Ornament of stainless light
Subtitle: an exposition of the kālacakra tantra
By: Khedrup Norsang Gyatso ; translated by Gavin Kilty.
Contributors: Thupten Jinpa.; Kilty, Gavin.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: The library of Tibetan classics -- v. 14
Publisher: Wisdom Publications, in association with the Institute of Tibetan Classics
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Boston, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 709
Subjects: Tripiṭaka. -- Sūtrapiṭaka. -- Tantra. -- Kālacakratantra; Kālacakra (Tantric rite)
Work titles: Phyi naṅ gźan gsum gsal bar byed pa dri med ʹod kyi rgyan.
Description: "The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light. Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the second Dalai Lama." "One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working our this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: "Author2: Jinpa, Thupten"--Cip, data sheet.

Gift of Henry G. Schwarz.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [681]-692) and index.
Table of contents: title: Pt. 1.; title: The external world:; title: The three themes of Kālacakra tantra ;; title: Formation of the world and its dimensions ;; title: The inhabitants of this world ;; title: The stars and the planets ;; title: Resolving contradictions between Kālacakra, and Abhidharma cosmology -- -- pt. 2.; title: The inner world of sentient beings:; title: The development of the body ;; title: Channels, winds, and drops ;; title: Discrepancies between Kālacakra other tantras -- -- pt. 3.; title: Initiations:; title: Qualifications of master and disciple ;; title: Description of the mandala ;; title: The initiations ;; title: The seven childhood initiations ;; title: The four higher initiations ;; title: The higher-than-high initiations -- -- pt. 4.; title: Sādhana, methods of accomplishment:; title: The two stages ;; title: The generation stage ;; title: The two accumulations ;; title: The body vajra ;; title: Analysis of the colors of the lunar-day deities ;; title: Resolving doubts concerning the process of generation ;; title: The speech vajra ;; title: The mind vajra ;; title: The gnosis vajra -- -- pt. 5.; title: Gnosis, the completion stage:; title: The six-branched yoga ;; title: Withdrawal, night yoga ;; title: Withdrawal, day yoga ;; title: The yoga of meditative absorption ;; title: Pryāma, the yoga of the winds ;; title: Vajra recitation ;; title: Vase yoga ;; title: The yoga of retention ;; title: The yoga of recollection ;; title: The yoga of meditative concentration ;; title: The fruits of the two stages.