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In Search of Shambalah – the True Tibetan Paradise
by Ernie Diaz
Travelers to Zhongdian quickly discover it is no more Shangri-la than Disney World is a magic kingdom. Still, idealistic souls search for a land, or at least the remnants of one, where the strife of the everyday world is as foreign as peace and contentment are here.
Maybe they’re no more deluded than the smug skeptic. The recent discovery of remains from an Edenic culture in eastern Turkey, some twelve thousand years old, has upended our long-cherished notion that we were butt-scratching hunter gatherers until 4000 BCE, when Egyptians suddenly dreamed up pyramid tech, with all the leisure time that irrigated fields gave them. There’s much that could have happened in the interim, or even before, that we would be lucky to even gather a hint of, due to our ignorance, not our forgotten predecessors’. A recommended read through Bill Bryson’s AShort History of Nearly Everything should convince of that.
The fact that we forget so much of what’s already been recorded doesn’t help. It’s not as though James Hilton dreamed up the name “Shangri-la” on his ownsome. He was mispronouncing what is more closely rendered as “Shambalah”, a mythical land that nonetheless is referred to quite literally in several all-but-forgotten texts. A look at Shambalah reveals a Tibet long lost to the world, further evidence that we don’t even know what we know.
For starters, Tibetans are hardly the sole aboriginal inhabitants of the land that bears their name. The Zhangzhung, an Iron Age culture, predates Tibetan and is thought to have long ago held sway over the rooftop of the world. Up until 1500 BCE, said rooftop was a much more habitable place, a place where the Zhangzhung left citadels, burial complexes, and texts referring to the renowned Shambalah. These texts place Shambhala in the Sutlej Valley in Himachal Pradesh, a region very sketchily explored, Google maps notwithstanding.
How about the Bon religion? Intertwined with but distinct from Buddhism, Bon incorporates shamanistic rituals predating Buddhism by thousands of years. Its oral tradition, one painstakingly memorized by succeeding generations rather than told causally around a campfire, relates that eighteen thousand years ago the founder of Bon, one Lord Tonpa Shenrab, was born in the land of Olmo Lungring. Located just west of the furthest Himalayan vales, Olmo Lungring knew neither strife nor suffering, and its people lived far beyond other mortals’ allotted spans. The Bonpo lamas identify Olmo Lungring as the more commonly-called Shambalah.
Shambalah gets even more cred from Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism, to be exact. The Kalachakra, or “time wheel” constitutes one of the most complex Tantras known. Besides its meditational benefits to the soul, the Kalachakra centers on the Kingdom of Shambalah. These teachings also aver that Shambalah was an actual place, peopled by enlightened and beautiful souls who dwelt in magnificent homes.
They were ruled from the center city Kalapa by a benevolent monarch named Kulika. An embodiment of the Kalichakra’s integrity, this king ensured that there was neither war nor injustice in Shambalah. Kalachakra teachings go on to prophecy that when the world declines into irredeemable greed and warfare, a host will fly forth from Shambalah to vanquish corrupt rulers and usher in a Golden Age. Kalachakra scholars put this date at 2424 CE, so don’t go strapping on the sandwich board just yet.
Ancient texts, oral accounts, and religious myths are easy enough to dismiss, if not disprove. The best case for a real Shambalah is the one that exists as a state of mind, or state of soul, if that doesn’t smack too unscientifically. Many concepts in Vajrayana Buddhism from which the Kalachakra derives have three meanings: outer, inner, and secret. From this perspective, Shambalah could exist physically for those with the karmic prowess to experience it. Otherwise, it is a divine metaphor, one that has parallels in other ancient belief systems such as the Kabalah, in that they both reveal the outer world is but a reflection of the inner.
19th century Theosophist Madame Blavatsky claimed the karmic prowess to have visited Shambalah, and managed to convince a great many with three-digit IQs that a brotherhood of adepts still resided there, chanting for the good of all humanity. This inspired later western spiritualists such as Alice Bailey and the Roerichs to emphasize Shambalah in their works, the thread finally tied off and immortalized with Hilton’s novel.
