Shamballa/en: Difference between revisions

<blockquote>... a mystical kingdom hidden behind snow peaks somewhere north of [[Tibet]]. There a line of enlightened kings is supposed to be guarding the most secret teachings of Buddhism for a time when all truth in the world outside is lost in war and the lust for power and wealth. Then, according to prophecy, a future King of Shamballa will come out with a great army to destroy the forces of evil and bring in a golden age. Under his enlightened rule, the world will become, at last, a place of peace and plenty, filled with the riches of wisdom and compassion.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The texts add that a long and mystical journey across a wilderness of deserts and mountains leads to Shamballa. Whoever manages to reach this distant sanctuary, having overcome numerous hardships and obstacles along the way, will find there a secret teaching that will enable him to master time and liberate himself from its bondage. The texts warn, however, that only those who are called and have the necessary spiritual preparation will be able to get to Shamballa; others will find only blinding storms and empty mountains—or even death.<ref>Edwin Bernbaum, ''The Way to Shambhala'' (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1980), pp. 4–5.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Tibetans believe Shambhala still exists today as an earthly paradise from which will issue the golden age of the future. The Dalai Lama, the exiled ruler of Tibet, feels that the kingdom has a material existence in this world, but that one must reach an advanced level of spiritual attainment to find or recognize it. Other Tibetans see recent events, in particular the destruction of much of Buddhism in Tibet and elsewhere in Asia, as indications that the future king of Shambhala will soon come out of his hidden sanctuary to defeat the forces of materialism and establish a golden age of spirituality....</blockquote>

<blockquote>An old story tells of a young man who sets off in search of the mythical kingdom. After crossing many mountains, he comes to the cave of an old hermit, who asks where he is going. “To find Shambhala,” the young man replies. “Ah! Well then, you need not travel far,” the hermit says. “The kingdom of Shambhala is in your heart.”  As the story suggests, for many Tibetans Shambhala lies hidden as a state of mind that must be awakened so that the kingdom can be found in the world outside.<ref>Edwin Bernbaum, “The Hidden Kingdom of Shambhala,” ''Natural History'' 92, no. 4 (April 1983):59, 62.</ref></blockquote>