Having practiced the paths of recognizing the suffering condition of ordinary life, of developing great compassion and an altruistic intention to become enlightened, and of engendering the view realizing the emptiness of inherent existence, a practitioner is ready to receive initiation. Initiation is a multifaceted process, the meanings of which are explained in great detail and even read into the term for initiation (abhiṣheka). Through imaginatively treating the term “abhiṣheka” in many different ways by erasing letters, adding letters, and substituting others, it comes to have the meanings of cleansing, purifying, authorizing, empowering, gaining lordship, depositing potencies, sprinkling, pouring, casting, bestowing behavior and release, and causing possession of a blissful mind.
Through considerable alteration, ṣheka becomes snāyi, which means cleansing. Just as dirt is cleaned away, so defilements of the mental and physical aggregates, constituents, and senses and sense fields are cleansed. Or, ṣheka can become shuddhe, which means pure. Just as a king is ritually bathed on assuming rule in a Vedic rite called abhiṣheka, so the mental continuum is purified through cleansing defilements.
Similarly, abhiṣheka can become adhikāra, which means authority. Just as a king is authorized to engage in royal activities through an inaugural ceremony called abhiṣheka, so one is authorized to hear the tantras, cultivate the tantric paths, teach the tantras, and to engage in activities to accomplish feats (dngos grub, siddhi). Or, it can become vasha or vashini (i.e., vashin), which mean power. The initiate is empowered with respect to all feats and activities according to wish.
Or, it can become īshvara, lord. Just as through being inaugurated as a king one gains dominion as lord of the kingdom, so abhiṣheka has the sense of attaining a rank of control over everything and gaining a lordship of good qualities.
Or, abhiṣhikta can become shakti, which means potency, and apakṣhepana, which means to posit or deposit. Initiation deposits potencies for attaining all the good qualities of the grounds, paths, and fruits. Or, abhiṣhiṃcha, which means to cast or sprinkle; through being sprinkled with water, the initiate is cleansed. Or, abhiṣhikta becomes niṣhikta, which means “poured”; through initiation the potency for exalted wisdom is poured into the clean vessel of a mental continuum purified through the Bodhisattva vows. Or, with initiation, one gains the seed producing the fruit through the seed’s being cast in the basis-of-all (the very subtle mind of clear light). Or, ṣhiṃcha can turn into chārya, which means deeds or behavior, and ṣhekta can become mukti, which means release. In this sense, initiation bestows the Secret Mantra style of behavior and the release that is its fruit. Or, it can become sukha, which means bliss, and yukta, which means to possess. In this sense, initiation causes the initiate to possess a blissful mind.
Clearly, esthetic delight is taken in constructing creative etymologies that accord with important meanings of the initiation process. However, it is not that the term for initiation determines what initiation means but that the various facets of initiation themselves are used to create meanings of the term. Thus, these etymologies give considerable insight into the actual meanings and purposes of initiation. Initiation means to cleanse and purify defilements; to authorize students to hear about and cultivate the tantric paths and to achieve special feats; to empower the attainment of beneficial qualities; to set potencies for attaining levels of the path and the fruits of those paths; to sprinkle water; to pour potencies and cast seeds into the mental continuum of the initiate; to convey a new style of behavior and its attendant releases from distorted states; and to cause initiates to be endowed with a blissful mind. As will be seen in the next two chapters, all of these activities are central to the initiations of the Kālachakra system.89
NUMBER AND PURPOSE OF INITIATIONS
For practicing the Kālachakra Tantra there are basically fifteen initiations that fall into three groups:
Seven initiations in the pattern of childhood
1 water initiation
2 crown initiation
3 silk ribbon initiation
4 vajra and bell initiation
5 conduct initiation
6 name initiation
7 permission initiation.
Four high initiations
8 vase initiation
9 secret initiation
10 knowledge-wisdom initiation
11 provisional word initiation.
Four greatly high initiations
12 vase initiation
13 secret initiation
14 knowledge-wisdom initiation
15 definitive word initiation.
These same fifteen initiations are also treated as eleven. This is done through taking the seven initiations in the pattern of childhood as seven and then treating the vase, secret, and knowledge-wisdom initiations in the high and greatly high initiations as merely three, as well as including the provisional word initiation from among the high initiations in the knowledge-wisdom initiation in that same group. This, added to the seven initiations in the pattern of childhood, makes ten, and the definitive word initiation is the eleventh. Done this way, the eleven initiations are:
Seven initiations in the pattern of childhood
1 water initiation
2 crown initiation
3 silk ribbon initiation
4 vajra and bell initiation
5 conduct initiation
6 name initiation
7 permission initiation.
Four high initiations
8 two vase initiations (8 and 12 from above)
9 two secret initiations (9 and 13 from above)
10 two knowledge-wisdom initiations and the provisional word initiation (10, 14, and 11 from above)
11 definitive word initiation (15 from above).
