Fly to Bodhgaya, on arrival our travel executive will welcome you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel and check-in.

Later you will join a Buddhist teacher or Travel Guide to proceed for a short visit to the Sarcred Mahabodhi Temple, where Prince Siddhartha meditated under the Bodhi tree and attained nirvana more than 2,500 years ago, thus becoming the Buddha.Learn to recite the Heart Sutra and join hundreds of pilgrims in prayer for compassion and world peace.

The next two days will be fully focussed on the kalachakra initiation process and Kalachakra Mandala preparation, you will also participate in the Kalachakra Bodhgaya Ritual Preparation and the accompanying prayers

During the period of these two day you will also get a chance to Visit the ancient city of Nalanda and Rajgir famous for the oldest University of Buddhism and Vulture Peak was the Buddha’s favorite retreat in Rajgir and the scene for many of his discourses.

Kalachakra Bodhgaya preliminary and review teachings.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama considers the preliminary teachings to be more important than the Kalachakra initiation itself.

Kalachakra Bodhgaya 2017 preliminary teachings His Holiness will give on Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (chodjug) and Kamalashila’s The Middling States of Meditation (gomrim barpa).
Chodjug is the ancient text and it was composed by Saint/Scholar Shantideva of Nalanda University for developing compassion and experience of Void Nature.
The Guide to Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (chodjug) is the favourite text from which His Holiness had taught to everyone of us from the beggar to king with the same passion as a teacher,spiritual friend and fellow human being.
Kamalashila’s The Middling States of Meditation (Gomrim barpa) is foundation of all the meditation practice in Tibet until now.

Each evening, the monk guide will recap and discuss the concepts recounted by His Holiness earlier in the day.

Kalachakra ritual and Offer dancing

Today you will participate in the Kalachakra ritual and offering dance. After, you could enjoy a free day in narrow lanes and the riverside view of Bodhgaya.

Kalachakra Bodhgaya Initiation.

Over the next four days, you will participate in the Kalachakra initiation – a profoundly rich experience where dance, monastic prayer and sacred relics intertwine in the build-up to one of the highest Buddhist ceremonies.

The initiation is a rite of passage for all monks, nuns, and pilgrims. The teachings will unveil the Kalachakra mandala and the kingdom of Shambala – the source of compassion, purification and peace. The Dalai Lama will offer instruction to draw all people on to the path of wisdom.

The initiation will be in three parts, with further explanation by Geshe Tsering in the evenings.

Part One: Rebirth

Experience ‘rebirth’ amongst thousands of Buddhist devotees.

Before the Dalai Lama commences the Kalachakra initiation, the Vajra Master must request permission from the gods, goddesses, and local spirits to use their home – the Kalachakra mandala.

During this first ritual, you will observe monks dressed in brocade tantric tiaras and bone jewellery performing sacred dances to connect with the energy of the Kalachakra deities.

Part Two: Entry – Being at One with the Mandala

You will participate in a pledge to free all beings from the cycle of duality. Monks will distribute red headbands to the devotees, who will place them across their foreheads.

The removal of the headbands represents the purification of our negativities and our entry into the mandala. Endowed with clear, compassionate motivation, you will be ready to receive the Kalachakra initiation.

Next you will participate in a meditation on the theme of the nature of ‘emptiness’, with a mirror symbolizing the purification of consciousness.

Part Three: Seven Kalachakra Initiations Analogous to Childhood Events

The Dalai Lama will conduct seven symbolic initiations, providing a full commentary on each of his movements and gestures.

• The Water Initiation symbolises the first bath given to a newborn baby by its mother, to purify the five bodily elements of earth, water, fire, wind and space, and transform them into deities. The Dalai Lama represents this by pouring water into a consecrated vessel.
• The Crown Initiation is associated with tying the hair on the top of a child’s head. The hair represents the thousand of the threads that binds us to duality, which we cut when taking monastic vows. By knotting the hair at the crown of the head, one is freed from ‘seizure’ and ‘appropriation’.
• The Silk Ribbon Initiation cleanses the psycho-physical defilements that circulate in our autonomic nervous system, which determines motor-neuro function of the joints and the act of walking.
• The Vajra and Bell Initiation symbolises a child’s acquisition of laughter and the ability to articulate sounds. It is linked to the enunciation of ideas via speech and is represented by the Dalai Lama’s ringing of bells.
• The Conduct Initiation corresponds to the teaching of a child as he/she discovers the world of the senses. It represents the realisation of emptiness.
• The Name Initiation symbolises a child’s naming ceremony, and purifies our faculties of action.
• The Permission Initiation corresponds to the lessons that a father teaches his child. The lessons we receive enable us to act appropriately. This final initiation empowers us to benefit others by teaching the Dharma, which in turn frees us from pain.

The ritual will conclude with a meditation on the theme of emptiness, as represented by a mirror – the symbol of purified consciousness.

Long-life Prayer.

A long-life prayer ceremony will be dedicated to the Dalai Lama. Devotees believe that when a spiritual master dies, it is because many beings from another realm have prayed that he may come to teach them. To postpone this moment, an effigy representing the Dalai Lama will be offered as a substitute master and teacher. The Dalai Lama will then be presented with offerings, prayers, and dances by the Tibetan and local communities.