So for the sake of social standing, best not to speak too credulously of a truly peaceable kingdom having existed at one point in the distant past. Better still, though, not to be too convinced that we have never amounted spiritually to more than the clever apes we are today. Maybe we should aspire to do a little less traveling and a lot more chanting.
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This area certainly shouts solemnity in every aspect. I would surely love to live their whenever I want to go out of the busy city life that everyone loves right now.
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the writer has revealed awakening facts about this feature that has been talks for many decades , saying that it is protected by physical features , and saying that it has been discovered makes it confusing for me.
the james hilton example s was a good one to bring out that things are not the way we see them as ,, we need to change our view to things existing around us .
As many people in the Western world celebrated Easter, Tibetan monks in the mountains of Shangri-la prayed for peace and stability after days of violent protests in Lhasa,Tibet. Monks here are both Tibetan and Chinese.
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, “Shangri-La” is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains.
Shambhala is a Sanskrit term meaning swayam + bhala meaning self benefited or swayam + bala meaning self powered. Commonly it is understood to be a “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.
By definition Shambhala is hidden. It is thought to exist somewhere between the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, but it is protected by a psychic barrier so that no one can find the kingdom who is not meant to. Tibetan lamas spend a great deal of their lives in spiritual development before attempting the journey to Shambhala. Those who try to get there who are not wanted are swallowed by crevasses or caught in avalanches. People and animals tremble at its borders as if bombarded by invisible rays. There are guidebooks to Shambhala, but they describe the route in terms so vague that only those already initiated into the teachings of the Kalacakra can understand them.
Zhang Zhung, Shang Shung, or Tibetan Pinyin Xang Xung, was an ancient culture of western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bön religion, which in turn, has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
Many foreign myths have grown around the legend of Shambhala found in the Kalachakra literature. Some were spread to win military or political support, such as the identification of Russia, Mongolia, or Japan as Shambhala.
You gotta love them guys. When are they gonna get subtle, like Fox News?
Although this thangka is apparently kept at Yonghegong Temple (a.k.a Lama Temple) in Beijing it is not now on public display. The provenance of this thangka is unknown.
Shambhala is a Sanskrit term meaning swayam + bhala meaning self benefited or swayam + bala meaning self powered. Commonly it is understood to be a “place of peace/tranquility/happiness”.
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The writer has revealed that we are ignorant to even major historical things ,, he has explained that with the help of james hilton exmple very well , its a good effort to bring out the truth and myths about tibet and its co related topics.
some say that the kingdom is protected by the physical forces so no one can find it , may be this is a myth too like Shambhala itself.
the writer has tried to bring out the truth that we are not familiar with many facts , atlk about myths and realities ,, we dont even know what are the controvercies , of the recent period.
the james hilton example is very good though.
Shambala is actually a mythical place that, according to legend, is home to those who will save mankind when the world is beset by destruction and war. But it was precisely this tale that seemed to spark the fantasies of Western readers.Tibetans believe the land is guarded by things with supernatural powers. Sightings of these beings is normal to them. People (especially Tibetan lamas) have been searching for Shambhala for centuries and have found it, those who seek the kingdom often never return, either because they have found the hidden country and have remained there or because they have been destroyed in the attempt.
Shamballa (also known as Shambalah or Shangri-La) is sometimes said to be its capital city. The mythical paradise of Shamballa is known under many different names: It has been called the Forbidden Land, the Land of White Waters, the Land of Radiant Spirits, the Land of Living Fire, the Land of the Living Gods and the Land of Wonders. Hindus have known it by the Sanskrit term, Aryavarsha (literally: “The Land or Realm of The Aryans; the Land of the Noble/Worthy Ones”) – the land from which the Vedas come; the Chinese as Hsi Tien, the Western Paradise of Hsi Wang Mu, the Royal Mother of the West; the Russian Old Believers, a nineteenth-century Christian sect, knew it as Belovodye and the Kirghiz people as Janaidar. But throughout Asia it is best known by its Sanskrit name, Shambhala, meaning “the place of peace, of tranquility.”
it seems that there are lot of things we are unaware of , talking of myths , they are confusing though but get your attention there for a moment or so.
some say that this feature is protected by physical elements , well we got to know that does it even exist?
i really have no idea about the feature in the topic , either its a myth or truth , but one thing for sure that the tibetian plateau is realy beautiful.
i hope that is why it has been named the roof of the earth.
the feature if it does exist , would be a beautiful one , i can make it out from the description in the article the author has tried his best to bring out the dreamy reality .
