288pp,
2001, Oxford University Press, some black & white illustrations - hardcover.
ISBN: 0-19-512211-9, available from
Snowlion
Publisher
Snowlion:
The Kalachakratantra 's five chapters are classified into three categories: Outer,
Inner, and Other Kalachakra. The present work concentrates on the Inner, which
deals with the nature of the human being. Wallace discusses this topic and its
relationship to the larger concepts of the Kalachakratantra's theory and practice.
For example, the view of the individual is shown to be inseparable from its view
of the universe. The understanding of the person becomes clear only when examined
in the light of the tantric yoga practices described in the Other Kalachakra section.
Among the topics explored are: the Tantras's integration of different Indian Buddhist
and non-Buddhist religious ideas; the parallels between the Buddhist gnosticism
and that of the Judeo-Christian tradition; the birth and death of the individual's
transmigratory mind and body; the Kalachakra's unique theory of karma and its
approach to the nature of mental afflictions--their causes and their relation
to karma.
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Review by Andy Wistreich:
Overall Rating:
2001 OUP
Vesna Wallace summarises her central thread towards
the end of her book:
In this tantric tradition, the innate blissfulness
and purity of one’s own mind is the transformative agent, the transformative
means as the body of the path, and the transformed body of Buddhahood (p 208)
In other words, the connate bliss and emptiness, which she calls ‘gnosis’,
is the basis, path and result. Or, to put it yet another way, through the practice,
we take what was always there, and transform it to become simply what it is, by
means of itself. Lest we take this gnosis as a self-existent, she periodically
reminds us throughout the book, that the Kalacakratantra (root), and more
specifically its commentary, the Vimalaprabha (commentary) does not waver
from a middle way understanding of emptiness. Several times I wondered why
the book is not called, simply The Kalacakratantra leaving out the word
‘Inner’ simply because it has a substantial amount of outer Kalacakra
in its presentation. It might be because its starting point was the author’s
doctoral thesis, which focused on Chapter Two of the root text and commentary.
This book covers all five chapters with an ease that is captivating, and reassuring.
It leaves the reader with a confidence that Kalacakra is indeed understandable.
For those whose priority is practice rather than scholarship, this book therefore
provides a useful foundation on which to build one’s sadhana, a handbook
for the journey.
The eight chapters of The Inner Kalacakratantra could
be divided into two groups of four. The first four chapters provide the background
for the second four. The first chapter offers a comprehensive coherent overview
of the context of the Kalacakratantra, and is followed by three chapters which
build on work previously available. The second chapter on the sad-anga-yoga
extends work in The Yoga of Six Limbs by Gunter Gronbold (trans. Hutwohl
1996 Spirit of the Sun Publications), critiques it and takes in additional material.
The third and fourth chapters on the syncretism and sciences of Kalacakratantra,
respectively, again extend discussions first found in Wallace’s doctoral
thesis. These four chapters are far more confident than any of the prior work
mentioned above, and one must conclude that during the interim since completing
her doctorate, Vesna Wallace’s understanding of the Kalacakratantra deepened
and expanded enormously. Since the doctoral thesis only covers Chapter Two of
the root and commentary, one could conclude that this deepened awareness is the
result of intensive study of the other four chapters, and the resultant holistic
vision of the overall structure of the Kalacakratantra.
The second half of
the book takes us on an extraordinary journey through what the chapter names call,
successively The Cosmic Body, The Social Body, The Gnostic Body and
The Transformative Body. I wondered whether one might map these four stages
of explanation of the tantra to a traditional approach. I guess I could see a
parallel between the Cosmic Body and what we normally call the Outer Kalacakra
(i.e. Chapter One of root and commentary), but actually parts of the Social Body
relate to this chapter too. Also, the Transformative Body is principally where
description of the path takes place so there are many references to Chapter Four
of root and commentary. The Gnostic Body is where the author goes to tremendous
lengths to make sense of Chapter Five of root and commentary, which she does partly
with assistance from outside Buddhism, looking at the Gnostic tradition of Christianity,
Judaism and Islam.
