Shambhala Publications, 2021, 220pp, ISBN 9781611808032
Available from Shambhala

Shambhala: The Realm of Shambhala presents the Kalachakra Tantra’s multilayered approach to Shambhala as taught by the Tibetan Buddhist Jonang tradition. Understood to be an ancient kingdom and physical place, Shambhala is also taught to be an exalted state of mind attainable by all through practice. Through cultivating peace and extending it into harmonious relationships with others, the transformative power of Shambhala can enter everyday life. This book details the tradition’s perspective on the origins of Kalachakra literature and includes extensive lineage narratives of Jonang masters who have upheld this tradition in India and Tibet.

Google books: The Realm of Shambhala presents the Kalachakra Tantra's multilayered approach to Shambhala as taught by the Tibetan Buddhist Jonang tradition. Understood to be an ancient kingdom and physical place, Shambhala is also taught to be an exalted state of mind attainable through spiritual practices. Through cultivating peace and extending it into harmonious relationships with others, the transformative power of Shambhala can enter everyday life. This book provides a concise history and analysis of the term "Shambhala" as received in the Western world and provides a new interpretation of much-debated scriptural passages. It then details the tradition's perspective on the origins of Kalachakra literature and includes extensive lineage narratives of Jonang masters who have upheld this tradition in India and Tibet.

Review by Rudy Harderwijk:
Overall rating:
This book is an adapted version of Khentrul Tinpoche's Demystifying Shambhala (Tibetan Buddhist Rime Institute 2016). It is aimed at Buddhist practitioners of the Kalachakra, but it may be of interest to people from other religions as well, due to the non-sectarian approach of the Kalachakra. Khentrul Rinpoche is a teacher of the Rime tradition (non-sectarian), and the book focuses on the explanations of the Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism as this tradition has a unique focus on Kalachakra practice.
What I found most striking in this book are the many different perspectives on what Shambhala represents. It also comments on some of the misunderstandings around Shambhala that have developed in the West, in particular about its' prophesies on war and the barbarian enemies.
As Shambhala is such a well-known, but often misunderstood aspect of the Kalachakra, I would highly recommend it to all serious Kalachakra practitioners.

 

Please share your opinion of this book with us.