Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
And there is something else there which is quite important for us to realize.
Is that I am not just purely guru alone.
As my role in Tibet wasn’t purely the role of guru alone.
But my role was to rule a district.
Rule a certain part of province in my country,
as governor, and legislator, and as social worker, as organizer of people.
So my work was not purely that of a religious type alone.
And of course from seventh century onward particularly, in Tibet
we have developed a system of governing a large chunk of-part of- the earth.
And the Tibetans ruled part of China, part of India.
And the rulers were enlightened beings, Tibetan kings.
And at that point, there was no problem with the monarchy at all,
as long as the person is fully trained and has good heart,
and well disciplined, well educated.
The sense of training is important.
Having trained, then we could run our country.
And that particular secular aspect of Tibetan society at all,
as well as any secular society, enlightened secular society,
such as like Dai Nippon, the Japanese tradition, or the Chinese tradition,
or the Indian tradition beginning with the emperor Ashoka, and traditions like that.
And also we have in the West, such as like King Arthur of England,
and various great teachers who were also kings, rulers,
who ruled a country, run a country and propagate goodness in a country.
So you can’t completely say that the monarchy approach is rubbish and a bad deal altogether.
Maybe you could say from a Lenin’s point of view, or a Marxist point of view,
but that is just another point of view which stemmed from a
… chaos and a decline of the imperial cultures, and the industrial revolution
and other problems crop up, and including the corruption of the church at the same time.
And so there is no need for me to teach grandmother to suck egg, for you.
I don’t have to teach you the history of the past. You must know already.
Shambhala is a particular principle, and particular ideal.
And also once upon a time it was a kingdom,
which is based on a notion of a total enlightened society.
And what we are trying to do here is trying to present that particular principle to you,
and bring to the West.
We have been presenting Shambhala culture and tradition for the past (How many years now?)
five years. And people have understood.
And there seems to be some rapport that
the world is not going to be saved purely by religion alone.
But the world can be saved also by secular enlightenment as well.
So that is the meaning of Shambhala.