Shambhala

From New World Encyclopedia
File:K2 North Face.jpg
The mythical land of Shambhala is often alleged to be located somewhere near the mountains of Kashmir. Here the north face of K2 pierces the clouds.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Shambhala (Tibetan: bde byung, pron. 'De-jung') meaning "Source of happiness," is a mythical kingdom or hidden place somewhere beyond the snowpeaks of the Himalayas. The kingdom is mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra.[1] The Bön[2] scriptures also speak of a closely-related land called Olmolungring.

There are various ideas about where this society is located, but it is often placed in central Asia, north or west of Tibet. Ancient Zhang Zhung texts, which pre-dated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet, identify Shambhala with the Sutlej Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Mongolians identify Shambala with certain valleys of southern Siberia.

Description

Kalachakra [3] thangka from Sera Monastery (private collection).

Shambhala (Tib. bde 'byung) is a Sanskrit term meaning "place of peace/tranquility/happiness." Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have taught the Kalachakra tantra on request of King Suchandra of Shambhala; the teachings are also said to be preserved there. Shambhala is believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened, actually a Buddhist "Pure Land," centered by a capital city called Kalapa. An alternative view associates Shambhala with the real empire of Sriwijaya where Buddhist master Atisha studied under Dharmakirti from whom he received the Kalachakra initiation.

Shambhala is ruled over by a line of Kings known as Kulika or Kalki Kings (Tib. Rigden), who uphold the integrity of the Kalachakra tantra. The Kalachakra prophesizes that when the world declines into war and greed, and all is lost, the twenty-fifth Kalki king will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish "Dark Forces" and usher in a worldwide Golden Age. Using calculations from the Kalachakra Tantra, scholars such as Alex Berzin (see his website) put this date at 2424 C.E.

Rigdan Tagpa or Manjushrí Kírti is said to have been born in 159 B.C.E. and ruled over a kingdom of 300,510 followers of the Mlechha (Yavana or "western") religion, some of whom worshiped the sun. He is said to have expelled all the heretics from his dominions but later, after hearing their petitions, allowed them to return. For their benefit, and the benefit of all living beings, he explained the Kalachakra teachings. In 59 B.C.E., he abdicated his throne to his son, Puṇdaŕika, and died soon afterwards, entering the Sambhoga-káya of Buddhahood.[4]

Kalachakra Teachings

As with many concepts in the Kalachakra Tantra, the idea of Shambhala is said to have an "outer," "inner,' and "alternative" meaning. The outer meaning understands Shambhala to exist as a physical place, although only individuals with the appropriate karma can reach it and experience it as such. The inner and alternative meanings refer to more subtle understandings of what Shambhala represents in terms of one's own body and mind (inner), and the meditation practice (alternative). These two types of symbolic explanations are generally passed on orally from teacher to student.

In modern times, Chögyam Trungpa, founder of Shambhala International, came out of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition but his teachings Shambhala Vision has its own independent basis in human wisdom that does not belong to East or West or any one culture or religion [5]. Shambhala kingdom is seen as enlightened society that people of all faiths can aspire to and actually realize. The path to this is provocatively described as the practice of warriorship—meeting fear and transcending aggression, and of "secular sacredness" —joining the wisdom of the past and one's own culture with the present in nowness.

Trungpa's Shambhala teachings have inspired numerous educational, artistic, and spiritual institutions, including Naropa University, Shambhala Training, Shambhala Sun, Miksang photography, The Shambhala School,[6], Shambhala Buddhism, Shambhala Prison Community,[7] and many others.

Western fascination

Rigden Takpa or Manjushríkírti, King of Shambhala

The Western fascination with Shambhala has often been based upon fragmented accounts of the Kalachakra tradition, or outright fabrications. Tibet was largely closed to outsiders until very recently, and so what information was available about the tradition of Shambhala was haphazard at best[8].

The first information that reached western civilization about Shambhala came from the Portuguese Catholic missionaries João Cabral and Estêvão Cacella who had heard about Shambala (which they transcribed as "Xembala"), and thought it was another name for Cathay or China. In 1627 they headed to Tashilhunpo, the seat of the Panchen Lama and, discovering their mistake, returned to India.[9]

The Hungarian scholar Sàndor Körösi Csoma, writing in 1833, provided the first geographic account of "a fabulous country in the north...situated between 45' and 50' north latitude."

During the 19th century, Theosophical Society founder Helena P. Blavatsky alluded to the Shambhala myth, giving it currency for Western occult enthusiasts. Later esoteric writers further emphasized and elaborated on the concept of a hidden land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity.

