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Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation
Kalachakra is a system of highest tantra practice for overcoming the limitations imposed by historical, astrological, and biological cycles so as to become a Buddha for the benefit of all. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other great Tibetan teachers have been conferring the Kalachakra initiation in the West, empowering prepared practitioners to engage in its meditations. Large numbers of people also attend this initiation as interested observers and gain inspiration for their spiritual growth. Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation explains on a practical level and in everyday language the theory of tantra, the vows, commitments, and their implications, the factors to consider in deciding if one is ready to attend a Kalachakra initiation as a participant, how to visualize during the initiation, and the most important thoughts and feelings for participants and observers at each step of the empowerment. In preparing this guidebook, Alexander Berzin has done a great service to everyone interested in the Kalachakra initiation. It will help people to prepare for the ceremony and understand the essential points of each step of the procedure.
- GenresBuddhism
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1997
12 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Berzin
26 books4 followersAlexander Berzin (born 1944) is an American scholar, translator, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 25, 2011
I appreciate Berzin's deliberate efforts to explain Buddhist technical language. Many Tibetan Buddhist books are loaded with terms that are foreign or with everyday words that have a different meaning in the context of Tibetan Buddhism. Navigating Buddhist technical language can be a challenging, and Berzin understands the importance of not only defining technical terms but using them consistently in his writing.
One thing that caught my attention in this book is the role technology is given in the Kalacakra literature in promoting world peace. The idea is that technological advancements bring a higher quality of life, and that if a society may come under attack by "barbarians," if technology (and the higher life quality that comes with it) is shared with the barbarians, they are likely to give up their interest in war, settle down, and make peace.
Another thing that caught my attention was a brief discussion on modern technology and on the Buddhist belief that there are four manners in which rebirth happens. The four manners are birth from an egg (e.g. birth as a bird), birth from a womb (e.g., birth as a dog), birth from heat and moisture (a traditional example of this is birth as an insect, but I'm not clear how this is different from birth from an egg since most insects are born from eggs), and spontaneous birth (e.g., birth without a gestation period in which a being appears "out of thin air" such as birth as a god). Berzin speculates that a human birth is possible by all four manners. Regular birth is from a womb. "Birth from an egg is from a joined sperm and egg, but in a container different from the bare womb itself. Test-tube babies undoubtedly fall in this category. Birth from heat and moisture, in other words not from a sperm and egg, may refer to birth by cloning techniques. In the case of birth by transformation [i.e., spontaneous birth], the body is fully formed at the moment life begins. Rebirth as an android in a computerized body seems the closest equivalent" (p. 58). What is interesting to me about this is how Berzin uses Buddhist beliefs to integrate scientific advances peacefully into society. If androids are, for example, just as sentient as "womb-born" humans, androids would deserve the same rights as womb-born humans. I could imagine some people arguing that androids have no rights, so it is interesting to hear a Buddhist argument in favor of androids having rights.
Berzin brings out the richness of the Kalacakra materials by discussing all of the myriad things that the Kalacakra weaves together such as astrology, medicine, the role of technology in society, how to create a peaceful society, a description of how the universe is created and destroyed, how the death process happens and how one is reborn, and, of course, tantric practice.
I really appreciate Berzin's breakdown of all the vows associated with Kalacakra tantra specifically and with tantra in general. I also appreciate his breakdown of the Kalacakra initiation process into very distinct steps.
One thing that caught my attention in this book is the role technology is given in the Kalacakra literature in promoting world peace. The idea is that technological advancements bring a higher quality of life, and that if a society may come under attack by "barbarians," if technology (and the higher life quality that comes with it) is shared with the barbarians, they are likely to give up their interest in war, settle down, and make peace.
Another thing that caught my attention was a brief discussion on modern technology and on the Buddhist belief that there are four manners in which rebirth happens. The four manners are birth from an egg (e.g. birth as a bird), birth from a womb (e.g., birth as a dog), birth from heat and moisture (a traditional example of this is birth as an insect, but I'm not clear how this is different from birth from an egg since most insects are born from eggs), and spontaneous birth (e.g., birth without a gestation period in which a being appears "out of thin air" such as birth as a god). Berzin speculates that a human birth is possible by all four manners. Regular birth is from a womb. "Birth from an egg is from a joined sperm and egg, but in a container different from the bare womb itself. Test-tube babies undoubtedly fall in this category. Birth from heat and moisture, in other words not from a sperm and egg, may refer to birth by cloning techniques. In the case of birth by transformation [i.e., spontaneous birth], the body is fully formed at the moment life begins. Rebirth as an android in a computerized body seems the closest equivalent" (p. 58). What is interesting to me about this is how Berzin uses Buddhist beliefs to integrate scientific advances peacefully into society. If androids are, for example, just as sentient as "womb-born" humans, androids would deserve the same rights as womb-born humans. I could imagine some people arguing that androids have no rights, so it is interesting to hear a Buddhist argument in favor of androids having rights.
Berzin brings out the richness of the Kalacakra materials by discussing all of the myriad things that the Kalacakra weaves together such as astrology, medicine, the role of technology in society, how to create a peaceful society, a description of how the universe is created and destroyed, how the death process happens and how one is reborn, and, of course, tantric practice.
I really appreciate Berzin's breakdown of all the vows associated with Kalacakra tantra specifically and with tantra in general. I also appreciate his breakdown of the Kalacakra initiation process into very distinct steps.
August 12, 2010
This is such a clear and helpful presentation to prepare those taking a Kalachakra initiation. I found it invaluable.
February 20, 2013
Pretty thorough explanation of the Kalachakra initiation that's given out on such a massive scale around the world by the Dalai Lama.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews