Kālacakra and the Tibetan Calendar

Kālacakra and the Tibetan Calendar
Author: Edward Henning
Publisher: American Institute of Buddhist Studies
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2007
Genre: Reference
ISBN:

Kalacakra and the Tibetan Calender describes the contents of current Tibetan almanacs, from basic mathmatics to symbolic and historical information. Essential for understanding the Kalacakra Tantra's first chapter, this book describes the origin of the calendrical systems in this Tantra and translates and elucidates the relevant sections from its famous commentary, the Vimalaprabha. The main calenders in use in Tibet today have remained unchanged since the 15th century, when lamas in several different traditions tried to make sense of the calculation systems they had inherited from India, and to adjust them to remove increasingly obvious errors. This book analyzes the main systems that survive today, assesing their accuracy and comparing them with the methods described in the original Tantra. Published by American Institute of Buddhist Studies (AIBS)

As Long as Space Endures

As Long as Space Endures
Author: Edward A. Arnold
Publisher: Shambhala
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2009-08-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559399104

The Kalacakra Tantra (Kalacakra means "wheel of time") is a tradition of Buddhist theory and practice whose root text treats a fantastic expanse of knowledge ranging from observations of the cosmos to investigations of meditative states and vital bodily energies. In the Tibetan-speaking world, a public Kalacakra initiation remains the most sought-after event in the life of a devout Buddhist. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama has long had a strong connection with the Kalacakra Tantra; he brought the initiation to the West in 1981, performing it in the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Australia. This volume has been created to celebrate his long involvement with the Kalacakra teachings. The twenty-five contributors, scholars who have made tantric studies their specialty, have contributed translations of works by great Indian and Tibetan Kalacakra masters, analyses of historical figures, methods of practice, essays on medicine ritual expertise, and ethical discipline. The collection also includes practical advice for Western students and practitioners from contemporary Tibetan Kalacakra masters.

Ornament of Stainless Light

Ornament of Stainless Light
Author: Khedrup Norsang Gyatso
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 733
Release: 2016-03-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861717422

The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics series, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalacakra in Toronto in April 2004. The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika, one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light.Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the Second Dalai Lama. One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working out this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation.

Tibetan Astrology

Tibetan Astrology
Author: Philippe Cornu
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002-12-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1570629633

Astrology is one of the traditional arts and sciences of Tibet, where it is known as "the science of calculation," used by monks and lamas in the study of the rhythms and cycles of time, for divination, for choosing auspicious times for rituals and life-cycle events such as marriages and funerals, and as an adjunct to the practice of traditional medicine. This comprehensive introduction to the topic includes: • Historical roots and influences from China and India as well as the Buddhist Kalachakra teachings and the ancient Bön religion of Tibet • The two main branches of Tibetan astrology: Nagtsi, or "black astrology," based on the Chinese system, and Kartsi, or "white astrology," derived from Indian astrology • The twelve- and sixty-year cycles and the twelve animals and five elements associated with them • The mewa, or magical squares, which are numerological factors used to calculate the auspiciousness of days or years • The parkha, or eight trigrams of the I Ching, representing the elements, directions, seasons, and fundamental universal forces • How to analyze the character of hours, days, months, and years, so as to determine auspicious times for various activities • How to cast and interpret a Tibetan horoscope Also included are numerous diagrams and charts that are indispensable to the practice of Tibetan astrology, including tables for converting Western dates to dates on the Tibetan calendar.

Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation

Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation
Author: Alexander Berzin
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2011-03-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559397381

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.

The Kalachakra Tantra

The Kalachakra Tantra
Author: Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1985
Genre: Kālacakra (Tantric rite)
ISBN:

2500 Years of Buddhism

2500 Years of Buddhism
Author: P.V. Bapat
Publisher: Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Total Pages: 416
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 8123023049

About the life of Buddha

An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th Century Tibetan Lama

An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th Century Tibetan Lama
Author: Diana Lange
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2020-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004416889

Diana Lange's patient investigations have, in this wonderful piece of detective work, solved the mysteries of six extraordinary panoramic maps of routes across Tibet and the Himalayas, clearly hand-drawn in the late 1850s by a local artist, known as the British Library's Wise Collection. Diana Lange now reveals not only the previously unknown identity of the Scottish colonial official who commissioned the maps from a Tibetan Buddhist lama, but also the story of how the Wise Collection came to be in the British Library. The result is both a spectacular illustrated ethnographic atlas and a unique compendium of knowledge concerning the mid-19th century Tibetan world, as well as a remarkable account of an academic journey of discovery. It will entertain and inform anyone with an interest in this fascinating region. This large format book is lavishly illustrated in colour and includes four separate large foldout maps.

Among Tibetan Texts

Among Tibetan Texts
Author: E. Gene Smith
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2001-06-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0861711793

For three decades, E. Gene Smith ran the Library of Congress's Tibetan Text Publication Project of the United States Public Law 480 (PL480) - an effort to salvage and reprint the Tibetan literature that had been collected by the exile community or by members of the Bhotia communities of Sikkim, Bhutan, India, and Nepal. Smith wrote prefaces to these reprinted books to help clarify and contextualize the particular Tibetan texts: the prefaces served as rough orientations to a poorly understood body of foreign literature. Originally produced in print quantities of twenty, these prefaces quickly became legendary, and soon photocopied collections were handed from scholar to scholar, achieving an almost cult status. These essays are collected here for the first time. The impact of Smith's research on the academic study of Tibetan literature has been tremendous, both for his remarkable ability to synthesize diverse materials into coherent accounts of Tibetan literature, history, and religious thought, and for the exemplary critical scholarship he brought to this field.