Alexander Berzin

Alexander Berzin received a PhD from Harvard University in 1972 from the Departments of Far Eastern Languages and Sanskrit and Indian Studies. A member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives since 1972, he is the author of numerous books and articles. He frequently travels to the Americas, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, lecturing on Buddhism and Tibetan culture and helping to establish programs of co-operation between the Tibetan community and academic and religious institutions.

Alexander Berzin

Alexander Berzin received a PhD from Harvard University in 1972 from the Departments of Far Eastern Languages and Sanskrit and Indian Studies. A member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives since 1972, he is the author of numerous books and articles. He frequently travels to the Americas, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, lecturing on Buddhism and Tibetan culture and helping to establish programs of co-operation between the Tibetan community and academic and religious institutions.

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GUIDES

Kalachakra Tantra Reader’s Guide

shambhala

What Is Kalachakra Tantra?

The Kalachakra, or “Wheel of Time,” tantra and cycles of teachings and practices are, on the surface, well known among practitioners and those interested in Tibetan Buddhism. Yet it is considered one of the highest teachings of tantra—a highly complex one where initiates take many years accomplishing the practice. The visualization for an advanced practitioner involves 722 figures in the mandala.

One of the reasons for its notoriety is that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has bestowed the initiation—which takes several days to complete—dozens of times in over ten countries to literally millions of people. For most in attendance it is considered a great blessing and not a springboard into the practice itself. As the Dalai Lama has said:

“The higher meditations of the Kalachakra tradition can be practiced only by a select few. But because of past and future events, and in order to establish a strong karmic relationship with Kalachakra in the minds of the people, there is now a tradition of giving the initiation to large public gatherings.”

Kalachakra Tantra as a Main Practice

There are many practitioners in the four main Tibetan schools, as well as in the lesser known Jonang tradition, for whom Kalachakra is their main practice, not just a source of connection and blessings. The Gelug and Sakya traditions were heavily influenced by Buton Rinchen Drub. Some of this is detailed in Buton's History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet. The Kagyu and Nyingma traditions draw heavily from the Jonang. Some of the more contemporary masters include Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (whose biography was published in early 2017 by Shambhala), Penor Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Some of the stories about Khyentse Rinpoche’s connection with the Kalachakra—in particular, the teaching he gave to a large group including His Holiness the Dalai Lama—form a very moving section of his biography, Brilliant Moon. When asked to give a formal elaborate teaching at a Long Life ceremony for the Dalai Lama attended by the heads of all the schools and many other lamas, Tenga Rinpoche relates the following story of Khyentse Rinpoche:

“The next morning when the time came to speak in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the whole assembly of lamas from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, speaking for over an hour in an unimpeded flow like a river, Khyentse Rinpoche gave a most detailed and profound explanation of the universe according to the Kalachakra Tantra, in which he mentioned an immense number of quotes, which he obviously seemed to know by heart. At the end of the discourse, he finally approached the throne of His Holiness and offered the mandala plate into His Holiness’s hands. Then he offered the eight auspicious substances, and when offering the conch, a loud thunder crash resounded. This was considered to be a most auspicious event.

Everyone was amazed at Khyentse Rinpoche’s erudition and spoke about his speech for years to come. Afterward I asked him, ‘Did you study the Kalachakra a lot in the past?’ He answered, ‘I didn’t study it much; I read the Kalachakra commentary by Mipham Rinpoche maybe once or twice; that’s all.’”

Recalling Chogyam Trungpa

$24.95 - Paperback

By: Fabrice Midal & Chogyam Trungpa

Coming to the West

The practice’s fame in the West, in particular, is also attributable to the Shambhala teachings introduced widely by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The Shambhala teachings have a strong connection with the Kalachakra tantra as many of the works below detail. In Recalling Chögyam Trungpa, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche explains it in this way:

“You find the teachings on Shambhala in the Outer Kalachakra; it is a branch or section of the Outer Kalachakra. The Outer Kalachakra is also concerned with predicting what good things are going to happen and what bad things are going to happen through an examination of the planets, the lunar mansions, and so on. It includes a description of the physical nature of the world and how the world was formed, and also discusses how the dharma will prosper in the future. So the connection between the Shambhala teachings and the Vajrayana teachings is found in the Outer Kalachakra. There, the text describes how there were the seven dharmarajas, the dharma kings.”

Below you will find a guide to the many works related to Kalachakra that Shambhala and Snow Lion publish.

