Dear Rahula, Stephen, and friends,

Is there perhaps some obscure connection between Meru and Shangri-La?

I have recently vacationed (where my girlfriend was doing field
research) in Zhongdian, in a region of Yunnan province officially
renamed 'Shangri-La'. The Chinese government has 'proved' the
authenticity of the claim based on James Hilton's fictional 1936 novel
"Lost Horizon".

We are intrigued about this name/meme re-injection from East to West
and back to East. There may be modern references which predate the
book. However, is anyone aware of an earlier origin on the name? Is it
purely fictional or derived from another term (perhaps Shambhala?).

Cheers,
Alex

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "Stephen Hodge" <s.hodge@...> wrote:

> It is strange but not surprising that none of your
> sources mention where is it actually located --
> western Orissa near the present-day Hirakut Dam --
> look for the area called Sambola on a map. That
> this is the correct location is confirmed by the
> history and provenance of the Kalacakra Tantra and
> other materials. When this was forgotten, Shambhala
> became mythologized with the above results.