In addition, there is a final initiation of a vajra master lord.
From among the fifteen initiations, the first seven authorize students to practice the stage of generation of the Kālachakra system, and the remaining eight authorize practice of the stage of completion. Just as in order to practice the stage of completion it is necessary first to practice the stage of generation, so in order to receive the last eight initiations, it is necessary first to receive the seven initiations in the pattern of childhood.
The first seven initiations establish potencies in practitioners’ mental continuums for purifying impure appearances and impure conceptions. Impure appearances are appearances, to the mental consciousness, of ordinary phenomena such as a body made of flesh, blood, and bone; impure conceptions are conceptions of oneself, based on ordinary appearance, to be ordinary. During the stage of generation, practitioners develop clear appearance of themselves as the deity, or ideal being, Kālachakra together with a consort and other deities. When such meditation is successful, all ordinary appearances of bodies made of flesh, blood, and bone and houses made of wood and so forth vanish from the mental consciousness (not the sense consciousnesses) such that all that appears is divine – god and goddess, called a resident mandala, living in an environment and abode called a residence mandala. These mandalas are depicted in pictures that serve as blueprints for imagination; the pictures show the landscape, the house (palace), companions, and yourself as Kālachakra, for instance, in the manner of union with your mate. It is understood that you are engaged in altruistic activities, emitting helpful light rays and emanations into the environment, teaching, and so forth. In this way, you have the abode, body, resources, and activities of a deity, an ideal being whose very substance, as explained earlier, is the wisdom consciousness continuously realizing the emptiness of inherent existence, motivated by great compassion.
Through developing, in the stage of generation, clear appearance of pure body and pure mind, ordinary appearances are stopped for the mental consciousness. Also, based on clear appearance of pure mind and body, the meditator has a sense of divine personhood or selfhood; the person that is designated in dependence upon such vividly appearing pure mind and body is an ideal person, a deity. Thus, successful meditators have a conception of themselves as ideal beings, not inherently existent but merely designated in dependence upon pure mind and body.
For deity yoga to succeed, two prime factors are needed: clear appearance of a divine body and pride in being that deity. With success in visualizing the deity, both mind and body appear to be pure; hence, the sense of self that the meditator has in dependence upon purely appearing mind and body is of a pure self, a divine self. Divine pride itself is said to harm or weaken the conception of inherent existence which is at the root of all other afflictions in cyclic existence including afflicted pride. About divine pride, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama says in his introduction to Tantra in Tibet:90
. . . initially one meditates on an emptiness, and then, within the context of the mind’s continuous ascertainment of emptiness, the meditator believes that he is using this mind as the basis [or source] of appearance. At that time, the sense of a mere I designated in dependence on the pure resident – the deity – and residence – the palace and surroundings – is a fully qualified divine pride. As much as one can cultivate such pride, so much does one harm the conception of inherent existence that is the root of cyclic existence.
Due to the initial and then continuous practice of realizing the emptiness of inherent existence, the meditator realizes that the person is merely designated in dependence upon pure mind and body and is not analytically findable among or separate from those bases of designation. Thereby, divine “pride” or sense of self itself serves as a means for eliminating exaggerated conceptions of the status of phenomena including the person. Because identification of oneself as a divine being is within the context of the emptiness of inherent existence – of oneself not being analytically findable among or separate from pure mind and body and of only being designated in dependence upon pure mind and body – afflictive pride, which would be ruinous, is not just not produced, it is counteracted. Identity takes on a new meaning.
MULTIPLE DEITY MEDITATION
During the stage of generation, meditators achieve clear appearance of themselves as deities. However, they do not just imagine themselves to be one deity but individually imagine the different components of their psycho-physical continuum to be deities residing within a mandala, all a manifestation of their own compassionately motivated wisdom consciousness. They imagine their five constituents – earth (hard things such as bone), water (fluids), fire (heat), wind (inner currents), and space (hollow places) – to be deities. They imagine their five aggregates – forms, feelings, discriminations, compositional factors, and consciousnesses – to be deities. They imagine their ten winds (inner currents) as well as their left and right channels to be deities. They imagine their six sense powers – eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental sense powers – as well as their respective objects – visible forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and other phenomena – to be deities. They imagine their six action faculties – mouth, arms, legs, anus, urinary faculty, and regenerative faculty – and their respective activities – discharging urine, speaking, taking, going, discharging feces, and emitting regenerative fluid – to be deities.90a They imagine their pristine consciousness aggregate and pristine consciousness constituent, both understood in this context to refer to the bliss especially of sexual pleasure and non-conceptuality, to be deities.
These thirty-six phenomena in seven categories are grouped under four headings – body, speech, mind, and pristine consciousness or bliss.
