Excerpt from The Secret of Shambhala by James Redfield, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Yin," I said, "you have to tell me what's going on. What is Wil doing? Who are these men we saw at the hotel?"

Yin stared at me for a moment and then said, "I think they are Chinese intelligence officers."

"What?"

"I don't know what they are doing here. Apparently they have been alerted by all the activity and talk about Shambhala. Many of the lamas here realize that something is changing with this holy place. There has been much discussion.

"Changing how? Tell me."

Yin took a deep breath. "I wanted to let Wil explain this . . . but I guess now I must try. You must understand what Shambhala is. The people there are live human beings, born into this holy place, but they are of a higher evolutionary state. They help hold energy and vision for the whole world."

I looked away, thinking about the Tenth Insight. "They're spiritual guides of some kind?"

"Not like you think," Yin replied. "They aren't like family members or other souls in the afterlife that might be helping us from that dimension. They are human beings who live right here on this Earth. Those in Shambhala have an extraordinary community and live at a higher level of development. They model what the rest of the world will ultimately achieve."

"Where is this place?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know anyone who has seen it?"

"No. As a boy, I studied with a great lama, who declared one day that he was going to Shambhala, and after days of celebration, he left."

"Did he get there?"

"No one knows. He disappeared and was never seen again anywhere in Tibet."

"Then no one really knows whether it exists or not."

Yin was silent for a moment, then said, "We have the legends . . ."

"Who's we?"

He stared at me. I could tell that he was restricted by some kind of code of silence. "I cannot tell you that. Only the head of our sect, Lama Rigden, could choose to talk with you."

"What are the legends?"

"I can only tell you this: The legends are the sayings left by those who have attempted to reach Shambhala in the past. They are centuries old."

Yin was about to say something else when a sound toward the street drew our attention. We watched closely but saw no one.

"Wait here," Yin said.

Again Yin knocked on the door and disappeared inside. Just as quickly he emerged and walked over to an old, rusty Jeep with a ragged canvas top. He opened the door and waved for me to get in.

"Come on," he said. "We must hurry."

© 1999 by James Redfield. All rights reserved. Published with permission of the publisher, Warner Books.