Destination Shambhala: The Making of Paridise

DocuVideo Introduction

Destination, Shambhala:
The Making of Paradise

It's about a nine to ten hour train ride from the capital city to the Sainshand train station. While the distance is 285 miles, timing is more a factor of speed than expanse. The Russian made, 1940's vintage locomotive, lumbers comfortably at the not so blazing average speed of 30 miles per hour. But, no one working for the railroad will offer an apology, rather they may tell you that in the past 10 years, there has been only one accident of record, and safety after all, is their greatest concern.

Located in the Northwestern Gobi Desert and along the 460-kilometer odyssey from Ulaanbaatar, the tracks comfortably rest atop the grade, covering a stretch of moderately hilly terrain with smooth slopes and vast views of flat desert wilderness. Welcome aboard the Trans Mongolian Railroad to Dorno Gobi Aimag and points further south to China.

Our destination Shambhala, is the place that one will reach, when the fully perfected mind has achieved enlightenment. While this paradise often dovetailed with Mongolian national pride, it now flourishes once more in the Buddhist renaissance following the fall of Communist rule. But, disfavored circumstances of Soviet domination, and for that matter, territorial rule by the Manchus, by many are seen as a mere skirmish in advance, the final worldwide battle.

The outcome of this great conflict? It's believed by some to spell victory for Buddhism, in the greater world order, with Mongolians as the "chosen people" of our times; having certain a place reserved in paradise. But, the Mongolian faithful are not at all keeping paradise to themselves, to be sure. They are in fact sharing it freely with all who come. And though while all who draw near, must leave for home at some point, they will nevertheless return, should they cast upon the earth a small white stone, in the sacred tradition of the order, which is said to reserve one's place in Shambhala in the next life.

And so truly, for the benefit of all, the rugged Mongolian masons who are now building paradise, labor in difficult circumstances. Here there is no running water, no electricity, little shelter from the sun and little to no cover from the storms, sand storms that is.

When the faithful and the vacationers experience Shambhala in all of its glorious completion, will they remember the faces of those who labored to create paradise? Or will the tireless men and women of the Gobi fade in the relentless sands of time. So, in memory of those who made paradise ready to call home, we dedicate this chapter.