Shambhala Terma
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Since the 11th century, the revelation of terma is one way that Tibetans have continued to introduce innovative teachings in every generation, appropriate to the needs of the time. Terma literally means "treasure" and refers to a set of teachings hidden way until the time is ripe to propagate them.
Most tertöns or "treasure revealers" trace their past lives back to the 8th century as direct disciples of the tantric master Padmasambhava. Terma are considered to be teachings originally given by Padmasambhava (or another comparable master) and later hidden away in the Tibetan landscape and in the mindstream of tertöns. In eastern Tibet, many tertöns also trace their past lives to the time of the legendary king Gesar as one of the generals in his army or ladies in his court.
The process of treasure revelation involves awakening a memory from the tertön's past life and decoding arcane symbols that might appear in the landscape, on yellow scrolls, or in the mind of the tertön. It is the task of each tertön along with his or her students and lineage holders to further unravel the meaning of a terma into a coherent cycle of teachings and system that can be used for an individual's regime of meditation and in community practice.
Chögyam Trungpa, the founder of Shambhala, was himself a tertön. He began revealing terma before leaving Tibet, but few of these survive. The Shambhala teachings emerged as terma out of the visions and revelations of Chögyam Trungpa after he had come to the west. In recent years, Sakyong Mipham has been elaborating his father's terma into a complete system of training for students in English. These teachings contain the essence of ancient wisdom, yet are tailored to the specific challenges of modern living.
Shambhala is a union of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism with the Shambhala teachings introduced by Chögyam Trungpa in the 1970s, based on the warrior tradition of Tibet's legendary king Gesar.