The Realm of Shambhala

$18.95 - Paperback

By: Shar Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö

A Traditional Account of Shambhala for Modern Times

With the release of The Realm of Shambhala,  we finally have a complete explanation of Shambhala that is at once traditional—from the Kalachakra or Wheel of Time tantra–but completely applicable to all of us today.  Presenting Shambhala as both a place and, especially, as a state of mind accessible to everyone, Khentrul Rinpoche joins practical teachings with a vision of overcoming the challenges of humans and humanity and achieving perfect peace individually and as a society.

Highest Yoga Tantra

$27.95 - Paperback

By: Daniel Cozort

Highest Yoga Tantra: An Introduction to the Esoteric Buddhism of Tibet

In the New Translation schools, it is classified in the Highest Yoga Tantra section of tantra. A comprehensive look at this classification, and one in which the Kalachakra system is compared to the Guhyasamaja, is Daniel Cozort's Highest Yoga Tantra: An Introduction to the Esoteric Buddhism of Tibet. This is a good starting point because most of the extant literature is from the New Translation tradition, in particular the Gelug, which is logical given His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s activity.

Treasures of the Sakya Lineage

Before diving into the works dedicated to this cycle of teachings, there is an excellent overview of the divisions of the tantra in Lama Migmar Tseten’s Treasures of the Sakya Lineage, which is helpful when exploring the works below:

“Kalachakra itself is divided into four types of tantra, giving us an elaborate framework to understand its specifics. First, there is the outer Kalachakra. In large part, these sections are concerned with visualizing and meditating on the Buddha in the form of the meditational deity Kalachakra and chanting his mantra. Second comes the inner Kalachakra, which addresses applying the profound internal meditations on the subtle channels, vital winds, elements, and essential drops that make up the subtle (psychic) body. Third, the secret Kalachakra involves meditating on and within the ultimate meaning of the truth of emptiness. Fourth is “other,” or “alternative,” Kalachakra, which relates to the study of and meditation on the outer cosmos of our realm of existence. Alternative Kalachakra teaches us how all the physical appearances of this world are the manifestation of our collective karma; it teaches us the causes that bring about this universe. It describes the outer universe and how it directly corresponds with and reflects the inner propensities and karmic vision of all the beings within this universe. Thus, the Kalachakra tantra contains the deepest meanings of four types of tantras all within a single tradition.”

The Wheel of Time

An excellent starting point for diving in is The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context. Here His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Sopa, and scholars Roger Jackson and John Newman explore the history, initiation, and practices within this tantric system.

Another overview is The Wheel of Time Sand Mandala: Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume comes packed with illustrations that give a helpful sense of how the mandala support for this practice is created.

Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation

For the initiation of the deity Kalachakra, Alexander Berzin’s Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation is an excellent starting point. Dr. Berzin has researched and written extensively on the subject and this encapsulates his work. It begins with an introduction to tantra generally, the Kalachakra specifically, and then dives deeper and details the initiation itself, what is happening each day. A brief summary of the purpose of the practice is included:

“Properly empowered, we engage in generation and then complete stage meditational practice in the form of the Buddha-figure called Kalachakra. Through these two stages, we access and utilize the subtlest level of our mind to see reality. Remaining continually focused on reality with it eliminates forever confusion and its instincts, thus bringing liberation from the external and internal cycles of time. This is possible because our basis tantra, our individual clear light mind, underlies each moment of experience and, like time, it has no end. Once our subtlest mind is freed from the deepest cause giving rise to the impulses of energy that perpetuate cycles of time and bondage to them, it gives rise, instead, to the bodies of a Buddha, in the form of Kalachakra.”

It includes an explanation of the understanding of the universe and how it differs from the more familiar Buddhist view of the universe. An excerpt appeared in the Snow Lion newsletter, and you can find it here. This work also includes other aspects of the text such as why it is so closely related with the line of Dalai Lamas, its connection with Shambhala, and more.

Dr. Berzin also published the short Kalachakra and Other Six-Session Yoga Texts, which currently available as an eBook.

The Practice of Kalachakra

Another topical work on the tantra is Glenn Mullin’s The Practice of Kalachakra. The first half serves as a comprehensive overview of the tantra and the Kalachakra. The second half includes a set of translations of teachings and practices related to this cycle from the First, Fifth, Thirteenth, and present Fourteenth Dalai Lamas. It also includes works from Buton, the First Panchen Lama, and Lobzang Thubten Chokyi Nyima.

Some of these are also included in From the Heart of Chenrezig: The Dalai Lamas on Tantra.

As Long as Space Endures: Essays on the Kalachakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama

A very important work in English on the Kalachakra system is the anthology As Long as Space Endures: Essays on the Kalachakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama. With two dozen translations and essays, this contains pieces by Robert Thurman, Thupten Jinpa, Alexander Berzin, Vesna Wallace, and many other scholars and lamas known for their work with these teachings.