The mystic Nicholas Roerich[10] and the Soviet agent Yakov Blumkin led two Tibetan expeditions to discover Shambhala, in 1926 and 1928.[11] Apparently inspired by Theosophical lore, Heinrich Himmler and Rudolf Hess sent German expeditions to Tibet in 1930, 1934-35, and 1938-39. [12].

The myths of Shambhala were part of the inspiration for the story of Shangri-La told in the popular novel Lost Horizon published in 1933, possibly influenced by the accounts of Nicholas Roerich published under the title Shambhala three years earlier.[11]

The myth has been appropriated in a variety of modern comic books including The Shadow, Prometheus, 2000 C.E., Gargoyles #6, and Warlord.

Western esoteric traditions

Madame Blavatsky, who claimed to be in contact with a Great White Lodge of Himalayan Adepts, mentions Shambhala in several places without giving it especially great emphasis. (The Mahatmas, we are told, are also active around Shigatse and Luxor.) Blavatsky's Shambhala, like the headquarters of the Great White Lodge, is a physical location on our earth, albeit one which can only be penetrated by a worthy aspirant.

Later esoteric writers like Alice Bailey (the Arcane School) and the Agni Yoga of Nicholas and Helena Roerich do emphasize Shambhala. Bailey transformed it into a kind of extradimensional or spiritual reality on the etheric plane, a gigantic castle in which the governing deity of Earth, Sanat Kumara, is said to dwell. The Roerichs see its existence as both spiritual and physical.

Related "hidden land" speculations surrounding the underground kingdom of Agartha led some early twentieth-century occultists (especially those associated with Nazi or Neo-Nazi occultism, i.e. Nazi mysticism) to view Shambhala as a source of negative manipulation by an evil (or amoral) conspiracy. Nevertheless, the predominant theme is one of light and hope, as evidenced by James Redfield's and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's respective books by that name.

Footnotes

  1. Victor M. Fic, The Tantra. (Abhinav Publications, 2003), p.49.
  2. Per Kavǣrne, The Bon Religion of Tibet. (Shambhala, 1996.)
  3. Tibetan Mandala, Art and Practice, The wheel of time ed. by Sylvie Crossman and Jean-Pierre Barou, 2004. pp.20-26
  4. Das, Sarat Chandra (1882). Contributions on the Religion and History of Tibet. First published in: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LI. Reprint: Manjushri Publishing House, Delhi. 1970, pp. 81-82.
  5. Shambhala, The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala, 1988
  6. Shambhala Institute
  7. Peacemaker Institute
  8. Prisoners of Shangri~La, Tibetan Buddhism and the West by Donald S Lopez Jr, The University of Chicago Press, 1998
  9. Bernbaum, Edwin. (1980). The Way to Shambhala, pp. 18-19. Reprint: (1989). Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles. ISBN 0-87477-518-3.
  10. Roerich East & West by Kenneth Archer, Parkstone Press 1999, p.94
  11. 11.0 11.1 Meyer and Brysac (2006) p. 454
  12. Himmler's Crusade by Christopher Hale, John Wiley & Sons., Inc., 2003

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Allen, Charles. (1999). The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: Abacus, London. 2000. ISBN 0-349-111421.
  • Bernbaum, Edwin. (1980). The Way to Shambhala: A Search for the Mythical Kingdom Beyond the Himalayas. Reprint: (1989) St. Martin's Press, New York. ISBN 0-87477-518-3.
  • Berzin, Alexander (2003). The Berzin Archives. Mistaken Foreign Myths about Shambhala.
  • Jeffrey, Jason. Mystery of Shambhala in New Dawn, No. 72 (May-June 2002).
  • Le Page, Victoria. Shambhala: The Fascinating Truth behind the Myth of Shangri-La. Quest ISBN 0-8356-0750-X
  • Martin, Dean. (1999). "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place." In: Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places In Tibetan Culture: A Collection of Essays. (1999) Edited by Toni Huber, pp. 125-153. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, H.P., India. ISBN 81-86470-22-0.
  • Meyer, Karl Ernest and Brysac, Shareen Blair (2006) Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game And the Race for Empire in Central Asia ISBN 0-46504-576-6
  • Martin, Dean. (1999). "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place." In: Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places In Tibetan Culture: A Collection of Essays. (1999) Edited by Toni Huber, pp. 125-153. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, H.P., India. ISBN 81-86470-22-0.
  • Trungpa, Chogyam. Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-264-7

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