Chapter - 08 Bon Po Religion - Jain Library

Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
4. The Bon of the Scriptures and the Secret Oral Instructions of the Masters (dpon-gsas
manngag lung gi bon): This collection consists of the oral instructions (man-ngag)
and the written scriptures (lung) of the various masters (dpon-gsas) belonging to the
lineages of transmission for Dzogchen.
5. The Bon of the Treasury which is of the highest purity and is all-inclusive (gtsang
mtho-thog spyi-rgyug mdzod kyi bon): This collection contains essential material from
all Four Portals of Bon. The Treasury which is the fifth (mdzod lnga) is decribed in
the gZer-myig, "As for the highest purity (gtsang mtho-thog), it extends everywhere.
As insight, it belongs to the Bon that is universal (spyi-gcod). It purifies the stream of
consciousness in terms of all four Portals." [30]
The Three Cycles of Precepts that are Outer, Inner, and Secret (bka' phyi nang gsang skor
gsum) are as follows:
1. The Outer Cycle (phyi skor) contains the Sutra system of teachings (mdo-Iugs) relating
to the Path of Renunciation (spong lam).
2. The Inner Cycle (nang skor) contains the Tantra system of teachings (rgyud-Iugs) relating
to the Path of Transformation (sgyur lam), otherwise known as the Secret Mantras (gsang
sngags).
3. The Secret Cycle (gsang skor) contains the Upadesha teachings (man-ngag) relating to
the Path of Self-Liberation (grollam), otherwise known as Dzogchen, the Great Perfection.
4. New Bon (bon gsar-ma) arose since the fourteenth century, relying upon the discoveries
of a different Terma system than the above. As a whole, this system is quite similar to
the Nyingmapa one and here Padmasambhava is also regarded as an important figure.
Indeed, some Tertons, such as Dorje Lingpa, discovered both Nyingmapa and Bon
Po Termas. In a text such as the Bon-khrid, rediscovered by Tsewang Gyalpo, it is
asserted that Padmasambhava went to Uddiyana and received the Dzogchen teachings
directly from the Sambhogakaya Shenlha Odkar (gShen-lha 'od-dkar) himself. Later he
transmitted these teachings in Tibet, concealing many of them as Terms meant for the
use of the future generations of Bon Po's. According to Shardza Rinpoche also, the New
Bon Movement began in the fourteenth century and continues until today. The Termas
revealed to such masters as Lodan Nyingpo, Mizhik Dorje (otherwise known as Dorje
Lingpa), Kundrol Dragpa, Dechen Lingpa, Sang-ngag Lingpa, Khandro Dechen Wangmo,
and so on, are all considered Tersar (gter-gsar) or recent treasure text discoveries. The
New Bon has flourished mainly in Eastern Tibet. [31]
The Origin of Dzogchen
Just as in the case of the Nyingmapas among the Tibetan Buddhists, the Bon Po tradition possesses
as its highest teaching the system of contemplation known as Dzogchen, "the Great Perfection,"
(rdogs-pa chen-po). These teachings reveal in one's immediate experience the Primordial State
(ye gzhi) of the individual, that is to say, the individual's inherent Buddha-nature or Bodhichitta,
which is beyond all time and conditioning and conceptual limitations. This Natural State (gnas-
Iugs) is spoken of in terms of its intrinsic primordial purity (ka-dag) and its spontaneous
The Bon Po Traditions of Dzogchen
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