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T H E C A N O N O F T H E T I B E T A N B O N P O S*
by
PER KV, 'ERNE
Bergen
This work is dedicated to
m y fr iend and teacher
Safls-rgyas bstan-'jin 1Jofi-ldofi,
the Thirty-third A bb ot of sMan-ri
P A R T O N E. I N T R O D U C T I O N
I . T h e E x i s te n c e o f a B o n p o C a n o n
D u r i n g h i s e x p e d i t io n t o t h e H o r p a S t at es in N o r t h - E a s t e r n T i b e t in 1 92 8,
t h e R u s s i a n e x p l o r e r a n d t i b e t o l o g i s t G e o r g e R o e r i c h v i s i t e d t h e B o n p o
m o n a s t e r y o f S h a r u g ~ n , fo u r d a y s n o r t h e a s t o f N a g c h u D z o n g . I n th e
l i b r a r y o f t hi s m o n a s t e r y , h e d i s c o v e r e d a c o m p l e t e a n d c a r e fu l ly p r e s e r v -
e d s e t o f a B o n p o K a n j u r a n d Tenjur , c o n s i s t i n g o f 1 4 0 a n d 1 6 0 v o l u m e s
r e sp e c ti v e ly . T h e w h o l e c o l le c t io n w a s i n m a n u s c r i p t a n d h a d a n
e x c e p t i o n a l l y b e a u t i f u l c u r s i v e s c r ip t . . . . T h e f r o n t p a g e s b e a r i n g t h e t i tl e
o f t h e t e x t w e r e i n v a r i a b l y p a i n t e d b l a c k a n d w r i t te n i n g o l d . 1
T h e d i s c o v e r y o f a B o n p o c o l le c t io n o f c a n o n i c a l t e x ts , c o r r e s p o n d i n g
t o t h a t o f t h e B u d d h i s t s ( o r, m o r e p r o p e r l y s p e a k i n g , t o t h a t o f t h e
dhos-pa) , s w a s n o t a l t o g e t h e r s u r p r i s i n g . I n f a c t , a s e a r l y a s 18 81 , S. C . D a s
h a d p u b l i s h e d c h a p t e r 8 o f t h e C r y s t a l M i r r o r o f D o c t r in a l S y s t e m s 3
c o m p o s e d b y T h u - b k v a n ( ~ h o s -k y i f i i- m a (1 7 3 7 -1 8 0 2 ) in 1 8 02 w h e r e t h e
* The Inde x of the C anon w ill be published in one o f the forthcoming issues.
t Extract fro m Trails to Inm ost A sia (Newh aven, 1931) published in Izbrannye Trudy
(Moscow , 1967), p. 62.
2 Fo r a discussion of the terms bon-po dhos-pa, Buddh ist , lam aist , etc., see m y
article Aspects of the Origin of the Buddhist Tradition in Tibet , Numen 19 (Leyd en,
1972), 22-40, and Snellgrove, Nine Ways, pp. 1-2 and 20-21. By Bo npo we mean
here and in the following - the lamaist tradition traceable to the 1 0th and the l lt h
centuries; and by Buddh ist we mean the other lamaist schools.
3 Th e full title is: Grub-mtha tham s-dad-kyi khutis dati 'dod-ch ul ston-pa legs-bdad
gel-gyi me-lofz. See Bibliography.
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THE CAN ON OF THE TIBETANBONPOS 19
l e a r n e d b u t n o t a l t o g e t h e r i m p a r t i a l G e l u g p a s c h o l a r g iv es a s h o r t a c c o u n t
o f t h e B o n p o s , s t a ti n g
i n t e r a l i a
t h a t t h e B o n r e l i g io n h a s a g e n e r a l
e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e K a n j u r . 4 I t is d o u b t f u l w h e t h e r ( ~ h os - ky i f i i- m a h a d
e v e r s ee n a c o m p l e t e c o p y o f t h e B o n p o C a n o n , f o r t h e li st o f t it le s w h i c h
h e p r o c e e d s t o g i v e i s, t o s a y t h e l e as t, e x t r e m e l y i n c o m p l e t e . - B e y o n d
t h is , n o t h i n g d e fi n it e w a s k n o w n c o n c e r n i n g a B o n p o C a n o n , a n d f r o m
t h e w h o l e c o r p u s o f B o n p o l i t e r a tu r e - c a n o n i c a l a s w e l l a s n o n - c a n o n i c a l
- o n l y o n e m a j o r t e x t - t h e k L u - ' b u m d k a r - p o t r a n s l a t e d b y S c h i e f n e r i n
1 88 15 - a n d f r a g m e n t s o f o t h e r s h a d b e e n p u b l i s h e d a t t h e ti m e o f
R o e r i c h ' s e x p e d i t i o n .