There are several other works that include teachings, stories, and other helpful and fascinating information on the Kalachakra and its history and impact in India and Tibet..

A Gem of Many Colors & The Treasury of Knowledge

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye taught extensively on the subject.  He talks about this repeatedly throughout his autobiography, A Gem of Many Colors.

He also wrote about it extensively in his Treasuries. There will be a Kalachakra volume in the Treasury of Precious Instructions, the massive multivolume work from Shambhala Publications.

In his The Treasury of Knowledge, published in English in ten volumes, there are two volumes specifically that contain a lot of detail about the Kalachakra system. The first is in the volume Systems of Buddhist Tantra: The Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra (6.4) and the other is in The Elements of Tantric Practice (8.3).

The Buddha from Dolpo

$39.95 - Hardcover

By: Cyrus Stearns

The Buddha from Dolpo & Mountain Doctrine

The Kalachakra is very central to the Jonang tradition, and a figure who is obviously very prominent in the teachings and propagation of the Kalachakra system was Dolpopa.

Dolpopa’s biography, The Buddha from Dolpo by Cyrus Stearns, contains an immense amount of information on Dolpopa's connection with the Kalachakra practice.

Mo

$24.95 - Paperback

By: Jamgon Mipham

Tibetan Astrology

$34.95 - Paperback

By: Philippe Cornu

Astrological & Divination in Tibet

The Kalachakra system also forms a large part of the astrological and divination techniques in Tibet. A few important sources on this include Mipham Rinpoche's Mo: Tibetan Divination System, and Phillipe Cornu's classic Tibetan Astrology.

The Art of Buddhism

$34.95 - Paperback

By: Denise Patry Leidy

The Art of Buddhism

Finally, The Art of Buddhism contains a short section on the Kalachakra mandala and the image above is from that work.

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SNOW LION NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Alexander Berzin on the Tulku Tradition

The following excerpt is from

Wise Teacher, Wise Student

wise teacher wise student

by Alexander Berzin

Wise Teacher, Wise Student

$18.95 - Paperback

By: Alexander Berzin

The word tulku means a network of emanations (Skt. nirmanakaya, emanation body). Not only do fully enlightened Buddhas generate and appear as an array of emanations, so do advanced practitioners of the highest class of tantra. The array they generate is called a network of pathway-level emanations. The founders of lines of tulkus, then, may have achieved any level of spiritual attainment ranging from part of the generation stage to Buddhahood. Thus, they do not even need to have attained straightforward nonconceptual perception of reality (voidness, emptiness, the absence of impossible ways of existing). In short, only a tiny fraction of the founders of tulku lines comprises enlightened beings.

For this reason, the majority of tulkus still have negative karmic potentials in addition to a vast network of positive instincts (collection of merit). Depending on the circumstances of their upbringing and the societies in which they live, different potentials come to the fore and ripen in each lifetime. Thus, some tulkus may act in completely unenlightened ways. Nevertheless, by the force of the death-juncture meditation and prayers of the founders of their lines, their next incarnations may still be as rinpocheys, located and recognized by the masters who have determined that to do so would have special benefit. This may occur even if the tulkus in question failed to perform death-juncture meditation when they died.

In short, as His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama stressed at the 1988 conference of tulkus in exile, just because tulkus bear famous names does not mean that they qualify now as spiritual mentors. It merely signifies that they are the reincarnations of great spiritual masters and have been born with enormous amounts of positive potential. Tulkus need to prove themselves as mentors now, through their attainments in this lifetime…

Because of inherited potentials, reincarnate lamas naturally command respect. Nevertheless, circumstances may not allow full activation of those potentials or may not be conducive for their optimal use. For example, because a rinpochey may still be a child, the potentials may enable the boy or girl merely to advance quickly. Occasionally, excessive reverence shown by followers may act as the circumstance merely for success in power politics or empire building. In some cases, inordinate deference, lavish gifts, and high expectations may even spoil young rinpocheys or activate negative potentials for them to rebel when older. Differentiating the term reincarnate lama from lama—either in its meaning as a spiritual mentor or as a living Buddha—can help prevent disappointment.

Alexander Berzin received a PhD from Harvard University in 1972 from the Departments of Far Eastern Languages and Sanskrit and Indian Studies. A member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives since 1972, he is the author of numerous books and articles. He frequently travels to the Americas, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, lecturing on Buddhism and Tibetan culture and helping to establish programs of co-operation between the Tibetan community and academic and religious institutions.