The seven initiations in the pattern of childhood, those authorizing practice of the stage of generation, are concerned with establishing special potencies in the student’s continuum for purifying these seven groups of phenomena:
1 the water initiation purifies the five constituents – earth, water, fire, wind, and space
2 the crown initiation purifies the five aggregates – forms, feelings, discriminations, compositional factors, and consciousnesses
3 the silk ribbon initiation purifies the ten winds (inner currents)
4 the vajra and bell initiation purifies the left and right channels
5 the conduct initiation purifies the six sense powers – eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental sense powers – as well as their respective objects – visible forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and other phenomena
6 the name initiation purifies the six action faculties – mouth, arms, legs, anus, urinary faculty, and regenerative faculty – and their respective activities – speaking, taking, going, discharging feces, discharging urine, and emitting regenerative fluid
7 the permission initiation purifies the pristine consciousness aggregate and pristine consciousness constituent.
The four groups of phenomena – body, speech, mind, and pristine consciousness (bliss) – are related respectively with the four faces of Kālachakra – white, red, black (or dark blue), and yellow. Therefore, the students receive the first two initiations concerned with body, the water and crown initiations, from the white face; the next two concerned with speech, the silk ribbon and vajra and bell initiations, from the red face; the next two concerned with mind, the conduct and name initiations, from the black face; and the final permission initiation concerned with pristine mind or bliss, from the yellow face.
Kālachakra’s body with black face faces east; thus in pictures of the mandala or of the deity the bottom of the picture is the east, the top is the west, the right side from the main deity’s viewpoint is the south, and the left side is the north (thus from the viewpoint of someone looking at the picture, the right side is north and the left side is south). The white face is to the north, the main deity’s left; the red face, to the south or right; and the yellow face, to the west or back. As the pictures, called tang-
as (thang ka), depict Kālachakra, his black, or blue, face is facing forward; white, to his left; yellow to the back; and red to the right. The mandala has four sets of doors on its four sides which serve as approaches to the four faces of Kālachakra.
Given that the students receive the seven initiations from these faces and that the mandala has four doors corresponding to them, the students move from door to door of the mandala to receive the respective initiations. First, at the eastern door, the students request all seven initiations. They then proceed to the northern door for the water and crown initiations, next to the southern door for the silk ribbon and vajra and bell initiations, next to the eastern door for the conduct and name initiations, and finally to the western door for the permission initiation.
THE RESIDENCE AND RESIDENT MANDALAS
The term “mandala” (dkyil ’khor, maṇḍala) has many meanings.91 Our world is conceived as residing on mandalas or spheres of wind, water, and so forth; here “mandala” refers to the four elements that are the foundation. In a context such as “being directed toward entry to a path of the mandalas (or spheres) of the bad transmigrations,” “mandala” refers to birth-places. In “the mandala of the retinue of Bodhisattvas”, “mandala” means the circle of a retinue. A drop of perfumed water can be called a “mandala” of perfumed water. A garland or series of light rays is called a mandala of light. The earth, or foundation, under a fence is called a mandala, as in “Construct the mandala.” “Sun mandala” or “moon mandala” just mean sun and moon but can refer to their round shape. In “Bow down with (the body) having five mandalas,” “mandalas” refer to the five limbs – two arms, two legs, and head. “Mandala” also refers to an inestimable mansion that is the residence of deities, as well as to the resident deities. In addition, it can refer to the combination of divine residence and residents.
In the initiation ritual for Kālachakra, “mandala” mainly refers to a divine residence as well as to the circle of deities. Still, it is also used frequently to refer to the world system in glorified aspect, as in the offering of “mandala” to the lama. In the context of offering, the term does not refer to the divine residence or to the resident deities, but to the offering that one is making to the lama, the offering being the entire world system visualized in complete purity. Occasionally, the term refers to symbolic representations of the elements, as in mandalas (or spheres) of earth, water, fire, and wind, and the term is also used to refer to the square board on which the students drop a stick in order to indicate their lineage and the type of feat they should work at achieving. In the usage “Kālachakra mandala”, however, the reference is only to the divine residence and the resident deities.
RESIDENCE MANDALA
The principal residence mandala is a large building that site on a raised foundation. The building, a palace, has four walls with double doors in the center of each. The outer walls, which are those of the body mandala, are transparent and in five layers, like five layers of colored glass; the colors, from outside to inside, are yellow, white, red, black, and green.
You are outside, coming up the stairs to the platform or foundation on which the entire building sits. You proceed to the eastern doorway, the one depicted at the bottom of the picture. The doors open to the first level, and you step inside into the body mandala, seeing that half-way in is another set of similar, five layered walls, these being those of the speech mandala. This building within the building again has four double doors, and since it is raised above the body mandala, there are stairs leading up to the doors. It is about four feet above the body mandala level.
