Varela became a Tibetan Buddhist in the 1970s, initially studying, together with Keun-Tshen Goba, with the meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Vajradhatu and Shambhala Training, and later with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, a Nepalese meditation master of higher tantras.

In the Buddhist Kalachakra tradition, some 25 rulers of the legendary Shambhala Kingdom have the title of Kalki, Kulika or Kalki-king.

* The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet by Ringu Tulku, ISBN 1-59030-286-9, Shambhala Publications

* Ringu Tulku, The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet, ISBN 1-59030-286-9, Shambhala Publications

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche ( Wylie: Chos rgyam Drung pa ; February 28, 1939 – April 4, 1987 ) was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.

Incorporates Vajradhatu, an international association of Buddhist meditation and study centers, now known as Shambhala International.

A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage which Trungpa founded.

* Practicing Peace in Times of War: A Buddhist Perspective Shambhala Publications, September 2006.

Jones has been a practicing Shambhala Buddhist since 1992.

* The Dorje Denma Ling, a retreat centre in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition in The Falls ( 10 km south of the village ) attracts visitors from around the world.

The Shambhala Meditation Center of New York hosts a weekly practice group, Queer Dharma, specifically catering to the needs of the LGBTQ Buddhist community.

Naropa promotes contemplative education — a term used primarily by teachers associated with Naropa University or Shambhala Buddhist organizations — including activities such as meditation, the Japanese tea ceremony, taijiquan, Christian labyrinth, ikebana, and neo-pagan ritual.

In Tibetan Buddhist and Indian Buddhist traditions, Shambhala ( also spelled Shambala or Shamballa ; Tibetan: བད ེ་ འབ ྱུ ང ་; Wylie: bde ' byung, pron.

Whatever its historical basis, Shambhala gradually came to be seen as a Buddhist Pure Land, a fabulous kingdom whose reality is visionary or spiritual as much as physical or geographic.

It was in this form that the Shambhala myth reached the West, where it influenced non-Buddhist as well as Buddhist spiritual seekers — and, to some extent, popular culture in general.

Shambhala is believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened, actually a Buddhist Pure Land, centered by a capital city called Kalapa.

The Buddhist myth of Shambhala is an adaptation of the earlier Hindu myth of Kalki of Sambhala found in the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh in present day Afghanistan, also

Chögyam Trungpa, a Tibetan Buddhist lama, used the " Shambhala " name for certain of his teachings, practices, and organizations ( e. g. Shambhala Training, Shambhala International, Shambhala Publications ), referring to the root of human goodness and aspiration.

" He is a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and follows the Shambhala Buddhist lineage.

The late 20th century Tibetan Buddhist master Chogyam Trungpa incorporated variants of many of the elements above, particularly windhorse, drala, the four animals ( which he called " dignities "), wangtang, lha, nyen and lu, into a secular system of teachings he called Shambhala Training.

Both the Nalandabodhi sangha, which was founded by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and the Shambhala sanghas founded by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche have stated that they are welcoming of all sexual orientations.

A lineage was also transmitted from Kobun Chino Roshi to the Tibetan Buddhist sangha of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and is now practiced at all Shambhala retreat centers.

The Shambhala Buddhist sangha expresses this vision largely within Tibetan Buddhist concepts, terms, and practices, continuing its ties to contemporary Kagyu and Nyingma lineage holders, among them His Holiness the Karmapa ( Ogyen Trinley Dorje ), H. H.

However, there are also aspects of Shambhala Buddhism that are unique to the sangha, known as Shambhalian practices.

The change of name, which began informally with the Sakyong Mipham's assumption of leadership in 1990, reflected his approach of integrating the Shambhala teachings within Buddhism and making them the unifing principle of a Shambhala Buddhist sangha.

Upon the death of Chögyam Trungpa, the leadership of Vajradhatu was first carried on by his American disciple, appointed regent and Dharma heir, Ösel Tendzin ( Thomas Rich ), and then by Trungpa's eldest son and Shambhala heir, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Trungpa Rinpoche's son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, appointed Chödrön an acharya ( senior teacher ) shortly after assuming leadership of his father's Shambhala lineage in 1992.

