Bon Its Encounter With Buddhism In Tibet

History of Bon-po sect and its conflict with Lamaist Buddhist of Tibet.

"Accepting everything, refusing nothing through the centuries, it is the one all-embracing form of Tibetan religion," as leading Tibetan scholar David L. Snellgrove once said of Bon. This book, the first of its kind to be dedicated solely to the art of Bon religion and culture, which to this day has been overshadowed by its Buddhist counterpart, aims to explore and reveal the many hidden treasures of this so far overlooked religion. Engaging with the great scholars of the field, in particular the revered Samten G. Karmay, the reader is invited to delve into the depths of this wonderful culture. Jeff Watt, curator of the Rubin Museum of Art, enlightens the reader by differentiating between Bon and Buddhist art, which it are so often confused. The other contributors look at specific topics within Bon, including its paintings, sacred geography and its founding and therefore set the beautiful art and artifacts within their context. The purpose of this book is to inspire, and in the process to enable the reader to appreciate the beauty of Bon art while simultaneously gaining an understanding of the ethos of Bon, from the time of its founding through to the more than one million practicing Bonpo of today.

This book, first published in 1961, examines the old Tibetan Bon religion, the development of Buddhism in India and Tibet, and covers the religious struggles of the eighth and ninth centuries. It also describes the rise of the Lamaist sects and the priest state of the Dalai Lamas, and taken as a whole is a study of the development of the character of Tibet itself.

The Legs bshad mdzod, which is here edited and translated into English for the first time, is a history of Tibetan religion known as Bon. It gives a full account of this ancient religion, its origins and development, its struggles against the later imported Buddhism, and its fight for survival in spite of persecution and even abolition on two occasions. the reassembly of the scriptures dispersed at these times is major object of attention. In his introduction the editor makes an assessment of the historical value of the work and considers the extent of its reliability and factual accuracy. He has also, here and in the footnotes to the translation, indicated its sources which are extremely numerous and varied. The transliteration of the Tibetan text is followed by two indices of names and a short glossary of rare terms.

Very little is known in the West about Tibetan Buddhism in comparison with other eastern religions. This is partly because the vast literature which it has produced, and which illuminates its history, is still far from accessible. In addition there exists a deep division between monastic Lamaism and religion as it is lived by the people: the former is fragmented into many schools, while the latter shows numerous regional variations. The first comprehensive account of Tibetan Buddhism to be published in English since Waddell's "Buddhism of Tibet" appeared in 1894, this translation is certain to become the standard reference work on the subject.

Accepting everything, refusing nothing through the centuries, it is the one all-embracing form of Tibetan religion, as leading Tibetan scholar David L. Snellgrove once said of Bon. This book, the first of its kind to be dedicated solely to the art of Bon religion and culture, which to this day has been overshadowed by its Buddhist counterpart, aims to explore and reveal the many hidden treasures of this so far overlooked religion. Engaging with the great scholars of the field, in particular the revered Samten G. Karmay, the reader is invited to delve into the depths of this wonderful culture. Jeff Watt, curator of the Rubin Museum of Art, enlightens the reader by differentiating between Bon and Buddhist art, which it are so often confused. The other contributors look at specific topics within Bon, including its paintings, sacred geography and its founding and therefore set the beautiful art and artifacts within their context. The purpose of this book is to inspire, and in the process to enable the reader to appreciate the beauty of Bon art while simultaneously gaining an understanding of the ethos of Bon, from the time of its founding through to the more than one million practicing Bonpo of today.