Shambhala (Sanskrit: शम्भल, IAST: Śambhala), also spelled Shambala or Shamballa (Tibetan: བདེ་འབྱུང, Wylie: Bde'byung; Chinese: 香巴拉, pinyin: Xiāngbālā), is a spiritual kingdom in Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It is mentioned in the Kalachakra Tantra. The Bon scriptures describe a similar place called Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring.

The Sanskrit name comes from the name of a city near the Ganges, sometimes linked to Sambhal in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, as noted in the Hindu Puranas. The importance of this place in myths comes from a prophecy in the Vishnu Purana (4.24), which states that Shambhala will be the birthplace of Kalki, the next incarnation of Vishnu, who will bring a new era (Satya Yuga). The prophecy also mentions that the future Buddha, Maitreya, will rule from this kingdom.

Kalachakra tantra

Shambhala is ruled by the future Buddha, Maitreya. The story of Shambhala is found in the Kalachakra Tantra, a text from the Anuttarayoga Tantras group. Kalachakra Buddhism was probably introduced to Tibet in the 11th century, during the time when the Tibetan Kalachakra calendar was created. The earliest known teachers of Kalachakra were Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (died 1361) and Buton Rinchen Drub (died 1364).

In the story, King Manjuśrīkīrti is said to have been born in 159 BC. He ruled a kingdom with 300,510 followers of the Mlechha religion, some of whom worshipped the Sun. He is said to have sent 20,000 people from his kingdom who practiced Surya Samadhi (solar worship) instead of converting to Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) Buddhism. Later, he realized these people were wise and valuable, so he asked them to return, and some did.

Those who did not return are said to have founded the city of Shambhala. Manjuśrīkīrti began teaching the Kalachakra doctrine to try to convert those who returned and remained under his rule. In 59 BC, he gave up his throne to his son, Puṇḍārika, and died shortly after, entering the Sambhogakaya state of Buddhahood.

The Kalachakra Tantra predicts that when the world falls into war and greed, and everything is lost, the 25th Kalki king, Maitreya, will rise from Shambhala with a large army to defeat Dark Forces and bring about a global Golden Age. This final battle is predicted to happen in the year 2424 or 2425 (the 3304th year after the Buddha’s death). After this, Buddhism is said to continue for another 1,800 years.

Western reception

Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism were not well known in the West before the 1900s. The name "Tibet" was first reported in the West as early as the 1600s by Estêvão Cacella, a Portuguese missionary. He heard about a place called Shambhala (written as Xembala) and thought it might be another name for Cathay or China. In 1627, Cacella traveled to Tashilhunpo, the home of the Panchen Lama. After realizing his mistake, he returned to India.

Later writers expanded on the idea of a hidden land where a secret group of spiritual people lived and worked for the good of humanity. Alice A. Bailey claimed that Shambhala (her spelling) exists as a spiritual place on the astral plane, a realm where Sanat Kumara, the highest Avatar of Earth’s Planetary Logos, resides. She described it as a reflection of God’s will.

Nicholas and Helena Roerich led an expedition from 1924 to 1928 to find Shambhala. They believed that Belukha Mountain in the Altai Mountains was an entrance to Shambhala, a belief shared by some in that region. They later led another expedition to Mongolia between 1934 and 1935 to search for Shambhala.

Inspired by Theosophical ideas and visits from Mongol monks, Gleb Bokii, a Soviet cryptographer and leader of the secret police, and his friend Alexander Barchenko, tried to find Shambhala in the 1920s. They aimed to combine Kalachakra-tantra with Communist ideas. In a secret laboratory, they tested Buddhist spiritual practices to create a model for perfect communist people.

They planned a special journey to Inner Asia to retrieve wisdom from Shambhala, but the project failed due to conflicts within the Soviet intelligence service and competition from the Soviet Foreign Commissariat, which sent its own expedition to Tibet in 1924.

French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel linked Shambhala to Balkh, a city in modern-day Afghanistan. She suggested the Persian name Sham-i-Bala, meaning "elevated candle," might be the origin of Shambhala’s name. Similarly, J. G. Bennett, influenced by Gurdjieff’s teachings, speculated that Shambhala might refer to Shams-i-Balkh, a Bactrian sun temple.

Shambhala may have inspired the fictional paradise Shangri-La, described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. This paradise is hidden in a Tibetan valley.