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The Shadow of the Dalai Lama – Part I – 6. Kalachakra: The public and the secret initiations
© Victor & Victoria Trimondi
6. KALACHAKRA: THE PUBLIC
AND THE SECRET INITIATIONS
The Kalachakra Tantra (Time Tantra) is considered the last and most recent of all the revealed tantra
texts (c. tenth century), yet also as the “highest of all Vajrayana ways”, “the pinnacle of all Buddhist
systems”. It differs from earlier tantras in its encyclopedic character. It has been described as the
“most complex and profound statement on both temporal and spiritual matters” (Newman, 1985, p.
31). We can thus depict it as the summa theologia of Buddhist Tantrism, as the root and the crown of
the teaching, the chief tantra of our “degenerate era” (Newman, 1985, p. 40). Tsongkhapa (1357-
1419), the significant reformer and founder of the Tibetan Gelugpa order, was of the opinion that
anybody who knew the Kalachakra Tantra mastered all other secret Buddhist teachings without effort.
Even though all Tibetan schools practice the Kalachakra Tantra, there have always only been
individual experts who truly command this complicated ritual. For the Yellow Hats (Gelugpa), these
are traditionally the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. A small study group from the Namgyal
monastery are available to assist the Dalai Lama in executing the ceremonies with technical
knowledge.
The ritual consists of a public part and a secret part, staged by the participants behind closed doors.
Pupils with little prior knowledge or even people with none may participate in the public initiations.
In contrast, the secret initiations are only accessible for the chosen few.
Despite the elitist selection, the texts sometimes suggest that the possibility of reaching the highest
level of enlightenment in the Kalachakra Tantra within a single lifetime lies open to everybody. The
reality is otherwise, however. Of the hundreds who participate in a public event, one commentary
states, in the end only one will say his daily prayer. Of the thousands just one will commence with the
yoga praxis which belong to this tantra and of these, only a handful will be initiated into the most
secret initiations (Mullin, 1991, p. 28). In the Vimalaprabha, the earliest commentary upon the
original text, it is stated in unmistakable terms that laity (non-monks) may absolutely not set foot
upon the path to enlightenment (Newman, 1987, p. 422).
But even if the supreme goal remains closed to him, every participant ought nevertheless to gain
numerous spiritual advantages for himself from the ritual mass events. According to statements by the
Dalai Lama, karmic stains may thus be removed and new seeds for good karma begin to grow. The
eager are beckoned by the prospect of rebirth in Shambhala, a paradise closely associated with the
Kalachakra myth. At any rate the pupil has “ the opportunity to bask in the bright rays of spiritual
communion with the initiating lama, in this case His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and hopefully to
absorb a sprinkling of spiritual energy from the occasion” (Mullin, 1991, p. 28). Since, according to
the official version, the celebrant guru conducts the Kalachakra ritual for, among other things, the