THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF SHAMBHALA: DHARMA RAJAH SUCANDRA

The Earth Protector Kings
Who ruled the land called Shambhala,
Which means "Held by the Source of Happiness",
Were all descended from Shambhaka of the Sakya clan,

Emerging from this immemorial lineage,
Sucandra, Auspicious Moon, the Lord of Secrets
Is the first to be called a Dharma King.
Now he enters the Crystal Hall of the Kalapa Court.

This great Dharma Raja enters this world as an emanation of Vajrapani,
The All-Conquering Lord of Secrets
Who brings the blazing light of wisdom
Into the fickle realities of the human realm.
Vajrapani is the master of Buddha Activity
Beyond the waxing and waning of life and death.

Out of Vajrapani’s heart, the Dharma King Sucandra takes birth
As the first son of King Suryaprabha and Queen Vijaya.
Thus he enters the Kalapa Court and takes his seat on the Lion Throne.

His pale face is serene and his dark gaze fathomless.
His hair and mustache are black and smooth.
He wears the Gold Crown of Reality Beyond the Limit of Knowledge
Which is surmounted by a white diamond free of any flaw.

As the lord of heart and mind,
He wears gold earrings shaped like sea-dragons.
His dragon-patterned brocade robe is turquoise.
His sash is pale red like an early winter moon.

In his right hand he holds a white lotus
On which stands a crystal Vajra;
In his left a silver bell.
He sits on a glowing golden throne
Beneath the rainbow colored parasol of complete fearlessness
Which is vast as the sky and supported by a golden pole high as Mount Meru.

Encountering him is overwhelming
As if one had emerged in the night from a narrow mountain pass
And found oneself suddenly on an immense plain bathed in full moonlight.


2

In his unchanging secret form, the Great Dharma King Sucandra
Is ever youthful and his body is white as a conch.
His face is inviting and completely peaceful.

Because he has attained the summit of dharma,
His top-knot is surmounted by the three jewels
Blazing with their own radiance.

He wears the flower garland crown of the five senses
And a necklace of the five elements displayed as five kinds of gem-stones.
He wears a red and gold brocade shawl as radiant as the splendor of love.
His golden bracelets are the four aims of life.
He wears the Jewel Treasure of the Ocean on a gold chain at his heart.

In his right hand, he holds the Wish Fulfilling Tree,
And in his left a red lotus,
On which stands the golden eight spoked wheel of unobstructed truth
Surmounted by the three jewels.

His consort on his right, gold as the dawn sun,
Makes the gesture of timeless offering,
Extending the gold vase of eternal life surmounted by the flaming three jewels.

The Dharma King Sucandra is surrounded
By all the offerings of the phenomenal world.
In the peace of his radiance, there is no room for doubt or discursiveness.

3

The Great Dharma Raja Sucandra journeyed to the stupa of Dhyanakataka,
Accompanied by a great retinue of Nagas, Dralas,
And a vast number of his own subjects.

There the Great Lord prostrated to the Enlightened One,
Sage of the Sakyas, the Gautama Buddha,
The conqueror of the three worlds and light of this age.

The Dharma Raja requested the teachings for one who remains a King,
Remains in the embrace of the senses, and seeks the well being of all.
He requested the teachings that unfold outer life as an inner path.
He requested the teachings that open the gate of the seventh consciousness, And purify the full display of the ayatanas.

He requested the teachings that show the world of Basic Goodness
Glowing and fertile in the light of the Great Eastern Sun.

According to the text of The Supreme First Buddha,
The way in which he made his request is told as follows:

To eliminate the kleshas of sentient beings
By the union of body, speech and mind,
He supplicated the Bhagavan by offerings
Of jewel flowers strewn at his lotus feet.

He supplicated with the petals of precious flowers,
With prostrations made on bended knee.
With right knee to the floor
And with palms joined at the forehead,
The Lord of Shambhala requested:

"The Unsurpassed Highest Tantra, The First Buddha
Gathers all siddhis, possesses the vowels and consonants,
The Glorious Yoga of Kalachakra
Instantly manifests perfect Buddhahood.