Books on the Tulku Tradition

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Kalachakra: The Shape of the Universe

The Kalachakra description of the universe is quite different from that presented in the other major Buddhist system of metaphysics: abhidharma, or topics of special knowledge. There are, of course, common elements in both, found in non-Buddhist Indian descriptions as well. These include multiple universes each passing through, at different times from each other, beginningless four-part cycles of formation, stabilization, disintegration and being empty, and each universe having a core mountain, Mount Meru, surrounded by continents, heavens and hells. The main differences between the two Buddhist systems concern the specifics of the four-part cycles, and the shape and size of the universe, Mount Meru and the continents.

It is significant that Buddhism offers two descriptions of the universe. Each is valid for a different purpose, and there is no contradiction in having multiple portraits. The description of any phenomenon, then, is dependent on not only the conceptual framework of the author and the audience, but also the use to which that description is put. For instance, we would certainly explain the plans to send a manned mission to Mars in a different manner to the politicians who are deciding the budget than to the engineers who are designing the machinery. Both portrayals of the mission, however, are valid, useful and necessary. Appreciating this point helps us understand voidness. Nothing exists with inherent characteristics on its own side rendering only one correct way to conventionally perceive, apprehend or describe it.

The purpose of the abhidharma picture of the universe is to help practitioners develop discriminating awareness by working with complex systems of multiple variables. The purpose of the Kalachakra version is quite different. It is to provide the Buddhist equivalent of a unified field theory that explains the structure and workings of the cosmos, atoms, the human body and the experience of rebirth in a parallel manner. The need for this unified theory is to provide a comprehensive basis, covering as much of samsara as possible, at which to aim the meditative practices of alternative Kalachakra for gaining liberation and enlightenment.


A description of the external and internal worlds in terms of their unifying parallels reveals the shared underlying basis from which both derive, namely, clear light mind. The winds of karma that provide the impulses for a particular universe to evolve come from the collective karma on the clear light minds of prior beings. These clear light minds remain present during empty eons in between universal epochs. Likewise, the winds of karma that provide the impulses for a specific rebirth to occur arise from the individual karma on the clear light mind of a particular being. That clear light mind also continues during bardo periods in between rebirths.

Meditation in analogy with the cycles through which the external and internal worlds pass and, in particular, in analogy with how each of these cycles periodically returns to its clear light basis provides a means to reach that basis. This is a unique feature of the anuttarayoga tantra technique. Once clear light mind is accessed, it is possible to make the necessary changes, namely, by focusing on voidness, to eliminate the confusion and its instincts that cloud it so that this basis no longer gives rise to the problems and sufferings associated with the external and internal cycles. This is the deepest reason why the proportions and shape of the universe, human body, and the mandala and body of the Buddhafigure Kalachakra are all the same.

From Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation by Alexander Berzin

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Alexander Berzin's Introduction to Tantra

The following article is from the Summer, 2011 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here.

Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation By Alexander BerzinALEXANDER BERZINhas a long association with the Kalachakra Tantra. Having studied it under one of the most learned teachers, Serkong Rinpoche, Alex is often called upon to introduce this tantra to attendees of the Kalachakra initiations given by the Dalai Lama.

Some of you who are reading this now might have had the pleasure of listening to Alex at the Kalachakra given July 2011 in Washington, D.C.


Neither reaction, of excitement or fear, is appropriate. We need to approach tantra and the Kalachakra initiation in a sensible manner.

INTRODUCTION TO TANTRA

The Need for a Realistic Approach

Becoming a Buddha, someone who is totally awake, means to overcome all shortcomings and realize all potentials for the sake of helping others. With so much suffering in the world, we urgently need to find the most effective methods to accomplish this goal. The Kalachakra initiation offers an opportunity to meet with such methods.

The Tibetan word for initiation, wang, means power, and an initiation is, more accurately, an empowerment. It confers the power and ability to engage in certain meditative practices for achieving enlightenment, and thus becoming a Buddha, in order to benefit others as fully as possible.


Becoming a Buddha, someone who is totally awake, means to overcome all shortcomings and realize all potentials for the sake of helping others.

Kalachakra is a meditational system from the highest level of Buddhist tantra, anuttarayoga.

Some people have odd notions about tantra and imagine, with great anticipation, that an initiation is an entrance way into a magic world of exotic sex and superpowers. When they learn that this is not the case, but rather that tantric practice is complex, advanced and requires serious commitment and the keeping of many vows, they become frightened and are put off.

Neither of these reactions, of excitement or fear, is appropriate. We need to approach tantra and the Kalachakra initiation in a sensible manner. As my main teacher, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, once said,

"If you practice fantasized methods, you get fantasized results. If you practice realistic methods, you get realistic results."


 tantric practice is complex, advanced and requires serious commitment and the keeping of many vows

What is Tantra?

