.