You proceed up the stairs; the doors open, and you enter the speech mandala, seeing that halfway inside it is another set of walls, which this time are in three layers – black, red, and white. These are the outer walls of the mind mandala. This third building within the larger building again has four double doors, and since it is raised above the speech mandala, there are stairs leading up to the doors. Again, it is about four feet above the speech mandala level.
You proceed up the stairs; the doors open, and you enter the mind mandala, seeing that halfway inside it is a square platform but with no walls, this being the pristine consciousness mandala. You notice that halfway inside it is another square platform, this being the great bliss mandala.
The building thus has five levels – the body, speech, mind, pristine consciousness, and great bliss mandalas – with three sets of walls, these being for the first three levels. (The walls all reach the same height with a single roof over the entire building.)
Each of the four walls of the body, speech, and mind mandalas has an elaborate doorway. Let’s go back down and outside to look at the eastern doorway of the bottom level, the body mandala. First, notice the ground; it is black, corresponding to the black face of Kālachakra that faces the east. Similarly, in the south the ground is red since Kālachakra’s red face faces south; in the west the ground is yellow in correspondence to the yellow face, and in the north the ground is white corresponding with the white face.
Notice the entryway at the eastern door, wider than the doorway, with a three storied portico above the entryway. Each of the stories of the portico above the entryway has four pillars across the front, thereby creating three room-like alcoves on each story. In eight of these nine alcoves are goddesses of offering; the middle alcove in the first story on the eastern side has a black wheel of doctrine with a buck and doe to the right and left. The first story sits on the roof of the entryway, smaller than the entryway itself, leaving space on the two ends for someone to stand. In that space on the floor of the first level, on each end, is a lion standing on an elephant and pressing down on its head. The lions appear to be helping to hold up the next floor. On the next floor as well as the top floor, in the equivalent space are male figures called shālabhañjika.92 Those at the ends of the second floor of the portico appear to be helping to hold up the next floor, and those on the third floor appear to be helping to hold up the roof. The three levels each have victory banners, and there are tail-hair fans, mirrors, bells, and hanging emblems. On top of the roof, in the middle, is a vase, and on the ends are victory banners.
The same type of entryway, with three story portico, is at each doorway of the body mandala. The only difference is that in the south the middle alcove of the first story has a wonderful red vase in the center with a conch and a lotus to the right and the left. In the north the middle alcove of the first story has a large white drum in the center with a staff and a mallet to the right and the left. In the west is a yellow bodhi tree in the center with a male semi-human to the right and a female semi-human93 to the left. Notice that the colors of the things in the middle alcoves of the first stories of the four porticos correspond to the basic colors of the four quadrants of the mandala, which as you will remember, correspond to the respective faces of Kālachakra, who stands up on the fifth level of the mandala.
Look up at the top of the wall; see the red jewel-studded frieze; the jewels are triangular, square, and so forth. Above the frieze is an open area, depicted as blue in the picture, with a ledge above it. There, sea monsters spew strings and half-strings of pearls from their mouths. The area is adorned with mirrors, tail-fans, bells, half moons, garlands of flowers, and so forth. Above, on the outside is an ornamental ledge from which an ornamental jeweled design hangs. On it, is another ledge in the shape of half lotus petals. On it, are victory banners and emblems. That is the outside wall of the body mandala; the walls of the speech and mind mandalas are the same.
Now, look down at the base of the outside wall. A white apron surrounds the entire building; it is where goddesses of offering reside. On the white apron, at the corners made by the entryway stand half-moon vajras, and at the four corners, again outside, stand crossed vajras of variegated color.
Let’s go back inside the body mandala. Notice that next to the outside wall there is a corridor the color of the ground, being black in the east. Next to it, is a raised white area where gods and goddesses reside; it has a small roof above it. On the other side of it, next to the wall of the speech mandala, is another area the color of the ground in that quadrant. This pattern of a corridor, a white area for gods and goddesses, and an area again the color of the ground of that quadrant is the same in the body, speech, and mind mandalas.
Now let’s go on up to the mind mandala. Halfway inside the mind mandala is the square, pristine mind mandala; again, notice that it does not have its own walls and is raised up above the mind mandala, about four feet. It is within the mind mandala, so to speak. It is surrounded by a balustrade of green vajras, on which are four black pillars on each side, making sixteen. The four in the east are marked with black swords representing Amoghasiddhi; the four in the south are marked with red jewels representing Ratnasambhava; the four in the north are marked with white lotuses representing Amitābha; the four in the west are marked with yellow wheels representing Vairochana.
Again, halfway inside the pristine consciousness mandala is the raised, square mandala of great bliss, surrounded by a balustrade of black vajras. In its center is a green lotus with eight petals. In its center is a white moon disc, on which is a red sun disc, a black rāhu disc, and a yellow kālāgni disc (rāhu is a planet, and kālāgni, literally, fire at the end of an eon, may be the fiery tail of that planet); these form the seat or basis on which Kālachakra and his consort Vishvamātā stand.