“Possessing the four times
By its 60 divisions,
It holds the four bindus:
The emptiness and wisdom bindu,
The great supreme Vajra Holder,
The great emptiness of five words,
The empty bindu of six letters.

“Outer, body, Buddha, god, and non-god, 25 classes of beings,
All are within the nature
With bodies of various scale
Which are the cause of the three worlds' arising,
The enjoyment of gods and non-gods;
All these without exception
I ask the teacher to explain."
(2)

Then interior of the stupa became transformed into an immeasurable skull cup,
The inconceivable expanse of the dharmadhatu.
There, in the infinite expanse without beginning or end,
The Buddha arose in the form Vajrasattva
And opened the mandala of Kalachakra, The Lord of Time.
In the great dance of Vajra compassion,
He opened the immeasurable palace:
Below, he displayed the twelve blissful aspects
Of the Lord of Vajradhatu Speech;
Above, he displayed the sixteen mandalas of stars.
All this had not been seen, heard or known
Since the eon of Buddha Dipankara.

In this way, the Buddha himself gave the initiation
Into the great Mandala of Vajradhatu
And conveyed the root text of the Tantra of Glorious Kalachakra.

The Root Tantra explains the essence:

Ka is pacification of cause.
La is dissolving.
Cha is the motion of mind.
Kra is being bound to the stages.

And the Great Commentary expands this:

Whoever has neither cause nor characteristics,
Is without movement and free from stages:
This is the meaning of Kalachakra.
To that non-duality, I make homage.
(3)

So upon returning to Shambhala, Dharma Raja Sucandra
Recorded all this in writing, the "Paramadibuddha" in 12,000 verses,
With commentary five times that length.

Upon returning to Kalapa,
Dharma King Sucandra manifested his pure perception
As a great pleasure garden
To the south of the Palace of Kalapa and to the West of the "Near Lake".

In the midst of that vast park called Malaya,
From liquid gold, rubies, sapphires, emeralds,
Crystal, coral, and turquoise, and silver,
The Dharma Lord built the great Body Mandala of the Lord of Time,
A perfect square with four gates, four arches, and eight charnel grounds
With five surrounding fences,
And beyond them the mandala of the elements adorned with vajra chains.

Near it he built the Speech Mandala of Kalachakra, alike in form,
And close to that, he built the Mind Mandala of Kalachakra,
Alike in form but with three surrounding fences.
Closer still, he placed the Wisdom Mandala of Kalachakra
Surrounded by sixteen jeweled towers.
Again nearest yet to the Kalapa Court, the Dharma King Sucandra
Created a vast eight-petalled lotus
Whose golden anthers sway on breezes of delight and brush the sky,
Radiating like a hundred suns.

Placed in the timeless expanse of pure perception
The Mandalas of the Lord of Time are utterly complete
In every aspect and characteristic, and power.

From this moment on, time is marked with the names of the Kings of Kalapa.
It is from this time that the names of the Lords of Kalapa are known to all.
It is from this time that the teachings of Shambhala flourish,
Blazing through all the human realm and in every human heart.

from THE MIRROR OF NOWNESS- THE KINGDOM OF SHAMBHALA AND THE KALAPA COURT

THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF THE LORDS OF KALAPA:
THE KINGDOM OF SHAMBHALA


1

Floating on the radiance of nowness
In the infinite circle of the cosmic mirror,
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears as a pure realm.
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears on the face of this earth.
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears as the secret form of the human heart.

Because Shambhala is nowness,
It is all pervasive as basic goodness.
Because Shambhala does not rely on confirmation,
It expands as the vastness of the ayatanas.
Because Shambhala vaults over the apparent opposition of phenomena,
It rises as the power of wind horse.
Because Shambhala is timeless
It is always appropriate,
Because Shambhala is self-fulfilling,
It is awake in the primordial stroke.
It posses the spontaneous confidence of Lion, Tiger, Garuda, Dragon.