The word tantra means an everlasting stream of continuity. Everlasting streams operate on three levels: as a basis, a pathway and a result.

On the basis level, the everlasting stream is our mind—specifically its subtlest level known as primordial clear light—which provides continuity throughout all our lifetimes. Like a pure laser beam of mere clarity and awareness, unadulterated by the gross oscillations of conceptual thought or disturbing emotions, it underlies each moment of experience, whether we are awake or asleep.


If mind is like a radio that plays forever, its subtlest level is similar to the machine simply being on. A radio remains on throughout the process of leaving a station, being between bands and tuning into another frequency.

If mind is like a radio that plays forever, its subtlest level is similar to the machine simply being on. A radio remains on throughout the process of leaving a station, being between bands and tuning into another frequency. Similarly, our subtlest mind never turns off and so is the basis for our experiences of death, bardo (the state between rebirths) and the conception of a new life.

Neither station, volume, nor even temporary static affects the fact that the radio is on. Likewise, neither rebirth status, intensity of experience, nor even the fleeting stains of passing thoughts or moods affect our clear light mind. This subtlest mind proceeds even into Buddhahood and provides the basis for attaining enlightenment.


neither rebirth status, intensity of experience, nor even the fleeting stains of passing thoughts or moods affect our clear light mind.

Kalachakra, wheel of time mandalaFurthermore, each stream of continuity, whether prior to enlightenment or afterwards, is individual. All radios are not the same radio, although each receiver works the same. Thus, there is no such thing as a universal clear light mind or basis tantra in which each of our minds participates.

The Second Level of Tantra

The second level of tantra, the everlasting pathway stream, refers to a specific method for becoming a Buddha, namely meditative practices involving Buddha-figures. This method is sometimes called deity yoga.

The Third Level of Tantra

The third level, the everlasting resultant stream, is the endless continuity of Buddha-bodies we achieve with enlightenment. To fully help others requires bodies or collections of knowledge, wisdom, experience and forms to suit every being and occasion.

In short, tantra involves an everlasting stream of practice with Buddha-figures to purify our everlasting mind-steam of its fleeting stains, in order to achieve, on its basis, the everlasting stream of the bodies of a Buddha.

The texts that discuss these topics are also called tantras.


Meditative practice structured around one of these figures and the feature it represents provides a clear focus and framework enabling more rapid progress toward enlightenment than meditation without them.

Deity Yoga

Sometimes people are puzzled by the tantric practice of relying on deities, which some languages translate as gods. These deities, however, are not omnipotent creators or beings in limited states of rebirth filled with heavenly delights. Rather, they are extraordinary forms, both male and female, in which Buddhas manifest in order to help people with varying inclinations to overcome their shortcomings and realize their potentials.

Each of these Buddha-figures represents both the fully enlightened state and one of its specific features, such as compassion or wisdom. Avalokiteshvara, for instance, is a manifestation of compassion, and Manjushri is an embodiment of wisdom. Kalachakra represents the ability to handle all situations at any time.

Meditative practice structured around one of these figures and the feature it represents provides a clear focus and framework enabling more rapid progress toward enlightenment than meditation without them.


Without some method, it is very difficult to train I ourselves to keep in mind simultaneously twenty-four insights and qualities such as impermanence, compassion, I patience and so forth.

To alleviate the sufferings of others as quickly as possible requires the most efficient method for gaining the enlightening faculties of a Buddha's body, speech and mind. The basis for achieving them is a strong determination to be free of limitations, non-fickle love and compassion, ethical self-discipline, strict concentration, firm understanding of reality and skill in various means to help others.

Once we achieve a working level of these, we need to combine and perfect them so that they bear their results. Tantra provides such a technique, namely deity yoga.

Like performing the dress rehearsal for a drama, we imagine we already possess the entire array of these enlightening faculties as a Buddha-figure, all together at the same time. Doing so acts as an effective cause for integrating these qualities and achieving such a form more quickly.


To alleviate the sufferings of others as quickly as possible requires the most efficient method for gaining the enlightening faculties of a Buddha's body, speech and mind.

This is an advanced technique. We cannot possibly imagine having all the assets of a Buddha simultaneously unless we have first practiced each individually.

We need to learn and rehearse each scene before we can run through an entire play. Therefore, it is both inappropriate and unwise to attempt tantric practice without considerable meditative experience beforehand.


Tantric practice harnesses the imagination—a powerful tool we all possess.

