Bon religion

There were two religions in Tibet — Buddhism, in the shape of Lamaism, and an earlier creed, generally called the Bon religion. The latter, a creed evolved from Shamanism, does not seem, from what is said in Buddhist books, to have received any regular form either in doctrine or otherwise until the introduction of Buddhism, which incited the Bonpo to seek in a better organization the means of holding their own. They borrowed much from the Buddhists, as the latter did from them,—many deities supposed to be Buddhist because of their Buddhist names being simply Bon gods. The two religions existed peaceably side by side, and the Bon creed had numerous adherents and rich convents in the central provinces, but few in the western and eastern provinces.

The Bonpo were sometimes called the "Sect of the Black," as distinguished from "Yellow" or Reformed Lamaists, both appellations being derived from the color of their garments, though Bonpo had been seen in red as well as in black. They were also called Grun-druu-pa. The establishment of the Bon pa or Bon-cos, i.e., the Bon religion, is attributed to Gseu-rubs, also called Bstan-pa Gsen-rabs, i.e., Gsen-rubs of the doctrine, the name under which he is worshipped in the temples of his sect, as, for instance, at Tsodam in east Tibet, not far from Bonga; his statue, which occupief the central place, represented him as squatting with his right arm outside his red scarf, and holding in his left the vase of knowledge. He is said to hold in his right hand the iron hook of mercy, with which he fishes people out of the ocean of transmigration, in his left hand the seal of equality, and to wear on his head the mitra jewel.

His full name is Tonpa Shenrab (Tibetan: ston pa gshen rab) or Shenrab Miwo (Tibetan: gshen rab mi bo)-also called Buddha Shenrab, Guru Shenrab, Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, Lord Shenrab Miwo, and known by a number of other titles - the "excellent human god," another name of the same personage, has been identified by some Tibetan authorities with Lao-tsze or Lao-kiun of China. This identification, however, rests only on the slender basis of an apparent affinity of sound between the Sen of gien and a common Chinese appellative for the Taoists. The genuine resemblances between Bonpa and Taoism come from the fact that both religions have drawn from similar sources, from the native rude Shamanism which is much the same in both countries, from the lantrie and esoteric doctrines of India, and from Buddhist ideas.

The eighth book of the Grub-mihah-sel-kyi-me-loh, in twelve books, by a Tibetan lama, Chkoikyi Nyima (1674-1740), which, with three others, has been lately translated by Sarat Chandra Das (in Jour. An. Soc. Beng., for 1881-1882), gives some information on the rise of the Bonpa in the region of Shang-shung, identified, not with the modern region of the same name in the northwest of Lhasa, but with Guge or Ghughe and Knaor or Upper Besahr. Three stages are pointed out in the development of the Bonpa after the time of its mythical founder, who reckoned among his spiritual descendants sages of Persia, Leg-tang-mang (some names of Lao-kiun?) of China, of Thomo, of Miniak (east Tibet), of Sumpar, and of Shang-shung.

The first stage is that of the human and historical founder of the religion, a sage of the name of Shong-hon, who lived in the semi-historical time of Thide-tsanpo, the sixth king of Tibet (the first is said to have ruled about 415 BC). The second stage, dating from the 3d century BC, is that at which Bon theories and doctrines began to exist, a beginning coincident with the arrival in the country of three Bon priests from Kashmir, Dusha, and Shaug-sliung. The recital down to this point gives evidence of the vagueness of the traditions preserved by the Tibetans with reference to their own beginnings, and shows that the author has striven hard to put together shreds of aucient reminiscence within a fabulous and mythical account.

With the third stage comes historical times. It is divided into three periods, — the first dating from the arrival of an Iudian pandit by way of Kashmir, who wrote some of the Bon books; the second being that of the introduction of Buddhism and the consequent persecution leading the Bonpo to multiply their sacred books, which they concealed; and the last being that of the revival of the Bonpa and the bringing forth of the hidden books subsequent to the overthrow and temporary efiacement of Buddhism by gLang-dharma (908-1013). According to this source, which, however, is certainly tinged by Buddhist prejudice, it was only at the last-mentioned date that the Bonpa reached its complete organization.

Eighteen principal gods and goddesses are enumerated, including the red wrathful razor Bpirit, the black wrathful razor spirit, the tiger god of glowing fire (the popular god universally worshipped), the messenger demon Kgyal-po, otherwise Pe(d)kar rgyal-po (much dreaded and worshipped in the central provinces: he is said to be identical with the deity Kye-ping of Lhasa, figured as a wooden stick or log decked with rags, the god of sound, the great demon, and the serpent demon. Information is lacking as to the specific characteristics of these gods, and it is not clear to which of them belongs the title of lcun-tn bzang-po, frequently cited as tho chief Bon god; he is reputed to have a wife Yom-ki-long-mo, tho eternal female principle, and from their union havo resulted all the minor gods and the whole world.

Bonpo practicing the old ways were able to survive in remote areas in Upper Tibet, but by around 1250 AD, these holdouts seem to have disappeared, leaving only a few scattered Bon enclaves in Upper Tibet. Recast in a Buddhist mold, they reveal only traces of the old religion to distinguish them from the majority religious community. Today there are many followers of Bon, including some in India, where there are monasteries and monastic colleges of the Bon tradition.