As the sun moves to mid-heaven and all is blinding brightness, Gesar sings out:
The glittering webs of light in every universe
Can never be described,
But are the gates to every land,
The gates of mystery and wonder.
At the center of the Kingdom of Shambhala,
Like silver anthers rising amid golden lotus petals,
A towering ring of crystal mountains rises
Formed from time frozen by concepts of eternalism and nihilism.
Theses glittering peaks surround a lofty circular green plateau,
The great park of Malaya, adorned with turquoise lakes and crystal streams.
Glades of juniper, tamarisk, bamboo and rhododendron perfume the air.
Here stands the mandala of Kalachakra,
Surrounded by the mandalas of the eight gods, the eight Naga kings,
The protectors of the ten directions,
The nine great destroyers, the gods of the eight planets,
The twenty-eight stars, and innumerable other protector deities.
At the center of Malaya, arising in the spontaneous heart of nowness,
Is the ultimate court of primordial time,
Kalapa, “The Timely”, the capital of Shambhala,
Glowing with an intense radiance that fills the whole of space.
Here dwell the Earth Protectors and Rigdens
Who rule over all Shambhala
And radiate the heart of all true human law.
Kalapa is a vast square with high bright ruby walls
Surmounted by golden balustrades.
Its four gates are made from sapphire, yellow diamond, ruby and emerald.
Within the walls are the inner gates and courtyards paved with white opal.
In the center, on a platform of pearl, is a great palace, the Kalapa Court.
It is made of gold and looms nine stories high
With pillars and beams made of cinnabar, silver, coral and gzi.
Its floors are ebony, sandalwood and cedar.
It’s moldings are made of silver and liquid gold,
And its roof and the floor of its throne room
Are made from crystal plates that radiate heat.
Its roof is surmounted by victory banners and a gold dharmachakra.
Garlands of gold and pearl hang from its eaves.
The luster of the palace is so great that it dims the sun and moon,
And the sky above the palace shines like a sparkling sea.
Also within the ruby walls of Kalapa, surrounding the central palace
Are thirty-one smaller pavilions built in the same way.
Each is surrounded by gardens and streams.
The sound of chimes and the scent of flowers fill the air.
Here dwell the Rulers of Shambhala,
The seven Earth Protector Dharma Rajahs and twenty-five Rigdens.
The Rulers of Shambhala appear directly from the heart of the cosmic mirror
As nowness pervades the endless succession of time.
As timelessness pierces the endless stream of cause and effect,
The rulers of Shambhala follow one after another
Just as the sun moves across the sky.
Thus primordial time radiates within the realm of time
As ruler, as guide, as sustenance, as vision.
Inseparable from the fabric of the vast and minute cycles of time itself,
The thirty-two Lords of Kalapa
Move slowly across the luminous court yard.
Each in turn dwells in each of the thirty-two pavilions of Kalapa.
Each in succession appears in rulership,
Resolving, one into the other,
As the many rays and aspects resolve into a single blazing sun.
The True Law of the human realm
Resounds with their foot-fall.
Time unfolds as the vowels and consonants
Weave the binding of the senses and elements
To the pervasive unwavering blue light of Samantabhadra.
Thus the mind of the rulers shines in light.
The mood of their command colors the sky.
Their deeds are the dance of the elements.
The sun and moon are their wisdom display,
The stars and planets show their path,
The four seasons are their law
In order that confidence blaze like a prairie fire
In the hearts of all men, women and children.
In order to show the law inherent in the movements of the human,
The Lords of Kalapa, the Rulers of Shambhala
Appear in the Kalapa Court,
One after the other;
Appear in slow procession
And the whole of time resounds from their footsteps.
So, through the blessings of the elements and ayatanas,
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears
As living reality on the very face of this earth,
Alive in every breath, sound, mood, season, hour and instant.
This was extracted from The Brilliance of Naked Mind: Secret Visions of Gesar, King of Ling with the kind permission of the author Douglas J. Penick.
Photo of Kalapa, the capital, from a classical thangka of the Kingdom of Shambhala.