In total, there are seven hundred twenty-two deities situated throughout this five tiered mandala.94 When the stage of generation is cultivated in its most expansive manner – and this is preferable – the entire residence and resident mandalas are imagined in meditation, first gradually, one by one, and then when the meditator is accustomed to it, all at once. The process is much like moving into a complicated apartment complex or moving to a house in the suburbs in a complex development and eventually coming to know the entire area through gradually taking the lay of the land, so to speak, to mind.
Next we should go through the entire building, identifying everyone inside. However, first, let’s go back outside and get familiar with the area outside the building. Remember that the ground, as well as the roof of the resident mandala, is black in the east, red in the south, white in the north, yellow in the west, and blue in the center. Notice that the area outside the body mandala right over to the four tiered perimeter is filled with articles of offering – lotuses, vases, and so forth. The four tiered perimeter itself is composed of earth, water, fire, and wind – yellow, white, red and gray-blue; these are discs that underlie the mandala. A full moon is rising from the southeast, depicted in the picture in the southeast corner on the earth perimeter. The sun is setting in the southwest, depicted in the picture in the southwest corner on the earth perimeter. Also, notice that between the fire and wind perimeters there are eight great cemeteries, depicted in the picture as four red wheels in the principal directions and four white wheels in the intermediate directions. There is also a cemetery above, depicted as an additional wheel in the east (the bottom of the picture), and a cemetery below depicted as an additional wheel in the west (the top of the picture).
Again, outside the space perimeter is a vajra fence, and outside it, blazing light. That is the entire residence mandala.
Let’s go back inside the eastern door, up the stairs to the speech mandala, and again up the stairs to the mind mandala. Looking straight ahead and up, between the pillars of the pristine consciousness mandala, we see the centermost, great bliss mandala.
Mandala of Great Bliss
Seeing the mandala of great bliss, you recall the earlier description of the seat as a green lotus with eight petals and that in its center is a white moon disc, on which is a red sun disc, a black rāhu disc, and a yellow kālāgni planet – these being the seat, or basis, on which Kālachakra and his consort Vishvamātā stand.
Kālachakra. Take a good look at Kālachakra, the central deity. It is important to keep in mind that Kālachakra, no matter what aspect is displayed, is a compassionate appearance of a wisdom consciousness realizing the emptiness of inherent existence. The nature of the glorious Kālachakra is, therefore, great bliss since a supramundane deity is someone who has brought to full development the capacity of the most subtle, innate, blissful consciousness to realize emptiness. Kālachakra’s body is fully aspected,95 emitting pure light rays of five colors – blue, red, white, yellow, and green.96 His body is blue in color. He has three necks – black in the center, red to his right, and white to his left – and four faces. The black face in the center, facing east, is fierce, with exposed fangs. Let’s walk around the corridor of the mind mandala so that we can see the other three faces clearly. Going to the left, we come near the southern door of the mind mandala; from there we see that his right face is red and exhibiting desire. Proceeding on, we see that his back face is yellow and dwelling in meditative stabilization. Proceeding on, we see that his left face is white and very peaceful. All of the faces have three eyes.
Now, returning to the front of the eastern door of the mind mandala, notice that his hair is bound on top of his head and that his crown is adorned with a vajra, a half moon, and Vajrasattva (not depicted in the painting). His body is adorned with various adornments – vajra jewels, vajra earrings, vajra necklace, vajra bracelets, vajra belt, vajra ankle bracelets, vajra silk ribbons hanging from his crown, and vajra garlands. His lower robe is a tiger skin.
Details of the Kalachakra mandala taken
from a painting hanging at Thekchen
Choeling, residence of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, India.
Photographs: pp.1–3 and 5–8 © John
Leidenfrost 1985; p, 4 © Ellen Pearlman
1985.
The first set of shoulders is blue, the second red, the third white; thus there are six shoulders. He has twelve upper arms; the first two upper arms on each side are blue, the second red, and the third white. He has twenty-four lower arms; the first four on each side (starting from the bottom) are black, the second red, the third white. The outsides of the thumbs of the hands are yellow, the index fingers white, the middle fingers red, nameless fingers (ring fingers) black, and the little fingers green. The insides of the first joints of the fingers are black, the second red, and the third white. They are adorned with rings and emit light.
Look at his hands. Starting from the bottom, the first of the four black hands on his right side holds a vajra; the second, a sword; the third, a trident; the fourth, a curved knife. The first of the four red hands on his right side holds a triple arrow;97 the second, a vajra hook; the third, a resounding drum; the fourth, a mallet. The first of the four white hands on his right side holds a wheel; the second, a spear; the third, a staff; the fourth, an axe.
The first of the four black hands on his left side holds a vajra bell; the second, a shield; the third, a khaṭvāṅga (a three pointed instrument); the fourth, a skull filled with blood. The first of the four red hands on the left side holds a bow; the second, a noose; the third, a jewel; the fourth, a white lotus. The first of the four white hands on his left side holds a conch; the second, a mirror; the third, an iron chain; the fourth, a four faced head of Brahmā.
Look at his legs in the posture of sport. The red right leg is outstretched; the left leg is slightly bent. Under the right foot is a red God of Desire (Cupid), with one face and four hands, holding five flower-like arrows, a bow, a noose, and an iron hook. Under the bent white left leg is white Rudra with one face, three eyes, and four hands, holding a trident, ḍamaru drum, skull, and khaṭvāṅga. Rati, the goddess of the demonic God of Desire, and Uma, the goddess of Rudra, with lowered heads hold onto Kālachakra’s heels.
Vishvamātā. Kālachakra’s consort, Vishvamātā, embraces him from the front.98 Her central face is yellow; her right face, white; her back face, blue, and her left face, red. Each face has three eyes. She has four arms on each side. Starting from the top, her right hands hold a curved knife, iron hook, resounding ḍamaru drum, and rosary; her left hands hold a skull, noose, white lotus with a hundred petals, and a jewel. She wears a crown with a Vajrasattva (not depicted in the painting). She is adorned with five types of adornments. With her left leg bent she resides in absorption with the Supramundane Victor Kālachakra.
Both Kālachakra and Vishvamātā are three deities in one. Fused with Kālachakra are Akṣhobhya and Vajrasattva, and fused with Vishvamātā are Vajradhatvīshvarī and Prajñāpāramitā. Let us describe the latter deities as they are when separate from Kālachakra and Vishvamātā. Akṣhobhya is green with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his three left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. He is embraced by Prajñāpāramitā. Vajrasattva is blue with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his three left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. He is embraced by Dharmadhātvīshvarī. Vajradhatvīshvarī is green with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her three left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā; she is embraced by Vajrasattva. Prajñāpāramitā is blue with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her three left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā; she is embraced by Akṣhobhya.
The Ten Shaktis. Kālachakra and Vishvamātā are standing on a yellow kālāgni disc, which is over a black rāhu disc, which is over a red sun disc, which is over a white moon disc, which is in the center of an eight petalled green lotus. Let’s look at the petals where goddesses, called Shaktis (nus ma), stand.99 On the eastern petal is black Kṛṣhṇadīptā with four faces – black, red, yellow, and white – and eight hands, holding in her right hands vessels of incense, sandalwood, saffron, and a mixture of camphor and musk and in her left hands a bell, lotus, flower of the deva tree, and a string of various flowers. On the southern petal is red Raktadīptā, having red, yellow, white, and blue faces and eight hands, holding in her right hands a butter lamp, string of pearls, crown, and bracelet and in her left hands a garment, belt, earring, and anklet.
On the northern petal is white Shretadīptā, with white, black, red, and yellow faces and eight hands, holding in her right hands vessels of milk, water, the supreme of medicines, and beer and in her left hands vessels of ambrosia, accomplished taste,100 ambrosia-fruit, and food. On the western petal is yellow Pītadīptā, having yellow, white, blue, and red faces and eight hands, holding in her right hands a conch, flute, jewel, and ḍāmaru drum and in her left hands a guitar, drum, resounding gong, and copper conch.
On the southeast petal is black Dhūmā with four faces – black, red, yellow, and white – and eight hands, holding eight black yak-tail fans. On the southwest petal is red Mārīchī, with red, yellow, white, and blue faces and eight hands, holding eight red yak-tail fans. On the northeast petal is white Khadyotā with white, black, red, and yellow faces and with eight hands, holding eight white yak-tail fans. On the northwest petal is yellow Pradīpā, with yellow, white, blue, and red faces and eight hands, holding eight yellow yak-tail fans.
All eight Shaktis have three eyes on all faces, are adorned with the five adornments, have crowns with a Vajrasattva, and reside in the posture of equality.
In the northeast corner of the great bliss mandala is a white conch; in the southwest, a red gong (gaṇḍi); in the southeast, a black wish-granting jewel; and in the northwest, a yellow wish-granting tree.
Ten Shaktis confer the silk ribbon initiation. As described in 
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ay-gyel-tsen’s Initiation Rite of Kālachakra, Stated in an Easy Way (see pp. 292-3 of the translation), the remaining two Shaktis are green Vajradhatvīshvarī with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā and blue Vishvamātā with three faces – blue, white, and red – and six hands, holding in her three right hands vajra, bell, and axe and in her three left hands a bell, skull, and head of Brahmā.
You have seen all of the deities in the great bliss mandala – Kālachakra, Vishvamātā, the two deities residing with each of them, and the ten Shaktis.101
Pristine Consciousness Mandala
Sixteen Ones Gone Thus. In the pristine consciousness mandala are four male Ones Gone Thus (Buddhas) embraced by four female Ones Gone Thus and four female Ones Gone Thus embraced by four male Ones Gone Thus. As you look at the pristine consciousness mandala, you will remember that it is surrounded by a balustrade of green vajras, on which are four black pillars on each side, making sixteen places for eight deities with consorts and eight objects to reside.102 In the east is black Amoghasiddhi with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in his three left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga; he is embraced by Lochanā. In the southeast is black Tārā with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in her three left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga; she is embraced by Vairochana.
In the south is red Ratnasambhava with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and resounding ḍāmaru drum and in his three left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel; he is embraced by Māmakī. In the southwest is red Pāṇḍarā, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in the three right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and resounding ḍāmaru drum and in the three left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel; she is embraced by Amitābha.
In the north is white Amitābha with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in his three left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and rosary; he is embraced by Pāṇḍarā. In the northeast is white Māmakī, with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in her three left hands white lotuses with a hundred petals, mirror, and rosary; she is embraced by Ratnasambhava.
In the west is yellow Vairochana, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a wheel, staff, and frightening vajra and in his three left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a ringing bell; he is embraced by Tārā. In the northwest is yellow Lochanā, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a wheel, staff, and frightening vajra and in her three left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a ringing bell; she is embraced by Amoghasiddhi.
All of the Ones Gone Thus each have three eyes on all of their faces. They are in sitting posture, embracing their respective consorts.
Of the sixteen places in the pristine consciousness mandala, only eight are occupied by the four male Ones Gone Thus and the four female Ones Gone Thus; in the remaining eight are vases. The two vases in the east are filled with purified marrow; those in the south, with purified blood; those in the north, with purified urine; those in the west with purified excrement. Above and below, there are also vases filled with purified semen and menses respectively. They are on lotuses and are covered with lotuses.
The water initiation is conferred by the five female Ones Gone Thus – the four just listed, along with Vajradhatvīshvarī who resides undifferentiably with Vishvamātā but separates out to bestow the initiation. The crown initiation is conferred by the five male Ones Gone Thus – the four just listed, along with Akṣhobhya who resides undifferentiably with Kālachakra but separates out to bestow the initiation.
The Deities of the Mind Mandala
Five Guardians With Consorts. Now, look at the mind mandala itself; it has four doors with guardians at each.103 At the eastern door is black Vighnāntaka (Atibala), with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in his three left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga. He is embraced by yellow Stambhakī, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in her three left hands a conch, vajra chain, and resounding bell.
At the southern door is red Prajñāntaka (Jambhaka), with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and resounding ḍāmaru drum and in his three left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel. He is embraced by white Mānakī, with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in her three left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and a rosary.
At the northern door is white Padmāntaka, with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in his three left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and a rosary. He is embraced by red Jambhakī, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and resounding ḍāmaru drum and in her three left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel.
At the western door is yellow Yamāntaka, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in his three left hands a conch, vajra chain, and resounding bell. He is embraced by black Atibalā, with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her three right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in her three left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga.
On a seat above the mind mandala (depicted in the eastern door). is Uṣhṇīṣhachakravartī, with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his three right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his three left hands a vajra bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. He is embraced by blue Atinīlā, with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left a vajra bell, skull, and a head of Brahmā.104
All of the male and female Wrathful Deities have reddish yellow hair standing on end, are adorned with snakes and the six adornments, and have three eyes on each face. The males stand with right leg outstretched, and the females, with the left leg outstretched.
These ten Wrathful Deities together with Sumbharāja and Raudrākṣhī from the body mandala confer the name initiation.
Twenty-Four Male and Female Bodhisattvas. Look to the left and right of each door and in the four corners of the mind mandala; there you see the twelve male and twelve female Bodhisattvas.105 To the right of the eastern door is black Khagarbha, with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in his left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga. He is embraced by yellow Gandhavajrā, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and with six hands, holding in her right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in her left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a resounding bell.
In the southeast corner is black Sparshavajrā, with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in her left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga. She is embraced by yellow Sarvanivaraṇaviṣhkambhi, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and with six hands, holding in his right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in his left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a resounding bell.
To the right of the southern door is red Kṣhitigarbha, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and a resounding ḍāmaru drum and in his left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel. He is embraced by white Rūpavajrā, with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in her right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in her left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and rosary.
In the southwest corner is red Rasavajrā, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and a resounding ḍāmaru drum and in her left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel. She is embraced by white Lokeshvara with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in his right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in his left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and rosary.
