What’s happening?
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be performing his 34th Kalachakra initiation next month, at the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment at Bodhgaya, India. Requested by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; The Tibetan Government-in-Exile), the much-anticipated Kalachakra ceremony will form the centrepiece of this year’s Tibetan spiritual calendar.
The initiation is likely to be attended by more than 100,000 people, including thousands of Tibetans who will travel from around the Indian Subcontinent to take part in the ceremony. Previous Kalachakra initiations at Bodhgaya and Ladakh attracted 200,000 and 150,000 attendees respectively.
The teachings, initially requested by the CTA to be performed earlier this year, were delayed after requests from Tibetan community leaders to reduce His Holiness’s schedule following advice from His Holiness’s doctors, and to provide adequate time for the complex ceremonial preparations.
His Holiness’ preparations for next month’s ceremony are now well underway.
What is the Kalachakra?
The Kalachakra, or “wheel of time”, ceremony is considered to contain the essence of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, conferring upon the initiate the wisdom and merit necessary to become a fully enlightened Buddha. Many devotees receive the teachings as a simple blessing and exposition of the Dharma, while others will dedicate themselves to the continued daily practice of the Kalachakra Tantra.
The ceremony itself is a varied mixture of teaching, dance, and meditative visualisation.
The initiation ceremony begins when a representative of the assembled students requests the teaching from their spiritual master, in this case, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Mandala
The next eight days see the construction of a highly intricate sand mandala, containing representations of 722 deities set in a palace of five floors, leading to a central lotus flower, representing enlightenment. The mandala is so complex that monks must study for two years before they are qualified to reproduce the hundreds of symbols contained within the design. The mandala is constructed in secret and, once complete, will not be seen by the initiates for another two days.
On the eighth day, the spirits are invited to take their place in the mandala, while ten monks perform the meditative Dance of the Earth to welcome the spirits to their temporary earthly home.
The students are invited back on the ninth day to undertake a vow of selflessness and compassion. At this stage, initiates remove a ceremonial red blindfold from across their forehead. This represents their readiness to receive the teachings of the Kalachakra.
The students then undertake a symbolic rebirth, receiving the Seven Childhood-like Initiations from their spiritual teacher; seven actions representing the stages of childhood in ancient culture (receiving a name, having a first bath, getting a first haircut, first experiencing the five senses, getting pierced ears, saying a first word, and learning to read).
Having been “reborn”, the supplicants are now ready to view the mandala.
The teacher then guides the students through a series of visualisations, taking them on an internal journey through the palace, towards the lotus, and the deities of Shri Kalachakra and his consort Vishvamata, at its centre, representing enlightenment, and the union of wisdom and compassion, respectively.
On the twelfth and final day, dissolution of the mandala takes place, and the sands are taken to a nearby lake, where it is believed that they release the energy of the Kalachakra into the world.
Open secret
Despite the usual expectation of discretion around Tantric practices, the Kalachakra is notable for it’s tradition of being bestowed upon large audiences of lay practitioners. Tibetan spiritual leaders, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have long hoped that by sharing this esoteric practice, they might help to cultivate peace and compassion in a world beset by greed and war.
His Holiness performed his first public Kalachakra initiations in Lhasa, at the palace of Norbulingka in 1954 and 1956. Since then he has delivered the rite across four continents, and eight countries, to audiences of up to 200,000 people.
One commentator to the 2012 Kalachakra ceremony at Bodhgaya, writer and photographer ParulPanthri, observed this diversity among Kalachakra initiates, writing, “Buddhism is one religion that has managed to break the barriers of culture and region…Where else can you find a monk from Spiti…a film maker from Peru…and a journalist from Paris on the same platform, seeking the same answers?”
Chinese issues
Not everybody shares this enthusiasm for the upcoming initiation.
Residents of the Tibetan-populated provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan were ordered to return their passports to government officials last month, with many speculating that the move was intended to prevent Tibetans from travelling to the upcoming Kalachakra ceremony.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Tibetans travelling outside of the occupied region have been ordered home by the Chinese government, some under threat of harm to their families and loved ones. His Holiness responded to the directive by delivering a special audience to more than one thousand of the homeward-bound travellers in Dharamshala at the end of November.
Despite the Chinese government intervention, at least one pilgrim means to attend the Kalachakra as planned. “I came from Tibet to see His Holiness and receive the Kalachakara teachings,” he said. “No matter what the consequences may be on my return, even if I am detained, I am ready to face them.”
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