The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight by James Redfield Read Free Book Online Page B

real place. And we hold the sacred knowledge, the legends, that explain our relationship
     to this sacred community.”
    “What is that relationship?”
    “We are to preserve the knowledge while we are waiting for the time when Shambhala will come out and make itself known to
     all peoples.”
    “Yin told me that some believe that the warriors of Shambhala will eventually arrive to defeat the Chinese.”
    “Yin’s anger is very dangerous for him.”
    “He’s wrong, then?”
    “He is speaking from the human viewpoint that sees defeat in terms of war and physical fighting. Exactly how this prophecy
     will come true is still unknown. We will have to first understand Shambhala. But we know that this will be a different kind
     of battle.”
    I found the last statement cryptic, but his manner was so compassionate that I felt awe rather than confusion.
    “We believe,” Lama Rigden continued, “that the time when the way of Shambhala shall be known in the world is very close.”
    “Lama, how do you know this?”
    “Again, because of our dreams. Your friend Wil has been here, as you undoubtedly have already heard. This we took as a great
     sign because we had earlier dreamed of him. He has smelled the fragrance and heard the utterance.”
    I was taken aback. “What kind of fragrance?”
    He smiled. “The one you yourself smelled earlier today.”
    Now everything made sense. The way the monks had reacted and the Lama’s decision to see me.
    “You are also being called,” he added. “The sending of the fragrance is a rare thing. I have seen it occur only twice—once
     when I was with my teacher, and again when your friend Wil was here. Now it has happened again with you. I had not known whether
     to see you or not. It is very dangerous to speak of these things trivially. Have you also heard the cry?”
    “No,” I said. “I don’t understand what that is.”
    “It is also a call from Shambhala. Just keep listening for a special sound. When you hear it, you will know what it is.”
    “Lama, I’m not sure I want to go anywhere. It seems very dangerous here for me. The Chinese seem to know who I am. I think
     I want to go back to the United States as soon as possible. Can you just tell me where I might find Wil? Is he somewhere close?”
    The Lama shook his head, looking very sad. “No, I’m afraid he has committed to go on.”
    I was silent, and for a long moment the Lama just looked at me.
    “There is something else you must know,” he said. “It is very clear from the dreams that without you, Wil could not survive
     this attempt. For him to succeed, you will have to be there as well.”
    A wave of fear ran through me, and I looked away. This was not what I wanted to hear.
    “The legends say,” the Lama went on, “that in Shambhala each generation has a certain destiny that is publicly known and talked
     about. The same is true in human cultures outside of Shambhala. Sometimes great strength and clarity can be gained by looking
     at the courage and intent of the generation that came before us.”
    I wondered where he was going with this.
    “Is your father alive?” he asked.
    I shook my head. “He died a couple of years ago.”
    “Did he serve in the great war of the 1940s?”
    “Yes,” I replied, “he did.”
    “Was he in the fighting?”
    “Yes, during most of the war.”
    “Did he tell you of his most fearful situation?”
    His question took me back to discussions with my father during my youth. I thought for a moment.
    “Probably the landing in Normandy in 1944 at Omaha Beach.”
    “Ah, yes,” the Lama said. “I’ve seen your American movies about this landing. Have you seen them?”
    “Yes, I have,” I said. “They moved me very much.”
    “They told of the soldiers’ fear and courage,” he went on.
    “Yes.”
    “Do you think you could have done such things?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t see how they did it.”
    “Perhaps it was easier for them because it was the calling for