The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel

 

“My Search in Tibet for the Secret Wish-Fulfilling Jewel” is a somewhat confusing book by Peter Mount Shasta (as I decided to spell his name due to the vicissitudes of my word-processor – it´s actually Peter Mt. Shasta). The author is a spiritual teacher and really lives in the town of Mount Shasta, California. His teachings are based on the I AM Discourses of Ascended Master Saint Germain, channeled by Guy Ballard during the 1930´s. Peter´s guru Pearl had apparently been Ballard´s secretary back in the days. What makes Peter Mount Shasta special is that he combines the I AM teachings with Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. He has even introduced a new “deity” called Violet Tara, obviously a combination of the Tibetan bodhisattva Tara and Saint Germain´s Violet Flame. She is not mentioned in this particular book, however, which was published in 2017 and supposedly details the author´s visit to Nepal, Tibet and India in 1994. I say “supposedly”, for although the book does contain photos of Peter at various Tibetan landmarks, the story itself is very hard to believe. It reads like a novel and may in fact be inspired by James Redfield´s “The Celestine Prophecy”. It´s also uneven.

The first few chapters are hilariously funny, as when the former Karmapa appears to Peter in a vision in the US, instructing him to visit the new Karmapa in Tibet. As Peter points out himself, this is absurd since according to Tibetan belief the two Karmapas are really the same person who has reincarnated! Why can´t they just chat in the vision? (The Karmapa is a prominent lama within the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism.) Then, he meets the Dalai lama in his bathroom?! The second half of the book is more boring, unless you are very immersed in the spiritual undergrowth of California. Some lose ends are never explained. For instance, the living Karmapa in Tibet has no idea who Peter even is when he finally manages to get access. Nor does he ever meet the Dalai lama in Dharamsala. It´s also unclear why Peter´s supposed wife from a previous life in Mongolia is suddenly introduced into the story, and so on.

That being said, it´s somewhat interesting to see how Peter Mount Shasta has syncretized Tantric Buddhism with the I AM messaging. He criticizes post-Ballard I AM practitioners and most of the New Age believers for being egotistic and more interested in wealth or worldly success than actual spirituality. Of course, you could criticize Ballard himself for exactly the same things! It´s interesting that the author turns to Tibetan Buddhism rather than, say, regular Christianity in order to make the I AM teachings more compassionate and ascetic. It´s also interesting, to be sure, that he interprets esoteric Tantric Buddhism as a very life-affirming and compassionate practice. I often get the impression that Western aficionados of Tibetan Tantrism have other goals in mind. Occult powers, perhaps, or hedonistic Left Hand orgies. This book has entirely different “vibes”. The impersonal god isn´t some kind of empty sky or dreamless sleep, but a conscious and blissful reality.

Peter Mount Shasta tries to correlate the I AM concepts and those of Tantrism as best as he can. The I AM Presence is the Dharmakaya, Ascension is the same thing as attaining the Rainbow Body, and although he never says so explicitly, the Violet Flame might be shakti. The Ascended Masters could be bodhisattvas. Both I AM affirmations and Tibetan mantras are given in the book. Peter´s quest in Tibet is in pursuit of a mysterious object known as the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel. On one level, the jewel turns out to be a real physical object, some kind of alternative medicine ingested in the form of powder put in a liquid. (There is a video featuring Peter Mount Shasta on YouTube where he drinks a mysterious blue water.) On another level, however, the jewel is really shakti, the creative energy of “Mother” permeating all of existence and bringing all things into manifestation. If you find this power within you, you have found the secret wish-fulfilling jewel…

Oh, and the book comes with a short preface from Saint Germain himself.

If “alternative Tibet” is your thing, this could be for you. Could perhaps also benefit precisely the people the author criticizes: new agey prosperity gospel types.