In Buddhism, a Kalachakra stupa is a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

whose symbolism is not connected to events in the Buddha's life, but instead to the symbolism of the

Kalachakra Tantra ''Kālacakra'' () is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The ta ...

, created to protect against negative energies.Karma Guen homepage about the stupa
Retrieved 2009-01-31. It is the rarest kind of stupa.

Symbolism

The specific symbolism of the Kalachakra stupa refers both to the symbolism of a

and the Buddhist conception of the universe, described in the Kalachakra teachings.Kuchary - Miracle stupa homepage
Retrieved 2009-02-06. Stupas express the nature of mind in a perfect way. It symbolizes both enlightened state of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

with body, speech and mind, the ten Bodhisattva levels, as well as the universe: It shows harmony and perfection of all universal principles.Karma Berchen Ling Kalachakra stupa Project
Retrieved 2009-02-15. Beer, Robert: The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (2004) Serindia Publications Inc. There are 8 different types of

s in the

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

s, all referring to important events in the Buddhas life. A ninth stupa, the Kalachakra stupa, can be found among the highest teaching of the Buddha in the non-dual Maha-

Anuttarayoga tantra Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism refers to the categorization of Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist tantric scriptures in Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism inherited numerous tantras and forms of Tantra, tantric practice from ...

, also known as the “Wheel of Time” or

Kalachakra ''Kālacakra'' () is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The ta ...

. The

refers to external, internal and alternative aspects. The external aspects deals with cosmology, astronomy and astrology, the internal deals with the individuals inner energy-system; the interrelationship between body and mind. The alternative aspect meditation deity practice on the Kalachakra. The stupa has great protective power.

Kalachakra stupas in the world

Ancient Dhanyakataka Stupa at Amaravati, Guntur district, India

This is the oldest of all Kalachakra Stupas and the place where according to Vajrayana oral transmission the Kalachakra tantra was first revealed by the historical Buddha. The stupa is not intact, however, there is a nearby museum with a smaller replica of the original Dhanyakataka Stupa. The museum also features some of the original stele and marble carvings from the original Stupa.According to Vajrayana traditional sources the Buddha taught Dharma at Dhanyakataka and conferred the Kalachakra ceremony on selected disciples, which would take the antiquity of the Amaravati Stupa back to 500 BCE.

Taranatha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Kun ...

, the Buddhist monk writes: "On the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, Buddha manifested the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kalachakra) at Dhanyakataka. In Vajrayana Tantrism, Dhanyakataka (Amaravati) is considered a very important place in regard to the revelation of the Kalachakra tantra.

Stupa in Bokar Monastery, Mirik, India, 1988

This Kalachakra stupa at Bokar Monastery was built in 1988. The monastery is both

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

and

Shangpa Kagyu The Shangpa Kagyu (, "Oral Tradition of the man from Shang") is known as the "secret lineage" of the Kagyu school of Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo Kagyu schools. The Dagpo Kagyu are the line ...

. Inside the stupa are relics of

s and

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

s and sacred objects.

Mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

s of specific deities are placed inside the different levels of the stupa.Kagyu Changchub Chuling homepage about the stupa
Retrieved 2009-02-01.

Stupa in Eastern Tibet

There is a Kalachakra stupa near the border of the old Tibet, built to protect against negative energies from outside the country. This stupa gave the inspiration for building the Kalachakra stupa in southern Spain.

Stupa in Karma Guen, Spain, 1994

This stupa was built in 1994 under guidance of

Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche (1918, Bhutan - June 10, 2003) was a master of Tibetan Buddhism, widely regarded in the Himalayas, with many students in both the East and the West. Overview As a young boy, he was ordained as a monk in the largest monast ...

, in the south of Spain. It was the first stupa assisted by Tsechu Rinpoche, a stupa he considered to be the “Mother stupa”, for the other stupas in the west. It is located in a Diamond Way Buddhist (

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mon ...

