Kālacakra and the Tibetan Calendar

Book excerpt: Kalacakra and the Tibetan Calender describes the contents of current Tibetan almanacs, from basic mathmatics to symbolic and historical information. Essential for understanding the Kalacakra Tantra's first chapter, this book describes the origin of the calendrical systems in this Tantra and translates and elucidates the relevant sections from its famous commentary, the Vimalaprabha. The main calenders in use in Tibet today have remained unchanged since the 15th century, when lamas in several different traditions tried to make sense of the calculation systems they had inherited from India, and to adjust them to remove increasingly obvious errors. This book analyzes the main systems that survive today, assesing their accuracy and comparing them with the methods described in the original Tantra. Published by American Institute of Buddhist Studies (AIBS)