TREASURES OF SHAMBHALA

Christine Tice ©1999

In 1981, Khenpo Jikphan, a tulku (incarnate lama) from Tibet, was leading a Manjusri initiation for a large group of followers under a clear, sunny sky. As the day progressed, several of his fellow teachers noticed that the order of words and the sequence of ritual gestures was different; there was an erratic and chaotic rhythm to KhenpoÍs actions. What was happening? According to several eye-witnesses, Khenpo suddenly stood up and held a white offering scarf in his open hands. Simultaneously, a dark green egg appeared suspended in the air. Khenpo reached out and gently plucked it from the empty space above his hands and placed it upon his desk. He invited several of the onlookers to inspect the spherical egg, which felt hot to the touch and glowed in the sunlight.
      An ongoing awakening to the miracles, sacred power and mythic energies of Tibet has been gathering force quietly since the Chinese occupation of the country in the 1950s. Tibet has an ancient history of being a repository for spiritual treasures in the form of statues, sacred texts, ritual implements, and precious stones. They have been found hidden inside boulders, buried beneath streams, suspended in space, and sometimes held within the minds of chosen recipients, waiting for the preordained moment to be discovered. In modern times "termas", as these hidden treasures are called, have also appeared upon photographic negatives of landscapes and the Himalayas.
      The ancient Terma tradition began with Padma-sambhava, the great emissary who brought Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India. Padmasambhava was a master magician who is known to have battled powerful and negative energies in the forms of ogres and monsters from humanities deepest inner terrors in order to bring peace to Tibet. Victorious from these encounters, he compassionately offered the monsters their lives made them the protectors of Tibet and guardians of mankindÍs future.
      In 762 A.D., Padmasambhava founded Samye, TibetÍs first monastery, near the Bhramaputra river. Gathering the first small group of Buddhists at Samye, he foretold the coming of the Mongolian invasion of India and the destruction of the great Buddhist centers of learning there. He told them that he had much work to do and was leaving, and that he had a particular service that he wanted them and their descendents to perform. Padmasambhava explained that they would henceforth have the title of Tertons, and that they would be entrusted with finding the treasures that he was hiding in Tibet and Nepal for safekeeping. Because he was a great strategist, he also opened up alternative realities known as Beyuls (Shambalas) where people would find and seek refuge. Padmasambhava, the various Buddhas, and Maitreya, the next Buddha to come, created power places where Termas, as the treasures came to be called, could be found and the healing power of their unseen presences could emanate across the corporeal world.
      With the destruction of TibetÍs great monasteries and the coming of Buddhism to the west there were many questions about the unseen forces that lay scattered upon the altars of Earth. The dispersion of TibetÍs wisdom had been foretold, however no one could imagine the terrible way that it this would come to pass. Where were the protectors? Where was the magic and wisdom?
      Slowly, as the Dalai Lama and others work to elevate the worldÍs consciousness about injustice„ not just for Tibet, but for all beings„leaders from many different spiritual disciplines have begun to come together in community. Celebrating their differences, these leaders and laypersons have formulated a world view for humanity that stresses love, compassion, and the awakening of ancient, forgotten wisdom. A new/old understanding of the inter-connectedness of all life is being re-examined.
      In Tibet, itself, great energies are beginning to course through the ley lines that criss-cross the plains of Tibet and connect its powerful earth energies to the mountains of Peru, the monuments of Egypt, the stone circles of the British Isles, and other power vortexes. These currents influence the manifestations of events both natural and human-created as the demands of our abused planet are heard and felt. Statues at various monasteries are awakening and communicating to those who can hear them. Sometimes the recipients are Tibetans, but often they are tourists with little experience to help them understand these experiences.
      This phenomenon is gathering force. Since the 1980s, paranormal activities in Tibet have been increasing. Termas are being found and translated, which are enhancing our understanding of the universe and giving us tools for a new paradigm for living. The creative and powerful energies of love are escaping from their shackles and manifesting in new ways and forms. However, unless we use these new tools with gratitude, with selfless passion, and with the intention of creating well-being not just for ourselves, but for all our relations, our ark will once again sink beneath deep waters to become a legend like Atlantis or Mu. As this Kali-yuga, this age of common man, cycles to a close we are being given increasing choices about the future of our world and our own abilities to help create it.