What is Tibetan Bon?
Tibetan Bon (also spelled Bön or Yungdrung Bon) is an ancient, indigenous religion of Tibet, deeply intertwined with the region’s cultural and spiritual identity. The Bon religion is much older than Tibetan Buddhism and was practiced in Tibet long before the introduction of Buddhism to the region. The tradition encompasses sophisticated philosophy, monastic discipline, meditation practices including Dzogchen (Great Perfection), ritual systems, and a comprehensive canon of sacred texts. His Holiness the Dalai Lama calls Bon one of the five Tibetan traditions, acknowledging its status alongside the four Buddhist schools.
Origins & Lineage
Local beliefs from the Zhangzhung civilization in Western Tibet influenced Bon, and its teachings were consolidated by the legendary teacher Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. Yungdrung Bön was founded by Shenrab Miwoche, who is regarded as having achieved enlightenment like Buddha. According to Bon tradition, Tonpa Shenrab Miwo lived over 9,000 years ago in the land of Olmo Lungring, though scholarly debate exists about historical dating.
Accounts of Tonpa Shenrab’s life are found in three principal sources: the Dodü, Zermik, and Ziji. The first two are considered terma revealed in the 10th or 11th century. The Zermig comprises two volumes and eighteen chapters discovered in the 10th century, followed by the Zije comprised of twelve volumes and sixty-one chapters discovered in the 14th century by Tulku Loden Nyingpo.
Bon faced significant persecution during the 8th century. Bon did not gain religious supremacy over Buddhism because of the late 8th-century persecution of the Bon religion and its followers by King Khrison Detsen. Despite this persecution, however, Bon—as an indigenous religion—and its practices persisted in the eastern and northern frontiers of Tibet.
Menri Monastery was established in 1405 by Nyammé Shérap Gyeltsen (1356–1416) from Gyarong, on the slope of Mount Shari Phowa in Topgyel, Tsang. Menri became the leading Bon monastery in the Tibetan cultural region. The abbot of Menri is recognized as the spiritual leader of Bon. In 1967, Menri was refounded at Dolanji in Himachal Pradesh, India by Lungtok Tenpai Nyima and Lopön Tenzin Namdak.
How It’s Practiced
Bon practice encompasses several levels. The Scriptures of the Bön tradition are generally classified into two sections: the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The Kangyur contains the words of Buddha Tönpa Shenrab. The class of Tantra contains the basic tantric texts of Bön. The class of Treasury expound the system of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, which contains the highest philosophical doctrines and meditation practices in the Bön tradition.
Bon meditation includes Dzogchen (Great Perfection) – The pinnacle of Bon meditation, focusing on recognizing the natural state of mind. Practices can include foundational practices of zhiné (‘staying-calming’) concentration meditation and trekchö practice (‘thoroughly cutting through’) the habitual constructions of mind revealing the view of primordial purity beyond conceptual elaboration, through to more advanced practices including tummo (practice of inner heat) to help clear emotional blockages, and tögal (‘direct crossing’ or bypassing visions’) practice.
Bon monasteries spin prayer wheels anticlockwise and chant different mantras than their Buddhist counterparts. There are some very trivial differences such as circumambulating counterclockwise rather than clockwise. The type of ceremonial hat is different. A prominent difference is that Bonpo monastics take a vow to be vegetarian.
Ritual life includes the use of dancing, singing, and music. Music is believed to be a powerful medium for accessing the spirit realm and invoking the presence of the gods and spirits that the practitioners of Bon worship.
Tibetan Bon Today
At present, around 10 percent of Tibetans subscribe or follow Bon. Some in Tibet still follow Bon, and the religion is still officially recognized in the country today, with nearly 300 monasteries. Bon is still practiced in Tibet and continues to be followed by a significant number of people, particularly in the region of Dolpo and parts of western Tibet.
His Holiness Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche, the 34th Menri Trizin, is the spiritual leader of the Bön lineage and the abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. This monastery has recreated the geshe training program, and is home to over two hundred monks.
Modern Bon teachers such as Lama Zhang Zhung Rinpoche and Menri Trizin maintain the lineage, teaching Dzogchen, meditation, and Bon rituals to global audiences. Western practitioners can now access Bon teachings through organizations like Ligmincha International and various retreat centers worldwide.
Common Misconceptions
Bon is not merely “pre-Buddhist shamanism.” Per Kvaerne uses Bon solely to refer to a tradition he dates from tenth and eleventh centuries CE, the tradition which developed into the modern Bon religion. Kvaerne identifies this tradition as “an unorthodox form of Buddhism,” but other scholars such as Samten G. Karmay take seriously Bonpo narratives which define Bon as a separate tradition with an origin in the land of 'Olmo Lungring. It’s not at all clear that there was a religion in Tibet called “Bon” before the 11th century. The early religious practices of the Tibetans are not the same as the religion called Bon that we begin to see from the 11th century onwards.
Bon is not Buddhism with different names. A central distinction is that Bon’s source of religious authority is not the Indian Buddhist tradition, but what it considers to be the eternal religion which it received from Zhangzhung (in Western Tibet) and ultimately derives from land called Tazik where Tonpa Shenrab lived, ruled as king and taught Bon.
Bon did not practice blood sacrifice. The teachings of Tonpa Shenrab never involved animal sacrifices. One of his first achievements was to reform the practice of animal sacrifices by substituting a ritual symbolic of animal sacrifice through the making of tormas (prayer cakes made in the shape of animals). This compassionate approach eliminated the need to take the lives of real animals.
How to Begin
For those interested in exploring Bon, several accessible entry points exist. “The Wonders of the Natural Mind” by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche offers a practical introduction to Bon Dzogchen meditation for Western audiences. Organizations like Ligmincha International (founded by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche) offer online courses, retreats, and teachings.
Prospective students should seek transmission from qualified teachers within established lineages. In Menri Monastery, the first year is dedicated to studying the collected topics. The second year focuses on pramana, or valid cognition. The third year covers the tenet systems of Prasangika and Svatantrika. The fourth year is devoted to the ten bhumi (stages of the mind) and the five pathway minds. The fifth year focuses on prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom, followed by the study of madhyamaka, abhidharma, and vinaya.
Beginners might start with foundational practices like calm-abiding meditation (zhiné), ethical conduct, and studying the Nine Ways of Bon before progressing to more advanced tantric and Dzogchen practices under qualified guidance.