Pre-Buddhist Bon and the arrival of Buddhism Little is known about the pre-Buddhist religion of ancient Tibet and scholars of Bon disagree on its nature. Some think that Bon evolved from
Zoroastrianism and others say
Kashmiri Buddhism. According to David Snellgrove, the claim that Bon came from the West into Tibet is possible, since Buddhism had already been introduced to other areas surrounding Tibet (in
Central Asia) before its introduction into Tibet. As Powers writes, "since much of
Central Asia at one time was Buddhist, it is very plausible that a form of Buddhism could have been transmitted to western Tibet prior to the arrival of Buddhist missionaries in the central provinces. Once established, it might then have absorbed elements of the local folk religion, eventually developing into a distinctive system incorporating features of Central Asian Buddhism and Tibetan folk religion." Some sources claim that a debate between Bonpos and Buddhists was held, and that a Tibetan king ruled Buddhism the winner, banishing Bon priests to border regions. They also state that at this time, Bon terma texts were concealed all over Tibet. However, other more conciliatory sources also state that Tonpa Shenrab and Sakyamuni were cousins and that their teachings are essentially the same. The most influential historical figure of this period is the Bon lama
Drenpa Namkha. Buddhist sources mention this figure as well and there is little doubt he was a real historical figure. He is known for having ordained himself into Bon during a time when the religion was in decline and for having hidden away many Bon termas. Bon tradition holds that he was the father of another important figure, Tsewang Rigzin and some sources also claim he was the father of
Padmasambhava, which is unlikely as the great majority of sources say Padmasambhava was born in
Swat, Pakistan. A great cult developed around Drenpa Namkha and there is a vast literature about this figure.
The development of Yungdrung Bon (treasure discoverer)
Shenchen Luga (11th century), a key figure of the renaissance period. Yungdrung Bon (Eternal Bon) is a living tradition that developed in Tibet in the 10th and 11th centuries during the
later dissemination of Buddhism (sometimes called the renaissance period) and contains many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism. According to Samuel, the origins of modern Yungdrung Bon have much in common with that of the
Nyingma school. Samuel traces both traditions to groups of "hereditary ritual practitioners" in Tibet which drew on
Buddhist Tantra and "elements of earlier court and village-level ritual" during the 10th and 11th centuries. These figures were threatened by the arrival of new Buddhist traditions from India which had greater prestige, new ritual repertoires and the full backing of Indian Buddhist scholarship. Both Nyingmapas and Bonpos used the concept of the terma to develop and expand their traditions in competition with the
Sarma schools and also to defend their school as being grounded in an authentic ancient tradition. While Yungdrung Bon and Nyingma originated in similar circles of pre-Sarma era ritual tantric practitioners, they adopted different approaches to legitimate their traditions. Nyingma looked back to the
Tibetan Empire period, and Indian Buddhist figures like Padmasambhava. Bonpos meanwhile looked further back, to Tibet's pre-Buddhist heritage, to another Buddha who was said to have lived before Sakyamuni, as well as to other masters from the kingdom of Zhangzhung. Just like all forms of Tibetan Buddhism, Yungdrung Bon eventually developed a monastic tradition, with celibate monks living in various monasteries. Bon monks are called
trangsong, a term that translates the Sanskrit
rishi (seer, or sage). A key figure in the establishment of Bon monasticism was
Nyamme Sherab Gyaltsen (mNyam med Shes rab rgyal mtshan, c. 1356–1415). According to Jean Luc Achard, "his insistence on
Madhyamaka, logic, gradual path (
lamrim) and philosophical studies has modeled the now traditional approach of practice in most Bon po monasteries." His tradition emphasises the importance of combining the study of sutra, tantra and Dzogchen. The most important Bon monastery is
Menri monastery, which was built in 1405 in
Tsang. Bon monks, like their Buddhist counterparts, study scripture, train in philosophical debate and perform rituals. However, Bon also has a strong tradition of lay yogis. It is centered on the figures of
Drenpa Namkha, Tsewang Rigdzin and
Padmasambhava, which in this school are considered to have transmitted and written commentaries on the works of Tonpa Shenrab in around the 8th century. Some Tibetan tertons like
Dorje Lingpa were known to have revealed New Bon termas as well as Nyingma termas. Bon suffered extensively during the
Dzungar invasion of Tibet in 1717, when many
Nyingmapas and Bonpos were executed.
