A place called Shambhala

Shambhala is a (likely mythical) place that only awakened individuals can enter in Tibetan Buddhism. It apparently exists somewhere just beyond the Himalayas. People spend their entire lives seeking this "Sacred Realm". Interestingly, Shambhala seems to be a kingdom centered around a pyramid. Check it out.



In A Link to the Past's backstory, we hear about the Golden Land (which is later termed the Sacred Realm). People spend their entire lives trying to get into the Golden Land, and those that try never return. The Golden Land, wherever it is, seems to exist just out of the sight of everyone. And, as you know, Ganon's corrupted Golden Land, the Dark World, has a pyramid at the center.



Caughtcha Mr. Miyamoto! I don't think there's any doubt that Shambhala influenced the idea of the Sacred Realm.