Kalachakra and the Twenty-Five Kulika Kings of Shambhala: A Xylograph from Prague
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Religio: Revue pro religionistiku |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | Kalachakra; Mongolia; Tibetan Buddhism; Shambhala |
| Description | The Tibetan mythic land, the kingdom of Shambhala is, according to the Tibetan written texts and oral recounting, a parallel world, invisible and inaccessible to common people. The Shambhala is the place where the teaching of the Wheel of Time (Sa. Kalachakra, Tib. Dunkhor, dus khor) is preserved. According to this Tantric text, Shambhala will be also the place of spiritual and earthly revival after the Buddhist world is saved from destruction by barbaric unbelievers. Shambhala as a mythic kingdom probably existed even before the Turning Wheel of the Law, that is before the origination of Buddha Shakyamuni teaching. If we consider Tibetan sources, we can assume that the first Dharmaraja and ruler of Shambhala, Suchandra, approached the Buddha to ask for the Kalachakra teaching as a king of a country that had all the attributes of a mythic kingdom. The contribution is focused on the description and analysis of the Prague xylograph depicting the Twenty-Five Kulika Kings of Shambhala. |
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