From the very beginning, the teachings of the Buddha have been concerned with fulfilling the wish of every living being to find peace and happines and avoid suffering. Moreover, because all beings have an equal right to pursue these goals and because, even among human beings, there are wide diferences of interest, character, and ability, the Budha taught a vast array of methods.

These mostly deal with the need to develop clarity of mind, purity of behavior, and a correct view of reality. They involve meditation and a code of ethics summarized as seeking to avoid harming others, actively helping them if you can, and a realization of the interdependence, and hence the lack of an inherent identity, of all phenomena.

Of all the different kinds of teaching the Buddha gave, Tibetan tradition regards the tantras as the highest. Ourtwardly, the practitioner maintain a life-style that accords with pure ethics; internally, he or she cultivates an altruistic intention to attain the state of a Buddha. Then, secretly, through the practice of deity yoga, concentrating on the inner channels, essentials drops, and energy winds, the practitioner enhances his or her progress to enlightnment.

The Kalachakra system was one of the last and most complex tantric systems to be brought to Tibet from India. In recent years many Westerners have become acquainted with this tradition as various lamas have given the Kalachakra Initiation to large groups of people. I myself have given it several times in Western countries, as well as in India and Tibet. Such initiation are given on the basis of a mandala, the sacred residence with its residence deities, usually depicted in graphic form . The tradition I follow employs a mandala constructed of colored sand which is carefully assembled prior to each initiation and dismantled once more at the end.

Due to their colorful and intricate nature, mandalas have attracted a great deal of interest. Although some can be openly explained, most are related to tantric doctrines that are normally supposed to be kept secret. Consequently, many speculative and mistaken interpretations have circulated among people who viewed them simply as works of art or had no access to reliable explanations. Because the severe misunderstandings that can arise are more harmful than a partial lifting of secrecy, I have encouraged a greater openess in the display and accurate description of mandalas.

Whereas the Buddha initially gave most of the tantras to individual disciples, the kalachakra was from the outset given to an entire community, the citizens of the kingdom of Shambala. Subsquently, in Tibet it became costumary for the initiation to be granted to great gatherings of people. I feel that introducing such a profound means of enlightment in this way creates a strong positive bond among all those who are present and so plants fertile seeds of peace.

The XIV Dalai Lama "The Kalachakra Tantra" (London, Wisdom Publications, 1985)

Foreword from the book "Wheels of Time:Sand Mandala", by Barry Bryant Harper Collins Publishers in cooperation with Nambgyal Monastery.