2


Luminous, immense, verdant, stately and eternal,
The Kingdom of Shambhala is hidden.
A towering range of impenetrable, glistening snow-mountains,
Formed from time
Frozen by the anger, lust and ignorance of egoistic fixation,
Completely surrounds it.

Within this circular ice mountain wall,
The Kingdom of Shambhala, "Held by the Source of Happiness", opens
In the shape of vast lotus with eight petals.

The melting waters of Shambhala’s mountains
Form eight cold blue racing streams
Which enrich its fields and forests
And mark the boundaries of the Kingdom’s eight provinces.

In each province, farms, forests, lakes and towns
Adorn the land, as dew in sunlight
Sparkles on a lotus' outstretched petals.

This is the land where the intrinsic sacredness
Of humanity has never been lost,
And is always whole.

The births of all who dwell here are free of pain.
Following the ways of their ancestors and the guidance of elders,
They are raised according to the inner path of meditation,
And cultivate the outer paths of art and warrior discipline.
Their manner is dignified, direct and considerate,
And their lives are untouched by sickness, hunger, unhappiness or poverty.
Both men and women are true warriors,
But live the lives of ordinary householders.
Their life spans last a hundred years,
And they view their deaths with equanimity
As no different from the transitions of life.
(1&2)
Their confidence and kindness
Appear in the ordinary human realm
As galaxies of stars in the dark of night.

In each province, as on the apex of a lotus petal’s gentle curve,
Sits a glittering capital city.
In the east is The Proud One; in the southeast, The Vast Field;
In the south, the Secret; in the west, The Flexible One;
In the northwest, The Happy One; in the north, The Originating One;
And in the northeast, The Radiant One.

In the gleaming inner courts of these capitals
Reside the Lords of Shambhala,
The father and mother lineages of dralas.
Their minds do not stray from nowness.
They are gentle and fearless.
By speech and symbol,
They expand the luminous, vast perception of nowness
Unrestricted by the limits of conventional thought.
Their brilliance blazes through the realm of human time
As protectors, as mountain gods and goddesses of lakes,
As non-dual sudden wakefulness.

THE MIRROR OF NOWNESS: THE LEGACY OF THE RIGDEN KINGS OF SHAMBHALA

FOREWORD

The core of what follows is an account of the thirty-two rulers of the legendary Kingdom of Shambhala. The first eight were titled Dharma Kings and the latter twenty-five titled Rigdens or ‘Caste Holders’. The eighth Dharma King, Manjusrikirti-Yasas was responsible for the change of social arrangements resulting in the change of title.

The Kingdom of Shambhala is said to have three aspects first as a pure realm, secondly as a real though seldom seen place on the earth, and thirdly as an essential part of human nature. Thus Shambhala is the fruition, path and ground of the social manifestation of enlightened mind.

Only four of its rulers are spoken of as having manifested directly in human historical time: Sucandra, Pundarika, Manjusrikirti-Yasas, and the future twenty-fifth Rigden, Raudracakrin. The rest are known only by the description of their outer appearance in the Kingdom of Shambhala and by the description of their inner manifestation in Sambhogakaya form.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of those who dwell in pure realms is that their compassion can manifest anywhere, uncircumscribed by the concepts of space and time. Thus the inner descriptions of the rulers of Shambhala portray the aspects of enlightenment which they display and which radiate during their reign throughout the human world. Through their complex forms, colors, attributes and atmospheres, the rulers of Shambhala manifest the mind of timelessness in the world of time and move in the hearts of all human beings.



THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF THE LORDS OF KALAPA:
THE COSMIC MIRROR

1

In the all-pervasive pure immensity of primordial space,
The limitless, the timeless;
Space before stillness, time before occurrence,
The signless, the directionless, the gateless;
In this realm which neither appears nor disappears;
Space without other, ground without path, the primordial mandala
Is pure presence, is pure reality itself.

