Zhang-zhung

The first Bön scriptures were translated from the language of Zhang-zhung into Tibetan. The works contained in the Bonpo canon as we know it today are written in Tibetan, but a number of them, especially the older ones, retain the titles and at times whole passages in the language of Zhang-zhung.

Until the 8th century Zhang-zhung existed as a separate kingdom, comprising the land to the west of the central Tibetan provinces of (dBus) and Tsang (gTsang) and generally known as Western Tibet, extending over a vast area from Gilgit in the west to the lake of Namtsho (gNam-mtsho) in the east and from Khotan in the north to Mustang in the south. The capital was called Khyunglung Ngulkhar (Khyung-lung dngul-mkhar), the 'Silver Palace of Garuda Valley', the ruins of which lie in the upper Sutlej valley south-west of Mount Kailash. Its people spoke a language classified among the Tibeto-Burmese group of Sino-Tibetan languages.

The country was ruled by a dynasty of kings which ended in the 9th century A.D. when the last king, Ligmincha (Lig-min-skya) was assassinated by order of the king of Tibet and Zhang-zhung militarily annexed by Tibet. Since that time Zhang-zhung has become gradually Tibetanized and its language, culture and many of its beliefs have been integrated into the general frame of Tibetan culture. Due to its geographical proximity to the great cultural centres of central Asia such as Gilgit and Khotan, it was through Zhang-zhung that many religious concepts and ideas reached Tibet.

  Persecutions

The Bön religion has undergone two persecutions in Tibet during its long history. The first occurred during the reign of King Drigum Tsenpo (Gri-gum btsan-po') in the 7th century B.C.E. All but the 'Bön of Cause' (rgyu'i bon: the first four of the Nine Ways) was abolished, and most of its practitioners banished. They were, however, able to conceal many texts as terma (gTer-ma, 'treasure') that were rediscovered at a later date by tertons (gTer-ston, 'treasure discoverers').

With the increasing interest in Buddhism and its establishment as the state religion and the founding of Samye (bSam-yas) monastery in 779 A.D. Bön was generally discouraged and a further serious attempt was made to eradicate it. This was the second persecution of Bön, by King Trisong Detsen (Khri-srong lde-btsan). However, adherents of Bön among the nobility and especially among the common people, who had followed the Bön beliefs for generations, retained their religious convictions and Bön survived. Again during this period many Bön priests were banished or forced to flee from Central Tibet, having first concealed their scriptures for fear of their destruction and in order to preserve them for future generations.

One of the foremost Bonpos of the time, Drenpa Namkha (Dran-pa Nam-mkha'), (4) played an important role during the second persecution of Bön. He headed the Bonpo side in a contest against the Buddhists organized by the king to discover which side had the greatest miraculous power.

The Bonpos lost the contest and had to disperse in fear of their lives or be converted to Buddhism. While ostensibly embracing the Buddhist religion out of fear of being killed, in fact Drenpa Namkha did it for the sake of preserving in secret the Bonpo teachings, thereby saving Bön from complete eradication.

Shenchen Luga had a large following. To three of his disciples he entrusted the task of continuing three different traditions. To the first, Druchen Namkha Yungdrung (Bru-chen nam-mkha' g.yung-drung) born in the clan of Dru which migrated to Tibet from Druzha ('Bru-zha, i.e., Gilgit), he entrusted the studies of cosmology and metaphysics (mDzod-phug and Gab-pa). It was to this end that one of his disciples and relations, Bru-rje g.Yung-drung bla-ma founded the monastery of Yeru Wensakha (gYas-ru dben-sa-kha) in Tsang province in 1072.

This monastery remained a great centre of learning until 1386, when it was badly damaged by floods. Despite the decline of Yeru Wensakha the Dru family continued to sponsor the Bön religion, but the family came to extinction in the 19th century when, for the second time, a reincarnation of the Panchen lama was found in the family.

The second disciple, Zhuye Legpo (Zhu-yas legs-po), was assigned to maintain the Dzogchen teachings and practices. He founded the monastery of Kyikhar Rizhing (sKyid-mkhar ri-zhing). The descendants of the Zhu family now live in India.
The third disciple, Paton Palchog (sPa-ston dpal-mchog), took responsibility for upholding the Tantric teachings. The Pa family too still exists.
Another important master of that time was Meukhepa Palchen (rMe'u-mkhas-pa Tsul-khrims dpal-chen, b. 1052), of the Meu clan, who founded Zangri (sNye-mo bZang-ri) monastery, which also became a centre for philosophical studies. Thus during this period the Bonpos founded four important monasteries and study centres, all in Tsang province (central Tibet).

In 1405 the great Bonpo teacher, Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen (mNyan-med shes-rab rgyal-mtshan, 1356-1415), founded Menri (sMan-ri) monastery near the site of Yeru Wensakha, which had been destroyed by flood. Yungdrung Ling (gYung-drung gling) monastery was founded in 1834 and, soon afterwards, Kharna (mKhar-sna) monastery, both in the vicinity of Menri.

These remained the most important Bön monasteries until the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, and following their inspiration many monasteries were established throughout Tibet, especially in Khyungpo, Kham, Amdo, Gyarong and Hor, so that by the start of the 20th century there were 330 Bonpo monasteries in Tibet.

Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen was especially venerated for his great achievements and realization. He was known as a great reformer and reinvigorated the Bonpo monastic tradition, causing many monasteries to flourish. Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen also was the first master to collect and hold all the transmissions and empowerments of all the Bön lineages. All of these transmissions have continued to be held by each of the successive abbots of Menri, and over time the abbot of Menri came to be regarded as the head of the Bön religion. This tradition was officially recognized by the Tibetan government in exile in 1977.