Chapter - 08 Bon Po Religion - Jain Library

Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
Gilgit. The third Bon Po from Kashmir, a land famous for its Sanskrit learning among
both Buddhists and Shaivites, was an expert in conducting the funeral ceremonies.
Previously there had existed no philosophy of Bon in Tibet, but now Bon became
mixed up with the Shaivite doctrines of the Tirthikas, that is, the Hindus of Kashmir,
and therefore this became known as Deviant Bon (mu-stegs dbang-phyug-pa'i grubmtha'
'khyar-ba bon).
c. Transformed Bon (bsgyur bon): This occured in three phases. First, an Indian Pandita,
having slandered a famous Buddhist teacher and being charged with immoral acts, was
expelled from the Sangha or monastic community. He went to the north of Kashmir
and dressing himself in blue robes (sham-thabs sngon-po-can), he proclimed himself
a great teacher. There he wrote several heretical books and hid them underground.
After a few years, he invited the public to witness the discovery of these texts that
he had hidden previously. He proclaimed them to be the sacred scriptures of Bon
and thereby he brought about a transformation in the Bon religion. Second, during
the reign of the great Buddhist king of Tibet, Trisong Detsan, an edict was issued
requiring that all Bon Po's to renounce Bon and to embrace the Buddhist faith of India.
A Bon Po named Rinchenchok (Rin-chen mchog) refused to do so and was punished
by the king for his obstinancy. He became very angry at this and thereupon he and
some other Bon Po priests composed Bon Po scriptures by whole-sale plagiarizing of
the Buddhist ones. When the king heard of this activity, he was outraged and had
these priests beheaded. However, some conspirators survived and hid copies of these
plagiarized texts under rocks in various places. Later these priests rediscovered these
texts and they became the Bon Po Termas.
Third, after the overthrow and death of the Tibetan king Langdarma in the ninth
century, some Bon Po priests continued to alter other Buddhist texts using different
orthography and terminology. In Upper Tsang, two of them, Shengur Luga (gSen
rgur klu-dga') and Daryul Drolag (Dar-yul sgro-Iag), composed more texts and hid
them under rocks. Thereby they converted many Buddhist scriptures into Bon texts,
such as transforming the extensive Prajnaparamita (Yum rgyas) into the Khams-chen,
the Bon Po version of the Prajnaparamita. Later they brought them out as apparently
accidental discoveries. These caches of texts were known as "the White Water" (Chab
dkar) and the Fruitional Bon ('bras-bu'i bon). The tone of the account here is rather
anti-Bon and this may be contrasted with the Bon Po's own account of the origin
and development of their tradition such as found in the Legsbshad mdzod of Shardza
Rinpoche. See the translation of this work in Samten G. Karmay, The Treasury of
Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon, Oxford University Press, London 1972.
14. Oral communication from Lopon Tenzin Namdak. See also his history of Bon, g.Yungdrung
bon gyi bstan-pa'i 'byung khungs nyung bsdus, Kalimpong 1962.
15. According to the traditional accounts found in the gZer-myig and the gZi-brjid, the demon
prince and sorcerer Khyabpa Lagring (bDud-rgyal Khyab-pa lag-ring) stole the seven
horses of Tonpa from their stable in 'Ol-mo lung-ring, and after spiriting them away, he
concealed them in Kongpo, a country in Southeastern Tibet. Tonpa Shenrab took this as
The Bon Po Traditions of Dzogchen
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