Training the Imagination

Tantric practice harnesses the imagination—a powerful tool we all possess. Thus, to repeatedly imagine achieving a goal is a compelling method for accomplishing it sooner.

Suppose, for example, we are unemployed. If, each day, we imagine finding a job, we succeed more quickly than if we dwell, with depression and self-pity, on being out of work. This is because we maintain a positive attitude about our situation.


Success or failure in life hinges on our self- image and, in tantra, we work on improving ours by means of Buddha-figures.

Vajrakilaya, Yurei Fukuro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vajrakilaya_(8557221604).jpg

With a negative attitude, we lack self-confidence even to look for a job. Success or failure in life hinges on our self- image and, in tantra, we work on improving ours by means of Buddha-figures. Imagining we are already a Buddha provides an extremely potent self-image to counteract negative habits and feelings of inadequacy.

The tantric technique does not involve simply the power of positive thinking. When using imagination, it is essential to be practical and maintain a clear distinction between fantasy and reality. Otherwise, serious psychological trouble may arise.

Thus every teacher and text emphasizes that an indispensable prerequisite for tantric practice is some stable level of understanding of voidness—the absence of fantasized and impossible ways of existing—and dependent arising, the coming about of everything by depending on causes and circumstances. Everyone is capable of gaining employment because no one exists as a totally incompetent loser, and finding a job depends on personal effort and the economic situation.


because each of us has a mind, a heart, communicative ability and physical energy, we possess all the raw materials needed to create the enlightening faculties of a Buddha.

Some people dismiss tantric deity yoga as a form of self-hypnosis. Imagining we are already a Buddha, however, is not a form of self-deception. We each have the factors allowing us to achieve that goal—we all have Buddha nature.

In other words, because each of us has a mind, a heart, communicative ability and physical energy, we possess all the raw materials needed to create the enlightening faculties of a Buddha. So long as we realize we are not yet actually at that stage, and do not inflate ourselves with illusions of grandeur, we can work with these Buddha-figures without psychological danger.


If you practice fantasized methods, you get fantasized results. If you practice realistic methods, you get realistic I results.

In tantra, then, we imagine we already possess the form, surroundings, abilities and enjoyments of a Buddha. The physical body of a Buddha is made of transparent clear light, capable of helping others tirelessly, and is never deficient in any way. Imagining ourselves as a Buddha-figure with boundless energy like this, however, does not render us a workaholic or a martyr incapable of saying no.

Tantric practitioners of course take a rest when tired. Nevertheless, maintaining this type of self-image helps stretch our self-imposed limits. Everyone has an almost endless store of energy available to tap in emergencies. No one is too exhausted to rush to his or her child who has fallen and is hurt.

In addition, while practicing tantra, we feel that the environment around us is completely pure and conducive for everyone's progress. Imagining this does not mean ignoring ecological or social issues. However, to help others and ourselves overcome depression and feelings of despair, we stop dwelling on negative aspects.


Nevertheless, maintaining this type of self-image helps stretch our self-imposed limits. Everyone has an almost endless store of energy available to tap in emergencies.

Sufficiently strong motivation and effective methods to transform our attitudes bring spiritual progress regardless of location. Rather than incessantly complaining and being a prophet of doom, we try to bring hope to ourselves and the world.

We also imagine we benefit others by acting as a Buddha does. We feel that by our very way of being, we effortlessly exert a positive enlightening influence on everyone around us. We can understand what this means if we have ever been in the presence of a great spiritual being, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Mother Teresa.

Most people, even if only slightly receptive, feel inspired and are moved to act in a more noble way. We imagine we have a similar effect on others. Our mere presence, or even mention of our names, calms others down, brings them peace of mind and joy, and stimulates them to achieve new heights.


A Buddha delights in everything without even a trace of confusion.

Finally, we imagine we are able to enjoy things in the pure way a Buddha does.

Our usual mode of enjoyment is mixed with confusion, often translated as contaminated pleasure. We are always critical, never satisfied. We listen to music and cannot fully enjoy it because we keep thinking that the sound reproduction is not as good as it would be on our neighbor's equipment.

A Buddha, however, delights in everything without even a trace of confusion. We imagine doing likewise, for example, when enjoying the offerings of light, incense, food and so on in the various rituals.


Buddhas need to keep the full array of their realizations and qualities actively in mind, simultaneously, so as to use them effectively in helping others.

Using Visualization to Expand Our Capacities

Many Buddha-figures have multiple physical features in an assortment of colors. Kalachakra, for example, has a rainbow of four faces and twenty-four arms. This might seem strange at first, but there are profound reasons for this.

