Many know of Shambhala, the Tibetan Buddhist legendary land of spiritual bliss popularized by the film, Shangri-La. But few may know of the role Shambhala played in Russian geopolitics in the early twentieth century. Perhaps the only one on the subject, Andrei Znamenski’s book presents a wholly different glimpse of early Soviet history both erudite and fascinating. Using archival sources and memoirs, he explores how spiritual adventurers, revolutionaries, and nationalists West and East exploited Shambhala to promote their fanatical schemes, focusing on the Bolshevik attempt to use Mongol-Tibetan prophecies to railroad Communism into inner Asia. We meet such characters as Gleb Bokii, the Bolshevik secret police commissar who tried to use Buddhist techniques to conjure the ideal human; and Nicholas Roerich, the Russian painter who, driven by his otherworldly Master and blackmailed by the Bolshevik secret police, posed as a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama to unleash religious war in Tibet. We also learn of clandestine activities of the Bolsheviks from the Mongol-Tibetan Section of the Communist International who took over Mongolia and then, dressed as lama pilgrims, tried to set Tibet ablaze; and of their opponent, Ja-Lama, an “avenging lama” fond of spilling blood during his tantra rituals.

Record of legends and parables of Central Asia and Tibet.

Examines the principles of Shambhala to reveal the inherent goodness of humanity and explain how readers can rediscover inner peace through compatible practices of meditation.

Continuing the exciting adventures of The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight, this new book takes you to the snow-covered Himalayas, in search of the legendary Tibetan utopia of Shambhala. As you follow a child's instructions, are pursued by hostile Chinese agents, and look for a lost friend, you will experience a new awareness of synchronicity...and discover, hidden among the world's highest mountains, the secrets that affect all humanity. For Shambhala not only actually exists, but is destined to be found in our time-and will reveal powerful truths that can transform the world.

Known as the door between this world and invisible realms, Shambhala is earth's central chakra, where bodhisattva and ascended masters watch over humanity's future evolution. Roerich's classic account, written following a harrowing 5-year exploration of Central Asia and Tibet, explains "the reality of this indescribable realm on earth."

Chögyam Trungpa was born in Tibet and strictly trained in the manner traditional for re-incarnations of great teachers. At the age of 19, he led 300 people over the Himalayas to India in a dramatic escape recounted in his autobiography Born in Tibet. Over the following 30 years, Trungpa became one of the foremost pioneers of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. He was also a highly controversial figure, considered by many to be one of the greatest Buddhist teachers ever to come to the west and viewed with suspicion by others. He taught in a style that went altogether beyond conventional ideas of what a "holy man" should be like, dressing in ordinary western clothes, drinking and taking sexual consorts. He taught in English with a direct and penetrating voice that drew to him many intelligent young students. These memoirs tell the story of the author, Jeremy Hayward, a close student and friend of Trungpa Rinpoche who became a senior teacher and administrator in the organizations Rinpoche established. This intimate chronological account opens with Hayward's first meeting with Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970 and progresses year by year until Rinpoche's death and beyond. Each chapter/year includes some discussion of the teachings that Rinpoche was presenting at that time as well as the context and atmosphere in which these teachings occurred and the evolution of the society and organizations which he inspired. The book should be of interest to all students of Buddhism as well as others interested in the evolution of Buddhism in the west, and possibly other seekers on the spiritual path.

The classic guide to enlightened living that first presented the Buddhist path of the warrior to Western readers—with a new foreword and cover presentation. This timeless classic presents a vision of basic human wisdom that synchronizes the mind and body—what Chögyam Trungpa called the sacred path of the warrior. This discipline embodies characteristics that many cultures, regions, and spiritual traditions throughout time have found valuable. The sacred warrior conquers the world not through violence or aggression but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge, discovering the basic goodness of human life and radiating that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others. That’s what the Shambhala teachings are all about, and this is the book that has been presenting them to a wide and appreciative audience for more than thirty years. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.