However, my attempts to parallel the books four ‘Body’
chapters to chapters in the root and commentary devalues the eclecticism and commentarial
freedom of Wallace’s approach. Unless someone can find a source for her structure
that I am not aware of, it looks as if she has chosen this structure as a personal
method of unlocking and revealing by stages, the depths and potential of the Kalacakratantra.
Perhaps in some way it follows her own journey towards understanding the meaning
of Kalacakra.
The Cosmic Body sets the individual within the cosmos
and visa versa through the complex network of associations that those reasonably
familiar with practice and/or theory of Kalacakra will recognise from their earlier
studies. The essential point is that in the Cosmic Body we construct a unity of
all inner and outer phenomena that will provide a framework for the experiential
journey of practice. On this basis The Social Body takes us out into society.
The sociology of Kalacakra, as presented here, encompasses all classes of individual
within an inclusive societal vision. Confidence in being in the world as a social
actor has been cited as a feature of Kalacakra; this chapter gives much scriptural
evidence for this assertion.
These two Bodies, together with the scene-setting
of the earlier four chapters, enable the author to take us on the journey to the
interior that is surely the purpose of the book and of the whole tradition. We
might connect the Gnostic Body and the Transformative Body (the final two chapters),
to the third and fourth Noble Truths. It also helps to make sense of the order,
to do so, as The Gnostic Body helps us to understand the goal, which is
also the basis and the process, while The Transformative Body outlines
the steps towards reaching the goal, by purifying the basis and facilitating the
process. As the final chapter moves towards its conclusion, our appetite for practice
is surely whetted. The yogas of the stages of generation and completion are described
sufficiently for practitioners to recognise the structures. Most importantly,
because the whole book never wavers from being an attempt to understand the Kalacakratantra
and Vimalaprabha, we learn how the practice tradition arises from the root scriptures.
Ultimately, this is a book of contemporary academic scholarship, resting comfortably
within the modern tradition. In many respects this is refreshing as it enables
new angles and perspectives, whilst still rigorously demanding textual reference
and scholarly validity. If anything is missing it is, not surprisingly, the sense
of a contemporary practice tradition. For instance, the practitioner is always
referred to with the male personal pronoun, and the sexual yogas are discussed
exclusively from a male perspective. The story of bringing the practice tradition
alive in the context of a 21st Century world is for others to make
and express. However, this story will never stand a chance of coming to life,
unless there is a significant body of reliable translation of key scriptures and
commentaries from Sanskrit and Tibetan (and Mongolian) available in the languages
of the modern world. This book takes a significant step towards a modern commentarial
tradition. Hopefully it will enable many practitioners to confidently develop
a meaningful framework for their spiritual journey to the state of Kalacakra.
The yogic practices of the ‘Kalacakratantra’ are a form of inner
sacrifice, in which regenerative fluids, sometimes called ‘soma’, are
the inner offering to the deities dwelling within one’s own body. Likewise,
in this rite of inner sacrifice, ‘candali’, or the fire of gnosis, is
a purifying fire to which all of one’s imperfections are offered. Being the
inner sacrifice, it is the most powerful and expedient means to spiritual realisation.
(p 216)
Perhaps this penultimate paragraph of the book indicates why the
book’s title is The Inner Kalacakratantra, and points to Wallace’s
guiding awareness of the ultimate primacy of practice over scholarship.
Andy
Wistreich
26.5.02
Review
by Rudy Harderwijk:
Overall Rating:
Having finished it, I believe that this work by Vesna Wallace
is the most comprehensive package of information on the Kalachakra in book form
available today in English. The only criticism I can come up with is pretty irrelevant
in the view of the achievement of this book: it is not cheap (though in many ways
beyond 'value'), the black and white images are quite austere (as unfortunately
appears to be normal in a scholarly work of this calibre), and it does not contain
the actual translation (that would have made it huge, and the publisher apparently
refused to print it). This book is not exactly easy reading, but that is due to
the subject, not Vesna's clear writing style. This book is a genuine 'must' for
a serious practitioner of Kalachakra!
Hint: when combining this book with
'The Mandala' by Martin Brauen and its great
images, I would have to rate them 6 Stars out of 5!
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