Mandala and Shambhala: An Anthropological Analysis of the Origin Myth for the Ches-pa Tribe

Abstract: This article attempts to use the origin myth of the Ches-pa tribe in Chone area, which come from The Political and Religious History of Amdo and The Collected Works of Kun mkhyen klong chen rab'byams, to demonstrate that the Tibetan hierarchical system is based on the warrior class being divided into three functional models. This model is also hidden in the Indian epic Mahabharata, coexisting with the Varna system. In both cases, the formation of the hierarchy is inextricably linked to their own eschatology. Especially in Tibetan society, the center-periphery relationship based on mandala diagrams, which is usually found in predominantly Buddhist societies, gives way to the eschatological Shambhala diagram centered on the northern military king. This discovery clarifies the fundamental differences between Tibetan and Indian civilizations, which also demonstrating the fundamental distinction between Tibetan society and other Buddhist societies. The hierarchical argument that takes the warrior class as its logical starting point challenges Dumézil and Dumont's dialectical explanation of the Indian hierarchy, also being more likely to become the fundamental path to understanding human hierarchy.