"If you know the teachings of Shambhala, you know the future"
Nicholas Roerich
Legends about Shambhala have been known for thousands of years. Does this place really exist? Nobody saw the city and the inhabitants of Shambhala. Perhaps this mythical country exists in parallel worlds, or maybe - in the minds of people and you can see it only after reaching the Buddha's enlightenment?
In Tibet, as in many other eastern countries, there are legends about the legendary kingdom - the source of the learning and culture of the peoples of Asia. According to these traditions, it was a land of peace and prosperity ruled by wise, compassionate kings. Its inhabitants were also enlightened and kind people. This kingdom was called Shambhala.
Buddhism played a very important role in the development of Tibetan society. According to legend, Buddha Shakyamuni transmitted the highest tantric teaching to the first ruler of Shambhala - Suchandra. This teaching, preserved as the Kalachakra Tantra, carries with it the profound wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism. After the king accepted these instructions, the inhabitants of Shambhala began to practice meditation and follow the Buddhist path of compassionate love and care for all living beings. Thanks to this, not only the rulers of Shambhala, but all their subjects have reached a high level of spiritual development.
There is a belief among Tibetans to this day that the kingdom of Shambhala can be found hidden in a secluded valley somewhere in the Himalayas. Many Buddhist texts contain detailed but very vague instructions on how to reach Shambhala. Whether these texts are to be understood literally or metaphorically, opinions differ. There are also texts that give a detailed description of the kingdom itself. Thus, according to the Great Commentary on Kalachakra, the lands of Shambhala are located to the north of the Sita River and are separated by eight mountain ranges. The palace of the supreme rulers of Shambhala is built in the form of a huge ring on the top of Mount Kailash.
According to other legends, Shambhala disappeared from the face of the Earth many centuries ago: the hour came when the entire society of Shambhala reached enlightenment, and the kingdom disappeared, passing into another, more subtle plane of existence. According to these legends, the kings of Shambhala still see the affairs of people; someday they will return to Earth to save humanity from destruction.
Helena Blavatsky, in Isis Unveiled, cites the legend of the “sons of God” and the “sacred island” - Shambhala. The source of the legend is the "Book of Dzyan" - the most ancient literary and philosophical treatise of earthly civilization. According to Blavatsky, Shambhala is an invisible mystical country in which mahatmas live - the disembodied teachers of humanity. They communicate with the “chosen ones”, transmitting messages and secret knowledge through them.
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Recently, some Western researchers have come to the conclusion that Shambhala could be one of the real kingdoms of antiquity, for example, the kingdom of Chjan-Chzhun in Central Asia. The information of ancient pre-Buddhist texts describing the forgotten kingdom of Zhang Zhong in western Tibet is confirmed by archaeological finds on the border of Tibet and the Pakistani part of Kashmir. However, most scholars consider the Shambhala legend to be a classical myth.
There is a tradition among teachers of Tibetan Buddhism for a long time in which Shambhala is understood not as a place in space, but as the basis, the root of potential awakening and mental health in every human being. From this point of view, it is not so important what exactly represented or is the kingdom of Shambhala - a specific historical reality or myth. It is much more important to try to understand the ideal of an enlightened society embodied in this tradition.
As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote (“Shambhala: The Sacred Way of the Warrior”): “The world is in complete chaos. This chaos is opposed by the teaching of Shambhala. The Shambhala teachings are based on the premise that there is primordial human wisdom that can help solve the world's problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one culture or religion; it does not come only from the West or the East; rather, it is a tradition of the warrior's path that has existed throughout history in a variety of cultures and eras.
The "path of the warrior" here does not imply an orientation toward war. The word "warrior" is taken from the Tibetan "pawo", which means "one who is brave." That is, the path of a warrior is a tradition of human courage and fearlessness. This was a tradition among the North American Indians and tribes of South America; the martial tradition of wisdom was represented by the Japanese ideal of the samurai; the principles of the enlightened army also existed in Western Christian communities."
The key to understanding the state of a warrior and the first principle of seeing Shambhala is not to be afraid to be yourself. The principles of the warrior's path are based on self-education and self-control. The essence of the warrior's path, the essence of courage is never, under any circumstances, to give up. The task of the warrior's path is to live fully in such a world as it is, with all its paradoxes, and to find within this world the essence of the present moment.
To be a warrior means to learn to be authentic in every moment of your life, to be in a state of perfect simplicity. In Buddhist tradition, this state of being is called "no self." The principle of the absence of the Self is very important in the teachings of Shambhala. You cannot be a warrior if you do not have the experience of egolessness.
In the Shambhala tradition there is a special discipline for developing gentleness, goodwill towards oneself, and towards the world around us - this is the practice of meditation. The practice of meditation was taught by the Buddha over two and a half thousand years ago. Since the time of Buddha, it has been passed down from one person to another and thus has remained a living tradition. Now this ancient practice turns out to be the most modern.
There is such a Sanskrit word - sadhana, meaning the practices that a person performs to advance on the path to enlightenment. Usually this word is considered in conjunction with the practice of meditation, the purpose of which is to free a person from his identification with the ego.
Meditation is the nature of the mind itself and this experience itself is already an experience of enlightenment. Meditation is an inward journey. And this journey is endless. This journey begins but never ends.
Buddha said that when you meditate, there is no “I”, because the very realization of your “I” separates you from everything else.
Meditation changes our consciousness. Trying to achieve enlightenment, yogis spend decades in meditation. Zen students have spent years concentrating on the koans, the riddles of Zen. The enlightened ones who have achieved their goal say that this sensation comes like a flash and lasts only a moment, but its power is so great that it changes a person's life forever.
Then they understand the mysterious words of Tibetan Lamas:
"When you get to the top of the mountain, keep climbing further."
***
to the Himalayas, rather to the Himalayas
there we will become wiser
we will improve health
to Shambhala, to Shambhala
to an invisible mystical land
to the disembodied teachers of humanity
how nice it is to be the chosen one
bring light to those who do not know it …
By Ellen Bali