Skardu

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Rinpungpa's Guidebook (written in 1557 AD) locates Shambhala north of the Kashmir Valley and south of the Wakhan Corridor.....

Rinpungpa, aka: "The Scholar King". A Tibetan prince who was the last of a dynasty of Ministers who ruled Tibet during the 15 and 16th centuries. He was considered one of the finest poets of the Tibetan language. Composed a guidebook to Shambhala in 1557 called "The Knowledge Bearing Messenger" as a letter to his dead father whom he believed to have been reborn in Shambhala. Complex and ornate style derived from the Sanskrit poetry of India.

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"The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is a valley in the portion of the Kashmir region administered by India. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and on the northeast by the main Himalayas range. It is approximately 135 km long and 32 km wide, and drained by the Jhelum River.

From: Rinpungpa's Guidebook to Shambhala .... "The Knowledge Bearing Messenger" (1557 AD) ...."Crossing Tibet westward.....to the sacred mountain of Kailas ....from Kailas continue northwest to Ladakh and down through mountains and forest to the Vale of Kashmir..(Kashmir Valley)........ then north, through a maze of treacherous mountains....you will pass safely through and come out in the land of the Paksik, horsemen who wear white turbans......over an 'outer ring' of sky-high ice mountains, down through a vicious desert, into unknown vistas....only to reach a second 'inner ring' of snow mountains. Beyond there, you must choose rightly among high valleys and low cities, having the good sense to know Shambhala when you reach it.........then you will at last, see the cities of Shambhala.....gleaming among ranges of snow mountains like stars on the waves of the Ocean of Milk."

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Skardu (Urdu: سکردو‎, Balti: སྐར་མདོ་་) is a city in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and serves as the capital of Skardu District. Skardu is located in the 6 miles wide by 25 miles long Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers at an altitude of nearly 8,200 feet. The city is an important gateway to the nearby Karakoram Mountain range. The town is located on the Indus river, which separates the Karakoram Range from the Himalayas.

Coordinates: 35°17′25″N....... 75°38′40″E
Pakistan.... Autonomous territory of Gilgit Baltistan....District Skardu
Elevation 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
Population: 500,000

Lower Kachura Lake (Urdu: لوؤر کچورا جھیل‎), also known as Shangrila Lake (Urdu: شنگریلا جھیل‎) is located in Kachura village 20 minutes from Skardu city (nearly 2,500 m or 8,200 feet) town. The lake is also known as Shangrila lake after Shangri-la resort is built in 1983....

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Gilgit Baltistan......Buddhism came to this part of the country in the late 7th century when most of the masses were practicing bon religion. Before the arrival of Islam, Tibetan Buddhism and Bön were the main religions in Baltistan. Buddhism can be traced back to before the formation of the Tibetan Empire. The region has a number of surviving Buddhist archaeological sites. These include the Manthal Buddha Rock, a rock relief of the Buddha at the edge of the village (near Skardu) and the Sacred Rock of Hunza. Nearby are former sites of Buddhist shelters......Baltistan had Buddhist majority till the 15th century, before the arrival of Islam in this region. Since then most of the people converted to Islam, the presence of Buddhism in this region has now been limited to archeological sites, as the remaining Buddhists of this region moved east to Ladakh where Buddhism is the majority religion.

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Manthal Buddha Rock (Urdu: منٹھل چٹان‎) is a large granite rock on which picture of Buddha has engraved which probably dates back to 8 century. This rock is located in Manthal village of Skardu, in Pakistan. Buddha Rock is one of the most important relics of Buddhism in Skardu. It's about 3 kilometers from Sadpara Road. Sadpara road will lead to Satpara Lake......Before arrival of Islam in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan the majority of the people were Buddhist and they had engraved the Buddha on many rock pieces. This Buddha carving was not known to the world till beginning of 20th century due to its remote location. In 1906 the Scottish traveler Ella Christie wrote a book on her journey to the Western Tibet

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Okar Research was begun in 1979 in order to annotate and deepen my understanding of the Shambhala Terma Texts received by Chogyam Trungpa:
Golden Sun of the Great East....Received as terma in October, 1976.
Letter of the Black Ashe....Received as terma in January, 1978.
Letter of the Golden Key that Fulfills Desire....Received as terma in October, 1978.
Scorpion Seal of the Golden Sun....Received in 1980...A long and a short version exist.

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

November 2018

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