Introduction
Understanding Bön
Bön does not simply refer to the "pre-Buddhic shamanic religion of Tibet." The current institutional tradition, often called Yungdrung Bön, has canon, monasteries, philosophy and contemplative paths developed in contact with Buddhism.
Tibetan sources use the word *bön* in several ways.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Bön does not simply refer to the "pre-Buddhic shamanic religion of Tibet".
- Tibetan sources use the word *bön* in several ways.
- The path includes ethics, rituals, study, meditation and tantric disciplines.
- Bön is a living Tibetan way of ritual, philosophy and contemplation.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
Tibetan sources use the word *bön* in several ways.
Historical developments
From the 10th to the 11th century, Bön communities structured their revelations, biographies and corpus.
Ritual life and teachings
The path includes ethics, rituals, study, meditation and tantric disciplines.
A living and plural tradition
They tell of a origin in the kingdom of Zhangzhung and Tönpa Shenrab's teachings.
History and development
Tibetan sources use the word *bön* in several ways. From the 10th to the 11th century, Bön communities structured their revelations, biographies and corpus.
They tell a story about the Zhangzhung kingdom and Tönpa Shenrab's teachings. Historians distinguish this sacred memory from documentary dating.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
The path includes ethics, rituals, study, meditation and tantric disciplines. The Dzogchen, or Grand Perfection, teaches direct recognition of the nature of the mind.
Divination, medicine, offerings, prayers to the protective divinities and rituals for the dead complete the practices. Not all the faithful are advanced monks and meditators.
Texts, symbols and transmission
The cannon includes Kangyur and Katen Bön. The *yungdrung*, svastika oriented to the left in this context, symbolizes eternity and has no historical connection with Nazism.
Bön's circumambulation is traditionally done in the opposite direction to Tibetan Buddhists.
What research can and cannot say
The exchanges between Bön and Buddhism are profound; speaking of copying in a single sense simplifies a mutual history. The assertions about very ancient origins are partly a matter of tradition.
References