Shambhala

The Kalachakra prophesizes that when the world declines into war and greed, and all is lost, the twenty-fifth Kalika king will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish the corrupt and usher in a worldwide Golden Age.

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 Shambala; the teachings are also said to be preserved there. Shambhala is believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened, centered on a capital city called Kalapa. An alternative view associates Shambhala with the real empire of Sriwijaya where Atisha studied under Dharmakirti from whom he received the Kalachakra intiation.

Shambhala is ruled over by the Kulika King (Tib. Rigden), a benevolent monarch who upholds the integrity of the Kalachakra tantra. Religious scholars believe that this figure developed out of the myth of the Hindu conqueror Kalki, a similar personage. The Kalachakra prophesizes that when the world declines into war and greed, and all is lost, the twenty-fifth Kalika king will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish the corrupt and usher in a worldwide Golden Age.

As with many concepts in Vajrayana Buddhism, the idea of Shambhala is said to have an "outer," "inner,' and "secret" 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. There are various ideas about where this society is located, but it is often placed in central Asia, north or west of Tibet. The inner and secret meanings refer to more subtle understandings of what Shambhala represents, and are generally passed on orally.

Sometimes the light hides behind a veil of darkness and one must pass through the darkness to find it. “For it is those that walk through the darkness that are worthy to see the light for they are fearless and the fearless are full of love.
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Although Chogyam Trungpa came out of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, in 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. 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.

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