Kalachakra: Teachings Begin

January 7, 2017;

Photo: Contact/Lha

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has begun the preliminary Kalachakra teachings in Bodh Gaya, starting with a recitation of the Heart Sutra in Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan, a salutation from Abhisamayalankara and one verse of the mandala offering. His Holiness then continued the teaching with Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisatva’s Way of Life (Tib: Chodjug) and Kamalashila’s The Middling Stages of Meditation (Tib: Gomrim Barpa).

His Holiness said he is keen to give teachings that would really benefit people in their daily lives. He said that the ten chapters for the teaching from Chodjug, or the Bodhisattva’s way of life, are dedicated to the development of Bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment) through the practice of the six perfections.

Translation of the teachings is relayed to visitors via radio transmission Photo: Contact/Lha

“Whatever dharma discourse we do, its important to turn the dharma into practice”, said His Holiness, “We are doing this dharma discourse in accordance to perfection of wisdom teaching, therefore we will have to do the practice of cultivating spirit of enlightenment in order to pray for all sentient beings.”

He continued, “The cultural tradition and knowledge of Tibet is a treasure for the world. Through the knowledge of our cultural heritage, we could make an immense contribution to the world. Tibetan ancestors worked really hard to have the study of logic, science of mind and epistemology translated into the Tibetan language. We should strive to benefit the world with this ancient knowledge.”

He said that since devolving his political authority in 2011 his main commitment has been to promote human values, religious harmony and the preservation of Tibet’s rich cultural heritage.

Photo: Contact/Lha

His Holiness spoke of universal responsibility saying, “Irrespective of whether we are believers or non-believers, we all want happiness”. He continued, “We are living as one human community. If something is going wrong in one community, it affects other communities as well. Living divided won’t fit in today’s reality.”

An estimated 200,000 people are attending the Kalachakra in Bodh Gaya in northern India, with more arriving daily, coming from 90 countries. More than 40,000 devotees have arrived from the Himalayan Buddhist regions. The capacity of the main teaching ground is 80,000 and two more large tents have been provided for the overflow. People who cannot get into the tents are listening outside. Many devotees are also enjoying the opportunity for the social and cultural side of the event with families and friends reuniting after years apart.

TYC volunteers
Photo: TYC/Facebook

TYC wheelchair service
Photo: TYC/Facebook

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has paid tribute to Bihar state and district government for their “boundless support” and also paid tribute to the social services provided for devotees by 250 volunteers from the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), saying on their website tibet.net, “An army of volunteers, clad in yellow uniforms, are seen offering help to old aged devotees, lost children, receiving devotees at railway stations/airports and securing the devotees’ camps day and night. Under the maxim of ‘Service to people’, the volunteers of the Tibetan Youth Congress are organising one of the largest social services, aimed at ensuring ease and a chaos-free teaching experience for all devotees”.

TYC volunteers
Photo: TYC/Facebook

Mr Tenzing Jigme, President of TYC, said, “We are aiming to provide maximum service to all devotees gathered for the Kalachakra teachings. A special feature of our social service programme during this Kalachakra is the wheelchair service through which we enable many old aged pilgrims and differently abled to circumambulate the Mahabodhi stupa, visit nearby monasteries and make smooth passage to and from Kalachakra teachings to their rooms”.

Photo: Contact/Lha

The CTA organising committee has reported that the organisation of facilities to provide for pilgrims needs is going smoothly and includes water, toilets, electricity, etc; they have also provided free medical camps at four different locations for devotees and mobile ATMs and currency exchange points have been set up. Extra security has been provided by the Indian authorities and there are reports of thousands of army officers on site. Makeshift catering facilities have sprung up around the grounds.

The CTA has also publicly stated their dissatisfaction with the recall of nearly 7,000 Tibetans to Tibet by the Chinese authorities. The Tibetan pilgrims had arrived in India hoping to attend the Kalachakra but the Chinese authorities prevented them attending by confiscating their passports or threatening their families back home if they do not return immediately. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has given special audiences and teachings prior to the Kalachakra to these Tibetans, before they returned home from India, telling them they will be in his mind during the teachings, “You can all pray from…Tibet and I assure you that you will receive the Kalachakra empowerment”.

In Tibet, the authorities have declared the Kalachakra “illegal” and issued official notices in Yunnan province’s Dechen county. Radio Free Asia has obtained copies of these notices which threaten jail terms of from ten days to five years for involvement in the event. One warns Tibetans not to share information — including audio or video clips—about the Kalachakra over the internet or on social media. The notice continues, “Other related activities, such as organising celebrations in support of the Kalachakra, are also forbidden…Anyone engaging in these acts will be in violation of Article 55 of China’s Public Security Law and will face severe consequences”.