Other high Kagyu lamas who support Ogyen Trinley Dorje include the Ninth Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche ; the Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche ; the Seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and his Nalandabodhi organization ; the Twelfth Surmang Trungpa Rinpoche ; the Seventh Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche ; the Third Tenga Rinpoche ; the Third Bardor Tulku Rinpoche ; the Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche ; the Venerable Bokar Rinpoche ; the Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche ( abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra ); Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and his organization, Shambhala International ; the Venerable Drupon Rinpoche, and Lama Norlha Rinpoche, among others.

In the Shambhala Buddhist community, a Primordial Rigden Ngöndro written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is practiced as a preliminary to various terma-derived practices received by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

The term Shambhala Buddhism was introduced by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in the year 2000 to describe his presentation of the Shambhala teachings, originally conceived by Chögyam Trungpa as secular practices for achieving enlightened society, in concert with the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu and Nyingma lineages.

Part 2, Vajrayana Seminary, is led by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and authorizes students to begin their Shambhala ngöndro — the preliminary practices for receiving the Rigden Abhisheka.

Dutsi-til Monastery is being steadily reestablished under the leadership of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the spiritual leader of Shambhala Buddhism and son of Chögyam Trungpa, the 11th Surmang Trungpa.

Eventually, the Vajradhatu organization was renamed Shambhala International by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Mipham showed particular interest in the Kalachakra and the kingdom of Shambhala, and one of his last and most extensive of his esoteric works are his two volumes of commentary, initiation and sadhana related to the Kalachakra Tantra, the esoteric teaching from Shambhala.

A great deal of the teachings of the Shambhala lineage derive from the Epic of Gesar as propagated by Mipham the Great.

Some cities which are considered lost are ( or may be ) places of legend such as the Arthurian Camelot, Russian Kitezh, Lyonesse, Ys, the Seven Cities of Gold, Shambhala, El Dorado, and Atlantis.

A worldwide war will be waged which will see the expansion of the mystical Kingdom of Shambhala led by a messianic king.

* The Naughty Dog game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves features yeti-like creatures that are revealed to be costumes worn by warriors from Shambhala.

He will be born in the family of Vishnuyasha, an eminent brahmana of Shambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with eight superhuman faculties.

He will be reborn as Kalki to noted Brahmin family in the city of Shambhala.

Here " Vishnuyasha " could mean that the father of Lord Kalki would be a great devotee of lord Vishnu, " Sumati " may refer to the pure thinking of his mother and Shambhala village, may indicate a place having the existence of the great temple of Lord Shiva.

In his view not only was individual enlightenment not mythical, but Shambhala Kingdom referred to an enlightened society that could in fact be actualized.

In 2005 Dharma Ocean Foundation was launched as the educational nonprofit through which Trungpa Rinpoche ’ s teachings would be disseminated via Ray, and in 2006 Shambhala International made the separation official.

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, holder of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, in a 2008 talk delivered to LGBT Dharma practitioners at the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, stressed that for vajrayana lay practitioners, homosexual relationships are no better or worse than heterosexual relationships and that only unhealthy relationships in general are to be avoided.

Shakyamuni Buddha is said by Vajrayana Buddhists to have taught the Kalachakra tantra on request of King Suchandra of Shambhala ; the teachings are also said to be preserved in Shamballa.

Russian New Age followers often go on pilgrimages to Mount Belukha, which is considered to be the location of Shambhala both by some New Agers and locals of Altai.

Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have taught the Kalachakra tantra on request of King Suchandra of Shambhala ; the teachings are also said to be preserved there.

In Altai folklore Mount Belukha is believed to be the gateway to Shambhala.

Madame Blavatsky, who claimed to be in contact with a Great White Lodge of Himalayan Adepts, mentions Shambhala in several places without giving it especially great emphasis.

Robert Jonas wrote in the Shambhala Sun: " Davenport and Urrutia must be applauded for their desire to awaken the reader by offering these new, bare translations of Jesus ' sayings.

In 1976 Shambhala moved to Boulder, Colorado to be near the Naropa Institute.

The shrine rooms in Shambhala Buddhism, reflecting the Zen aesthetic of kanso ( simplicity ), tend to be sparsely furnished and decorated, whereas traditional Tibetan Buddhist shrine rooms are elaborate, ornate, and colorful.

To a lesser extent, Trungpa Rinpoche incorporated other elements into Shambhala tradition that he thought would be beneficial to practitioners.

The Dorje Kasung is a group that was formed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to support the transmission of the Shambhala teachings by helping to create an appropriate environment for them to be taught in.

Shambhala Art can be seen as a process, a product, and an arts education program.