Once you go to this place, you would surely be able to escape from all the noise and pollution that one would find at a very busy city, and would make you want to stay there for good.
I have raed some many books on tibet but this article has brought up this myth which i have never come across in any of the past books i went through, it is confusing though the concept of the feature in the aticle , some say that it has been discovered some say it is yet to be found.
Those who try to get there who are not wanted are swallowed by crevasses or caught in avalanches. People and animals tremble at its borders as if bombarded by invisible rays.
I would surely love to live their
Sightings of these beings is normal to them. People (especially Tibetan lamas) have been searching for Shambhala for centuries and have found it, those who seek the kingdom often never return, either because they have found the hidden country and have remained there or because they have been destroyed in the attempt.I think this is a nice place, to contemplate about things, or even just think about life.
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its very hard for me to trust like this. this is so good.
The Sanjiangyuan area in the middle of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has become a “paradise of wildlife” as a result of four-year protection campaign costing 7.5 billion yuan.
The culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bön religion, which in turn, has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
By definition Shambhala is hidden. It is thought to exist somewhere between the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, but it is protected by a psychic barrier so that no one can find the kingdom who is not meant to. Tibetan lamas spend a great deal of their lives in spiritual development before attempting the journey to Shambhala. Those who try to get there who are not wanted are swallowed by crevasses or caught in avalanches.
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Many concepts in Vajrayana Buddhism from which the Kalachakra derives have three meanings: outer, inner, and secret. From this perspective, Shambalah could exist physically for those with the karmic prowess to experience it.
Tantric Buddhism, to be exact. The Kalachakra, or “time wheel” constitutes one of the most complex Tantras known. Besides its meditational benefits to the soul, the Kalachakra centers on the Kingdom of Shambalah.
Its oral tradition, one painstakingly memorized by succeeding generations rather than told causally around a campfire, relates that eighteen thousand years ago the founder of Bon
Tibet has various festivals which commonly are performed to worship the Buddha throughout the year. Losar is the Tibetan New Year Festival. Preparations for the festive event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event.
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this is such a beautiful place to go. I would love to find this paradise. I would love to hear more about it.
That is truly amazing.
You have posted a great article man. It is very interesting and I had fun reading it. There should be more posts like this on the net. Keep posting more for us.
Great Article. The Kalachakra, or “time wheel” constitutes one of the most complex Tantras known. Very powerful. John, Wikaniko, UK
Royal Mother of the West; the Russian Old Believers, a nineteenth-century Christian sect, knew it as Belovodye and the Kirghiz people as Janaidar. But throughout Asia it is best known by its Sanskrit name, Shambhala, meaning “the place of peace, of tranquility.”
The place look really innovating and full of nature. I hope more people realize how much they take nature for granted.
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.
Shambala (UK) is a small, diverse and lively festival, famous for its warm atmosphere and unexpected suprises!
Agartha is one of the most common names cited for the society of underground dwellers. Shamballa (also known as Shambalah or Shangri-La) is sometimes said to be its capital city.
I never knew that. These are some really intriguing details. Thanks ever so much. Animal Friend Insurance
Once you go to this place, you would surely be able to escape from all the noise and pollution that one would find at a very busy city, and would make you want to stay there for good.
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Shambala may be dangerous some times. I know one guy who became schizophrenic
Only if you smoke it like, every day for a month.
I wish I could visit this place in the near future…
It is such a beautiful place!
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Tibet is truly paradise.i heard from it from mouth of many people who have been there.
regards,
sam – Los Angeles lawyer
Tibet is truly paradise.i heard from it from mouth of many people who have been there.
regards,
sam – Los Angeles lawyer
Tibet is a beautiful place,located among himalayas,its truly paradise of earth.
regards,
Salon – Loan modification