Kalachakra is a Sanskrit word that means "time wheel." In
Tibetan Buddhism, Kalachakra is the name of a deity and also a
system of teachings and practices leading to enlightenment. The
Kalachakra is a system of tantra yoga, which in Buddhism is to
realize enlightenment through identification with tantric
deities. These deities are not exactly gods and goddesses as
understood in the West, but more like archetypes that
representing the practitioner's own deepest nature. As the name
suggests, the Kalachakra is concerned with time (kala) and
wheels or cycles (chakra). Many kinds of cycles are included,
from cycles of time to cycles of planets to cycles of life.
Kalachakra is associated with Tibetan astronomy and is the basis
of the Tibetan calendar. Kalachakra is said to be the most
complex system of Tibetan tantra. In Tibetan mythology, the
Buddha gave the teachings to King Suchandra of Shambhala, and it
appears to have been introduced into Tibet in the 11th century
CE. Today some form of Kalachakra is found in