Modern period In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bon tradition (both New Bon and Eternal Bon lineages) flourished in Eastern Tibet, led by charismatic Bonpo lamas like bDe ch en gling pa, d Bal gter sTag s lag can (bsTan 'dzin dbang rgyal), gSang sngags gling pa, and Shardza Rinpoche.
Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859–1933) was a particularly important Bon master of this era, whose collected writings comprise up to eighteen volumes (or sometimes twenty). According to William M. Gorvine, this figure is "the Bon religion's most renowned and influential luminary of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries." He was associated with the orthodox Eternal Bon Manri monastery tradition as well as with New Bon figures like the 5th and 6th Kun grol incarnations, gSang sngags gling pa (b. 1864) and bDe chen gling pa (1833–1893) as well as with dBal bon sTag lag ca n, bsTan ' d zin dbang rgyal (b. 1832). These figures maintained the orthodox Manri tradition of Eternal Bon, while also holding New Bon terma lineages. Shardza Rinpoche is also known to have had connections with the non-sectarian Buddhist lamas of the
Rime movement and to have taught both Buddhists and Bonpos. Shardza Rinpoche had many disciples, including his nephew Lodro Gyatso (1915–1954) who led the lineage and Shardza's hermitage and college, after Shardza's passing. His disciple
Kagya Khyungtrul Jigmey Namkha trained many practitioners to be learned in not only the Bon religion, but in all Tibetan sciences. More than three hundred Bon monasteries had been established in Tibet before Chinese occupation. Of these,
Menri Monastery and
Shurishing Yungdrung Dungdrakling Monastery were the two principal monastic universities for the study and practice of Bon.
Present situation , India In 2019, scholars estimate that there were 400,000 Bon followers in the
Tibetan Plateau. When
Tibet was invaded by the People's Republic of China, there were approximately 300 Bon monasteries in Tibet and the rest of
western China. Bon suffered the same fate as Tibetan Buddhism did during the Chinese
Cultural revolution, though their monasteries were allowed to rebuild after 1980. According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with
Confucianism. The present spiritual head of the Bon is
Menri Trizin Rinpoché, successor of
Lungtok Tenpai Nyima (1929–2017), the thirty-fourth Abbot of
Menri Monastery (destroyed in the
Cultural Revolution, but now rebuilt), who now presides over
Pal Shen-ten Menri Ling in
Dolanji in
Himachal Pradesh, India. The 33rd lineage holder of
Menri Monastery, Menri Trizin
Lungtok Tenpai Nyima and
Lopön Tenzin Namdak are important current lineage holders of Bon. A number of Bon establishments also exist in
Nepal;
Triten Norbutse Bonpo Monastery is one on the western outskirts of
Kathmandu. Bon's leading monastery in India is the
refounded Menri Monastery in
Dolanji,
Himachal Pradesh.
Official recognition Bonpos remained a stigmatised and marginalised group until 1979, when they sent representatives to
Dharamshala and the
14th Dalai Lama, who advised the
Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration to accept Bon members. Before this recognition, during the previous twenty years, the Bon community had received none of the financial support which was channelled through the Dalai Lama's office and were often neglected and treated dismissively in the Tibetan refugee community. Since 1979, Bon has had official recognition of its status as a religious group, with the same rights as the Buddhist schools. This was re-stated in 1987 by the Dalai Lama, who also forbade discrimination against the Bonpos, stating that it was both undemocratic and self-defeating. He even donned Bon ritual paraphernalia, emphasising "the religious equality of the Bon faith". The Dalai Lama now sees Bon as the fifth Tibetan religion and has given Bonpos representation on the Council of Religious Affairs at
Dharamsala. == Teachings ==