The word "Kalachakra" means "cycles of time." The Kalachakra Tantra is a profound Buddhist system of teaching, a practice which encompasses three principle aspects. First, Outer Kalachakra; "the external environments," of the universe, its cycle of rising and disintegrating, and the out-world system with its cycles of sun, moon and planets. Then there is Inner Kalachakra; the sentient beings living in the universe, and their cycles of death, birth, and internal "flows" of breath and energy. Thirdly, Alternative Kalachakra; the practice of purification so that ordinary death, birth, and manifestation on both an individual and universal level might be attained, and allow a fully enlightened state of complete "Buddha-hood."

Mandalas are as much 'tools' or 'guides,' as they are works of art, used to focus one's meditation or, alternatively, depict stories and figures vital to Buddhism and its practice.