All the forms imagined in tantra have several purposes, and each of their parts and colors has many levels of symbolism. Their complexity reflects the nature of the goal of becoming a Buddha.

Buddhas need to keep the full array of their realizations and qualities actively in mind, simultaneously, so as to use them effectively in helping others. Moreover, Buddhas need to be mindful of the myriad personal details of those they are helping so as always to do what is appropriate.


Tantric visualizations help to expand this ability... to keep many things in mind simultaneously.

This is not an unreachable goal. We already keep many things in mind simultaneously.

If we drive a car, for example, we are aware of our speed, the distance we need to stop or pass another vehicle, the speed and position of the cars around us, the rules of driving, the purpose and goal of our journey, the road signs and so on. At the same time, we coordinate our eyes, hands and feet, are alert to strange noises from the engine, and can even listen to music and hold a conversation.

Tantric visualizations help to expand this ability.

Without some method, it is very difficult to train ourselves to keep in mind simultaneously twenty-four insights and qualities such as impermanence, compassion, patience and so forth. A verbal mnemonic device, such as a phrase made up of the initial letters of each item in the list, is helpful for remembering them in sequence.

However, representing each insight and quality in a graphic form, such as the twenty-four arms of a Buddha-figure, makes it much easier to remain mindful of all of them at once.

Consider the case of a teacher of a class of twenty-four children. For most people, it is quite difficult to keep the personalities and special needs of each child in mind when planning a lesson at home. Reviewing a list of their names may be somewhat helpful, but actually being in front of the class and seeing the pupils immediately and vividly brings to mind all the factors needed to modify the day's lesson.

A mandala, literally a symbolic universe, is a further aid in this process of expanding our mindfulness and seeing everything in a pure way.

Alexander Berzin received a PhD from Harvard University in 1972 from the Departments of Far Eastern Languages and Sanskrit and Indian Studies. A member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives since 1972, he is the author of numerous books and articles. He frequently travels to the Americas, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, lecturing on Buddhism and Tibetan culture and helping to establish programs of co-operation between the Tibetan community and academic and religious institutions.

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Alexander Berzin on Renunciation—Determination To Be Free

The following article is from the Summer, 2002 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here.

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A talk given by ALEX BERZIN in Morelia, Mexico October 10, 2001

Definition and Implications

Renunciation (nges-'byung) is the determination to be free from not only some form of suffering, but also from its causes. It entails the willingness to give up that suffering and its causes. Thus, it requires great courage. It is not just aiming to get something nice without paying a price.

Renunciation also implies belief in the fact that it is possible to be free from that suffering and its causes. It is not just wishful thinking. It is belief in a fact to be true (dad-pa) in all three ways.

(1) Clearheadedly believing it (dvangs-ba'i dad-pa), clears the mind of disturbing emotions and attitudes about the object. Thus, correct renunciation clears the mind of indecisiveness, self-pity, and resentment about having to give up something desirable.

(2) Believing a fact to be true based on reason (yid-ches-pa). We need to understand how liberation from suffering and its causes is possible.

(3) Believing a fact with an aspiration toward it (mngon-dad-kyi dad-pa). As with the two stages of bodhichitta (the wishing and the involved stages), we need not merely to wish or to be willing to give up some level of suffering and its causes. We need actually to give them both up, as much as we presently are able, and to involve ourselves in the practices that will enable us eventually to gain freedom from them forever.

Moreover, correct renunciation is not the same as short-lived all-excited renunciation (sna-thung spu-sud-kyi nges-'byung): the enthusiastic and fanatic renunciation of everything, based 011 blind faith that an external source will save us. It entails a realistic attitude about the hard work involved. We may gain inspiration from others, but we have to work hard ourselves.

Further, we need a realistic attitude about how progress occurs. Becoming free from samsara is never a linear process, with things getting better each day. Until we are free forever, samsara will continue to go up and down. When viewed from the perspective of a long period of time, we can see progress, but on a day-today basis, our moods will continue to go up and down.

Thus, we need discipline and patience to endure the difficulties of following the Buddhist path, and armor-like joyful perseverance (go- cha'i brtson-'grus) to press on despite the ups and downs. With clearheaded belief backing our determination to be free, we will not become frustrated or dismayed.

Two Stages of Renunciation According to Tsongkhapa

In The Three Principal Paths (Lam- gtso rnam-gsum), Tsongkhapa differentiates:

(1) the initial scope renunciation with which we turn our primary concern from benefitting this life to benefitting future lives,

(2) the intermediate scope renunciation with which we turn our primary interest from benefitting future lives to gaining liberation from uncontrollably recurring rebirth in samsara.

The first is a level of renunciation developed in common with non-Buddhists who aim to go to heaven. The second is emphasized in Buddhism.