) centre, and designed by Woitek Kossowski, who was the architect of the project. It was constructed in the period from July 18 to September 12, 1994. It is 13 meters high and covers a ground area of 49 square meters. Inside it are relics from the present and former Buddhas, the complete

Kanjur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur or Kanjur ('Translation of the Word') and the Tengyur or Tanjur (Tengyur) ('Translation of Treat ...

and

Tanjur The Tengyur or Tanjur or Bstan-’gyur (Tibetan: "Translation of Teachings") is the Tibetan collection of commentaries to the Buddhist teachings, or "Translated Treatises". The Buddhist Canon To the Tengyur were assigned commentaries to b ...

(all Buddhas teachings and commentaries). At the time it was built, it was only the third of its kind in the world. This stupa has eyes painted on it, a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese custom also seen on the famous

Boudhanath Bouddha ( ne, बौद्धनाथ; ; , ), also known as Boudhanath, Khasti Chaitya and Khāsa Chaitya is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.Snellgrove, David. ''Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors'', 2 vols., p. 36 ...

stupa in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

Stupa in Dharamsala, India

This stupa is located at the residence of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

in Dharamsala, India. It was built just before the stupa in Garanas, Austria.Kalachakra Kalapa Center homepage about the stupa
Retrieved 2009-01-31.

Stupa in Garanas, Austria, 2002

The stupa was built on the ground of the Kalachakra Kalapa Centre in southwest Styria,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It is an exact copy of the stupa built at the residence of the

Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The stupa was constructed by Geshe Tenzin Dhargye, from December 2000 to October 2002. Ngawang Lodoe, from the monastery of the

in Dharamsala, were supervising the construction. Inside is incense, holy scriptures, valuable items of everyday use. The relics were provided by the Dalai Lama, and the venerable representatives of the five Tibetan Buddhist lineages and other important masters.

The Kalachakra Stupa at Kurukulla Center, Medford, Massachusetts, 2010

The Kalachakra stupa at Kurukulla Center was built at the suggestion of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual head of the

FPMT The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) was founded in 1975 by Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Mahayana Buddhism to Western students in Nepal. The FPMT has grown to encompass over ...

, with which Kurukulla Center is affiliated. The project was initiated when Wendy Cook was the director of the Center and completed after

Nick Ribush Nicholas Ribush was one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. A founder of Wisdom Publications, Ribush is today the director of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, a collection of thousands of teachings by ...

took over from her September 2008. The artistic director was Kurukulla's interpreter, Thubten Damchoe, and the Center's resident teacher, Geshe Tsulga, gave valuable advice. It is based on the ones at Dharamsala and Garanas (above) and Ngawang Lodoe helped with plans and advice. File:Stupa 9.8.10.jpg, Kalachakra Stupa for

World Peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

at Kurukulla Center,

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

File:Stupa tara fall.jpg, Stupa and Tara Pond

The Kalachakra Stupa at Karma Berchen Ling Buddhist Centre, Xylokastro, Greece, 2010

Kalachakra Stupa is a stupa located just outside Lagkadaiika village, in the Xylokastro area of the Corinthia region of southern Greece, overlooking the Gulf of Corinth. It is the largest stupa in Southeastern Europe.

Kalachakra Stupa Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia 2012

Kalachakra World Peace Stupa was opened to the public at a solemn ceremony at the Crystal Castle,

Mullumbimby Mullumbimby is an Australian town in the Byron Shire in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. It promotes itself as "The Biggest Little Town in Australia". The town lies at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the Brunswick Valley about 9 k ...

near

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 27 October 2012. It is the first Kalachakra Stupa in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated to the world peace and Tibetan people The Stupa at the Crystal Castle is a Kalachakra Stupa, a rare sacred monument created to protect against negative energies. It is known as the World Peace Stupa, and its specific purpose is to restore balance to the earth in times of war, conflict and environmental destruction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalachakra Stupa * Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhist art and culture