To the right of the northern door is white Lokeshvara with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in his right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in his left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and rosary. He is embraced by red Rasavajrā, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and a resounding ḍāmaru drum and in her left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel.
In the northeast corner is white Rūpavajrā, with three faces – white, black, and red – and six hands, holding in her right hands a mallet, spear, and trident and in her left hands a white lotus with a hundred petals, a mirror, and rosary. She is embraced by red Kṣhitigarbha, with three faces – red, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his right hands a triple arrow, vajra hook, and a resounding ḍāmaru drum and in his left hands a bow, vajra noose, and nine-faceted jewel.
To the right of the western door is yellow Sarvanivara-ṇaviṣhkambhi, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in his right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in his left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a resounding bell. He is embraced by black Sparshavajrā, with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in her left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga.
In the northwest corner is yellow Gandhavajrā, with three faces – yellow, white, and black – and six hands, holding in her right hands a wheel, staff, and frightful vajra and in her left hands a conch, vajra iron chain, and a resounding bell. She is embraced by black Khagarbha, with three faces – black, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a sword, curved knife, and trident and in his left hands a shield, skull, and white khaṭvāṅga.
To the left of the southern door is green Vajrapāṇi, with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. He is embraced by blue Shabdavajrā, with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā.
To the left of the western door is green Dharmadhātuvajrā, with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. She is embraced by blue Samantabhadra, with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā.
To the left of the eastern door is blue Samantabhadra, with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. He is embraced by green Dharmadhātuvajrā, with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā.
To the left of the northern door is blue Shabdavajrā, with three faces – blue, red, and white – and six hands, holding in her right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in her left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā. She is embraced by green Vajrapāni, with three faces – green, red, and white – and six hands, holding in his right hands a vajra, curved knife, and axe and in his left hands a vajra-bell, skull, and head of Brahmā.
Twelve Goddesses of Offering. Goddesses of offering reside on the white apron surrounding the mind mandala. On each side of the four doors is a goddess, and there are two above and two below, making twelve.
The Deities of the Speech Mandala
Let’s go down the stairs of the mind mandala to the speech mandala. Immediately we see that there are eight large eight-petalled lotuses in the four directions and four intermediate directions. The eight lotuses are each on seats of living beings. In the center of each of the lotuses is a goddess embraced by a god and surrounded by eight goddesses, one on each petal. Thus, there are ten deities on each of the eight lotuses, making eighty deities. The Seventh Dalai Lama’s Means of Achievement of the Complete Mandala of Exalted Body, Speech, and Mind of the Supramundane Victor, the Glorious Kālachakra: the Sacred Word of Scholars and Adepts identifies each of these eighty (as well as those mentioned below) for the sake of complete meditation. We will not identify in detail the remaining deities, however, as they are not involved in the seven initiations authorizing practice of the stage of generation.
Outside the speech mandala on the apron surrounding it are thirty-six goddesses of desire – four on one side of each of the four doors and five on the other.
The Deities of the Body Mandala
Three Hundred Sixty Deities of the Days. Let’s leave the speech mandala, going down the stairs to the body mandala. We see that there are twelve large lotuses with twenty-eight petals each, the petals being in three rows – four in the first row nearest the center, eight in the second, then sixteen in the third. In the center of each lotus is a god embraced by a goddess and surrounded by twenty-eight goddesses, one on each petal. Thus, each of the twelve lotuses has thirty deities, making a total of three hundred sixty, representing the twelve months and three hundred sixty days of a year.106
Twelve Wrathful Deities. In each of the four doors and above and below there is a Male Wrathful Deity embraced by a Female Wrathful Deity, making twelve. They are in chariots drawn by boars, horses, elephants, lions, garuḍas, and tigers.
Goddesses of Offering. Let’s go outside the body mandala and look at the apron surrounding it. There are thirty-six goddesses of desire – four on one side of the doors and five on the other.
Ten Serpent Kings. Also, on each side of the doors outside the body mandala are seats representing the four elements – earth, water, fire, and wind – making eight, as well as symbols of space and pristine consciousness above and below, respectively. On these are Serpent Kings and their consorts.
Ten Wrathful Goddesses of the Cremation Grounds. Looking out to the cemeteries, or cremation grounds, that are between the fire and wind perimeters, we see the eight cremation grounds of the four directions, four intermediate directions, and above and below. At each of these is a wheel with a lotus in the center on which stands a goddess – making ten goddesses. They are embraced by male deities and surrounded by various deities.
In other Highest Yoga Tantras, the deities in the mandala create an intention to confer initiation which is actually conferred by separate initiation deities who come from the outside. In the Kālachakra Tantra, however, the deities in the mandala actually confer the initiations, though there is help from external initiation deities. We have identified where these central deities are in the mandala; in the next chapter, we shall discuss how initiation is conferred.