Dharma Lite Renunciation

We can implement this differentiation by adding a preliminary stage, the "Dharma Lite" version (like CocaCola Lite). Dharma Lite renunciation is turning our primary interest from gratifying the moment to benefiting later periods in this life or later generations.

Dharma Lite renunciation, however, is only valid as part of the Buddhist path when we view it merely as a stepping stone for reaching the two "hard-core" Dharma levels. To reach the hard-core levels, we need to understand the Buddhist teachings on rebirth correctly and believe them to be fact, based on reason. Otherwise, how can we sincerely work to benefit our future lives or to gain liberation from uncontrollably recurring rebirth?

With Dharma Lite renunciation, then, we look at the everyday problems we have in life—in our relationships, in our dealing with difficulties, and so on. We also look at the causes and we are willing to give up both, in order to improve the quality of this life—and not just immediately, but also later in life. This is renunciation on a level in common with psychotherapy.

Parallel to this level, we can have a Dharma Lite version of putting safe direction in life (taking refuge). We put the safe direction in our lives of working to live with our neuroses so that they cause us only minimal problems. We look to those who have achieved this, in full and in part, as indicating the way.

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...we need to recognize as sources of our suffering our selfishness, laziness, attachment, anger, and so on; give them up as much as possible now and strive as soon as possible to rid ourselves of them forever.

Provisional Renunciation and Safe Direction

Lam-rim (the graded stages of the path) presents the topic of taking safe direction first in terms of initial scope renunciation. There, it is based on dread of worse rebirths and belief in the fact that the Three Gems can lead to better rebirth. Like the Dharma Lite versions, this level of renunciation and safe direction is also only provisional. They are also not the full, definitional forms.

The Dharma Gem is true stoppings of suffering and its causes, and true paths leading to them. On the initial level, however, the Dharma Gem is not an actual Dharma gem. The suffering we aim to stop is only gross suffering; its cause is only unawareness of behavioral cause and effect; the stopping is only temporary; and the path is restraining from destructive behavior.

Moreover, those who have attained this so-called Dharma Gem are those in the best states of rebirth—human and gods, not Buddhas and not necessarily the arya sangha community of those with nonconceptual cognition of voidness.

Definitional Renunciation and Safe Direction

Only on the intermediate lam-rim level do we find full, definitional renunciation and full, definitional safe direction. True sufferings, here, are of all three types (pain, change, and all-encompassing), true causes are unawareness of voidness, true stopping is forever—not just temporary like going to higher realm rebirths or meditative states—and true paths are nonconceptual cognitions of voidness.

Correspondingly, here, we put the definitional safe direction in our lives and aim for the actual Dharma Gem of true stoppings and true paths, as exist in full on the mental continuums of Buddhas and exist in part on the mental continuums of the arya sangha.

Bodhisattva Level of Renunciation and Safe Direction

On the advanced lam-rim level of a bodhichitta motivation, renunciation aims for the freedom of all others from samsaric suffering and its causes—not just their suffering of pain, and not just the suffering of some beings. This wish for all others to be totally liberated from suffering and its causes, with conviction that it is possible, is called "compassion." Compassion is one aspect of the bodhisattva level of renunciation.

To bring about the ability to help liberate all others, we need the other aspect of bodhisattva renunciation. We need to renounce not only the obscurations preventing our liberation (nyon-sgrib), but also the obscurations preventing our omniscience (shes-sgrib). Again, this implies understanding omniscience, the obscurations that prevent it, and firm belief that it is possible to rid ourselves forever of those obscurations. It also implies firm belief that it is possible for everyone to rid themselves forever of these obscurations.

Concluding Remarks

All along the Buddhist path, then, we need the willingness to give up suffering and the causes of suffering. Thus, we need to recognize as sources of our suffering our selfishness, laziness, attachment, anger, and so on; give them up as much as possible now; and strive as soon as possible to rid ourselves of them forever.

In tantra, we need even deeper renunciation. We need to be willing to give up and then actually let go, as much as we can, our ordinary self-images and our identifying with them. Renunciation is indeed a deep and far-reaching practice, from Dharma Lite all the way to highest tantra.

© 2002 by Alexander Berzin. All rights reserved.

For further information on Alex's online teachings, see www.berzinarchives.com.

Books by Alex Berzin published by Snow Lion:

Relating to a Spiritual Teacher Taking the Kalachakra Initiation The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Malm mudra

Developing Balanced Sensitivity Kalachakra and other Six-session Yoga Texts

For more information on Alex and his books see: www.SnowLionPub.com. There is a link on the home page.

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