A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra (Meeting the Buddhas) (2008) by Vessantara

Author:Vessantara
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Plate One Heruka Cakrasamvara

Plate Two Vajrabhairava

Plate Three Kalacakra

Plate Four Vajravarahi

Plate Five Vajrayogim in a form also known as Sarvabuddhadakini

Plate Six Six-Armed Mahakala

Plate Seven Sridevi

Plate Eight Sakyamuni Refuge Assembly from the Gelukpa tradition

The Oath-Bound Deities

According to tradition, the Kalacakra Tantra was proclaimed by the

Buddha, himself appearing in the form of Kalacakra a year after his En-

lightenment.55 He taught the Tantra at Dhanyakataka in southern India,

inside a huge stupa, at the request of King Sucandra. Sucandra was king

of Shambhala - a legendary country to the north-east of India. T h e king

returned to Shambhala, built a three-dimensional mandala of Kalacakra,

and made Tantric Buddhism based on the Kalacakra system the state

religion.

T h e Kalacakra teachings were propagated in Shambala by a line of kings.

T h e eighth, Manjusrikirti, initiated many people into the Tantra, and

also composed a short text - the 'Condensed Kalacakra Tantra' - which is

what is now generally known as the Kalacakra Tantra. In consequence he

became known as Kulika (one w h o bears the lineage). According to trad-

ition, the Kalacakra teachings are still being propagated in Shambala by

the Kulika kings. An Indian master from Orissa called Cilupa is said to

have travelled to Shambala and returned with Kalacakra teachings, which

were subsequently passed on to Naropa and then to Atisa. T h e fact that

there is no trace of the Tantra in India before Cilupa has led some schol-

ars to suggest that the Tantra originated somewhere in central Asia.

T h e Kalacakra teachings came to Tibet with Atisa in 1026. Their intro-

duction into Tibet led to a new system of measuring time in sixty-year

periods. Five elements, fire, earth, water, wood, and metal, were added to

the twelve-year system by which each year is attributed to one of the

signs of the zodiac.

The Kalacakra system was studied by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It

was propagated by the great Sakyapa lamas Sakya Pandita and Phakpa.

Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Geluk order, wrote several short works

on it, and his two main disciples both wrote extensive commentaries.

To achieve a clear visualization of the most complex mandala of Kala-

cakra would be a meditative tour deforce. O n e would have to become, in

meditation, a four-faced male deity with consort, standing on the figures

of Kamadeva (the Indian god of love) and Rudra. T w o goddesses, the

consorts of the subjugated gods, hold on to Kalacakra's heels, their heads

bowed.

8 9

A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra

T h e yab is blue, and has six shoulders, twelve upper arms, and twenty-

four lower arms. T h e lower arms are arranged in three sets of four on

each side, each set of a different colour. T h e uppermost set on each side is

white, the middle red, the lower blue. Each of his arms holds a symbolic

implement, such as a sword, a wheel, or an axe. Even his fingers are of

different colours.

As Kalacakra one would embrace the consort Visvamata (mother of all).

She is yellow in colour, with four faces and eight arms. She holds a

curved knife, an iron hook, a damaru, and a rosary in her right hands, and

a skull, a noose, a white lotus, and a jewel in her left.

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