Kalachakra Mandala Tibetan Thangka Painting
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The Dalai Lama and the Kalachakra
Although thought to have once been a carefully guarded secret of the Shambhala Kingdom, the Kalachakra Tantra is now widely known. The Dalai Lama himself has given thirty-three separate initiations into this practice all over the world, including in Tibet, India, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States.
In an essay on his website, His Holiness writes, “the Kalachakra initiations empower the disciple to practice the yoga of the Kalachakra tantra, and, ultimately, to achieve the state of Shri Kalachakra.” As with other mandala practices, the goal here is for the initiate to “enter” into the mandala and identify with the deity represented therein.
Specification
- Dimensions: 55 x 55 cm
- Materials: Tibetan Gold Dust With Tibetan Colors
- Canvas: Organic Cotton
- Hand Painted In Nepal
- Fine Quality Tibetan Thangka
The Kalachakra Mandala
Through meditation on the Kalachakra mandala, monks invoke the qualities of the deity, striving in a ritualized way enter the mandala and become the deity themselves. This practice is not usually public, and mostly occurs behind temple walls.
In the public realm, the Kalachakra mandala is sometimes rendered as a thangka, a traditional style of Tibetan art frequently used to depict mandalas, and also as a sand mandala. Sand mandalas are performed as a cultural display in universities or other institutions by traveling monks. Upon completion, they are destroyed in a ritual meant to honor the impermanent nature of reality.
The symbolism of the mandala is rich. It is a two dimensional depiction of the three-dimensional palace of the deity Kalachakra. At the top of the palace, or the center of the mandala, dwells the god himself. Arrayed around the halls of the five-story palace beneath his feet are 722 other deities, all submitting to the great god Kalachakra who symbolizes the unstoppable passage of time.
The floors of the palace depicted in the Kalachakra Mandala, from the ground up, represent:
- Enlightened body
- Enlightened speech
- Enlightened mind
- Enlightened wisdom
- Enlightened great bliss
Arrayed around the palace are four elemental rings and two outer rings. From the inside out they are:
- Earth
- Water
- Fire
- Wind
- Space
- Wisdom
Taken together, all of these elements compose a microcosm of the universe, ruled by time personified.
Kalachakra is a black skinned, four-faced god with twelve arms and twenty-four hands. He is the personification of time, and his name carries that meaning. The Sanskrit word “kala” means time and “chakra” means cycle. The name makes reference to the cyclical nature of time in Buddhist and Hindu cosmologies. In these traditions, time is nonlinear and without end, having an almost three-dimensional quality.
When we refer to Kalachakra we may be referring to the deity himself, to the mandala dedicated to him, or to the body of teachings associated with this deity. The teachings, called Kalachakra Tantra, are considered to be some of the most advanced and complex in Tibetan Buddhism. In recent years they have been publicly proclaimed by the Dalai Lama to be especially important for this degenerate age. According to His Holiness, the Kalachakra teachings can help promote world peace.
The Story’s Origin
The Buddha, while appearing on Vulture Peak in Northern India to recite the Prajnaparamita Sutra (known in English as the Heart Sutra, a famous discourse on the role of emptiness in Buddhism), simultaneously appeared in Dharanikota and delivered the Kalachakra teachings to King Suchandra of Shambhala. Shambhala was a sacred mythical kingdom that is iconically representative of virtue in the Tibetan historical narrative. Fiercely pious warrior kings ruled there for centuries and dedicated themselves to the protection and spread of Buddhism.
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Kalachakra Mandala Tibetan Thangka Painting
ADD A TRADITIONAL HAND EMBROIDERY SILK BROCADE
Want to add a Brocade to your beautiful Thangka Painting? Traditional Style Brocade has been one of the most popular form of mounting as it has a greater religious merit.
THANGKA MANDALAS FOR YOUR HOME
Keeping Kalachakra mandala at home, office or in a meditation area of a home brings out the pure positive energy.
As soon as a Mandala Thangka painting, placed in a place, all the energies are transformed, the vibrations rise. Placing a symbol of sacred geometry in our environment or concentrating on it brings into our daily life a help to transform ourselves and attract to us the vibrations of the corresponding energy.
The Tibetan thangka meaning goes deeper than just sacred art and conveys reverence. An art form is genuinely sacred when it awakens a direct experience deeper than our ordinary selves and the material world in the mind.
We are proud to offer our customers only the best selection of Tibetan art. All our paintings go through a rigorous screening process in our studio and are guaranteed to be origianl and authentic.
100% COTTON CANVAS & NATURAL MINERALS
Preparing the Cotton canvas before starting to paint a Thangka. This process includes washing, drying, stretching, sizing and everything needed to make a perfect base for the thangka to last for centuries.
Thangka paintings are painted using natural minerals such as agate, gold, silver, cinnabar, saffron, ocher, rhubarb,lapis and many other minerals. To create the ideal pigment for painting, these materials are ground several times. This makes the materials even more durable and long-lasting. Thus, you can surely expect the color of the Thangka to withstand the test of time.
The gold in the ornaments and detailing is made from real gold dust.