The Kingdom

According to tradition, the Kingdom of Shambhala was a kingdom in Central Asia where this wisdom was taught and an excellent society was created. ln that society, the citizens' conduct and their behavior were based on having less anxiety. Essentially, anxiety comes from not facing the current situation you are in. The Kingdom of Shambhala and the citizens, the subjects, of Shambhala were able to face their reality. The Kingdom of Shambhala could be said to be a mythical kingdom or a real kingdom- to the extent that you believe in Atlantis or in heaven. It has been said that the kingdom was technologically advanced and that the citizens had tremendous intelligence. Spirituality was secularized, meaning that day-to-day living situations were handled properly. Life was not based on the worship of a deity or on vigorous religious practice, as such. Rather, that wonderful world of Shambhala was based on actually relating with your life, your body, your food, your household, your marital situations, your breath, your environment, your atmosphere.

According to the legends, the vision and the teachings of Shambhala were embodied in that Central Asian kingdom. If we go deeper, we could say that such a situation of sanity comes about because you connect with your own intelligence. Therefore, the Kingdom of Shambhala exists in your own heart right at this moment. Yon are a citizen of Shambhala and part of the Kingdom of Shambhala, without doubt. We are not trying to bring a myth into reality, which would be the wrong thing to do. Actually, I have even written a book to that effect, entitled The Myth of Freedom. On the other hand, as hnman beings, we do possess the sense faculties: we can see, we can hear, we can feel, we can think. Because of that, we can do something to bring about the Kingdom of Shambhala once again.

This time, it doesn't have to be a Central Asian kingdom. We aren't talking about going over there and digging up graves, digging up ruins, to find the remains of the truth of Shambhala. We are not talking about conducting an archaeological survey. On the other hand, we might be talking about some kind of archaeological survey, which is digging up our minds and our lives, which have been buried and covered with layers and layers of dirt. We have to rediscover something in our lives. Is it possible? It is very possible, extremely possible. How should we go about it?

From the very day of your birth, you have never really looked at yourself, your life, and your experiences in life. You have never really felt that you could create a good, decent world. Of course, you may have tried all sorts of things. You may have marched in the street in the name of the happiness of humanity, complained about the existing political system, written up new ideas and manifestos to prevent this and that—that pain, this pain, this confusion, that confusion. You may have been somewhat heroic, and you could say that you've tried your best. Nonetheless, have you found any real peace or rest? A real, dignified world has not been created.

Often, we are so angry and resentful, and we complain because of our aggression. Instead of short hair, we want long hair. Instead of long hair, we cut our hair short. Instead of a coat and tie, we want to wear jeans and a T-shirt. Instead of this, we do that. Instead of that, we do this. We try to find some easy way to gain the freedom and the vision of human society. Instead of eating peanut butter, we try eating brown rice. Instead of that, we try this; instead of this, we try that. That, this, this, that. We have tried so many things. Particularly in the United States, people have tried so hard to reestablish a good world. I appreciate that integrity, which is quite relentless, in some sense, and pretty good.

However, the principle of the Shambhala training is that, instead of trying so hard to remove problems, you should reestablish or plant something positive. The point is that you don't have to take so many showers to remove the dirt. The real question is what clothes you put on after your shower and how you perfume and beautify your body. One shower is good enough; it makes you clean. Then, after that, if you continue to take showers, you become stark, too clean. There is certainly an absence of dirt, but what comes after that? There's no warmth, no dignity. Can't we do something more to bring reality and goodness into society?