Now
Without beginning,
Now
Without end,
The cosmic mirror
Is the spontaneous expanse of infinite space.

The first moment without the second,
The cosmic mirror is primordial nowness.


2

Now,
Radiating within the space beyond space and the time beyond time,
Everywhere and simultaneously

Now,
Light before illumination and shadow;
Luminosity inseparable from bliss,
The radiance of all, bliss of all:
The self-luminous blazes as gates of light.

Now
Without logic or consequence,
Sight, sound smell, taste and touch
Shine
Free from the limits of perceiver, perception or consciousness.

This is the all-encompassing radiance
Of the cosmic mirror.


3

Now,
As a bolt of lightning, as a sharp cry
All the wisdom of the cosmic mirror
Condenses.

A sudden dot,
Vibrant, alive, awake,
Pulses in the infinite expanse of luminous space.

Now is the all pervasive life
Of vision, tenderness and courage.

The Kingdom of Shambhala
Rises beyond time
Complete, Brilliant and all pervasive
In every instant.



THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF THE LORDS OF KALAPA:
THE KINGDOM OF SHAMBHALA


1

Floating on the radiance of nowness
In the infinite circle of the cosmic mirror,
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears as a pure realm.
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears on the face of this earth.
The Kingdom of Shambhala appears as the secret form of the human heart.

Because Shambhala is nowness,
It is all pervasive as basic goodness.
Because Shambhala does not rely on confirmation,
It expands as the vastness of the ayatanas.
Because Shambhala vaults over the apparent opposition of phenomena,
It rises as the power of wind horse.
Because Shambhala is timeless
It is always appropriate,
Because Shambhala is self-fulfilling,
It is awake in the primordial stroke.
It posses the spontaneous confidence of Lion, Tiger, Garuda, Dragon.


2


Luminous, immense, verdant, stately and eternal,
The Kingdom of Shambhala is hidden.
A towering range of impenetrable, glistening snow-mountains,
Formed from time
Frozen by the anger, lust and ignorance of egoistic fixation,
Completely surrounds it.

Within this circular ice mountain wall,
The Kingdom of Shambhala, "Held by the Source of Happiness", opens
In the shape of vast lotus with eight petals.

The melting waters of Shambhala’s mountains
Form eight cold blue racing streams
Which enrich its fields and forests
And mark the boundaries of the Kingdom’s eight provinces.

In each province, farms, forests, lakes and towns
Adorn the land, as dew in sunlight
Sparkles on a lotus' outstretched petals.

This is the land where the intrinsic sacredness
Of humanity has never been lost,
And is always whole.

The births of all who dwell here are free of pain.
Following the ways of their ancestors and the guidance of elders,
They are raised according to the inner path of meditation,
And cultivate the outer paths of art and warrior discipline.
Their manner is dignified, direct and considerate,
And their lives are untouched by sickness, hunger, unhappiness or poverty.
Both men and women are true warriors,
But live the lives of ordinary householders.
Their life spans last a hundred years,
And they view their deaths with equanimity
As no different from the transitions of life.
(1&2)
Their confidence and kindness
Appear in the ordinary human realm
As galaxies of stars in the dark of night.

In each province, as on the apex of a lotus petal’s gentle curve,
Sits a glittering capital city.
In the east is The Proud One; in the southeast, The Vast Field;
In the south, the Secret; in the west, The Flexible One;
In the northwest, The Happy One; in the north, The Originating One;
And in the northeast, The Radiant One.

In the gleaming inner courts of these capitals
Reside the Lords of Shambhala,
The father and mother lineages of dralas.
Their minds do not stray from nowness.
They are gentle and fearless.
By speech and symbol,
They expand the luminous, vast perception of nowness
Unrestricted by the limits of conventional thought.
Their brilliance blazes through the realm of human time
As protectors, as mountain gods and goddesses of lakes,
As non-dual sudden wakefulness.


THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF THE LORDS OF KALAPA:
THE KALAPA COURT

1


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 of 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.

2

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.