T h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r - i n 1 92 9 - t h e A m e r i c a n s c h o l a r J. F . R o c k d i s -
c o v e r e d a n o t h e r c o p y o f th e B o n p o C a n o n , t h is t im e i n th e e x t r e m e
s o u t h e a s t e r n p a r t o f T i b e t. I n t h e m a i n t e m p l e o f t h e p r e d o m i n a n t l y
B o n p o T s o - s o d i s t ri c t, s i tu a t e d b e t w e e n L i t h a n g a n d L i - c h i a n g i n th e
s o u t h , h e f o u n d p i l e d u p i n a c o r n e r o f t h e i r L h a - k h a n g a m a n u s c r i p t
c o p y o f t h e B ~ Sn b K a - h g y u r a n d b s T a n - h g y u r w r i tt e n o n s ti ff b l a c k
p a p e r . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , R o c k w a s u n a b l e t o sa lv a g e i t: I t w a s an
e n o r m o u s p i le , a n d I c o u l d h a v e b o u g h t i t t h e t im e , b u t c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
w e r e c u t, e x t r a t r a n s p o r t u n a v a i la b l e, t h e f e r r y b o a t s o v e r th e Y a n g t z e h a d
b e e n d e s tr o y e d . . - . 6
T h e a b b o t o f S h ar ug /S n to l d R o e r i c h t h a t n o p r i n t e d c o p i es o f th e
B o n p o s c r i p tu r e s e x is t ed . 7 T h i s i s n o t c o r r e c t . P r i n t i n g b l o c k s t o t h e
e n t ir e B o n p o C a n o n w e r e k e p t i n t h e p a l a ce o f th e k i n g o f K h r o - b ~ u , 8
o n e o f t h e p r i n c ip a l i ti e s o f r G y a - r o f l in t h e e x t r e m e e a s t o f T i b e t . T h e
k i n g o f K h r o - b ~ u w a s a B o n p o , a n d c o p i es o f th e s c r i p tu r e s w e r e p r i n t e d
r e g u l a r l y o n o r d e r . A s l a t e a s 1 95 4-5 5 t h e B o n p o m o n a s t e r y o f s K y a f l -
c h a f f i n A m d o h a d a c o m p l e t e s e t o f s c r i p t u r e s p r i n t e d t h e r e . 9 T h e
x y l o g r a p h b l o c k s w e re a p p a r e n t l y c a r v e d d u r i n g t h e 1 84 0's . W h e n K o f l -
s p r u l b L o - g r o s m t h a ' - y a s ( 1 8 1 3 - 9 9 ) p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h e p r i n c i p a l i t y
i n 1 8 46 , h e r e p o r t e d th a t o v e r a h u n d r e d v o l u m e s o f t h e K a n j u r h a d
a l r e a d y b e e n c o m p l e t e d . 1~ T h e e d i t i o n o f t h e s c r ip t u r e s w h i c h t h e
4 bon-gyi ~hos-la bka'-'gyur byifi-gyichab yod-~i~ (D as, 1970: 5, 1. 11).
5 A .Sch ie fner , f JberdasBonp o-S fa t ra :DasweisseN hga-H under t tausend ,M~m oires
de l'Acad~mie de S t. P~tersbourg,
VIIe Sfrie, 28:1 (St. Petersburg, 1881).
6 J .F . Rock,
The Na-k hi Nag a Cult and Related Ceremonies ,
Part I (=
Serie Orientale
R o m a IV, Pa rt 1) (Rom e, 19 52), p. 3.
Izbrannye Trudy,
62.
* Also spelt
Khro-~hen
and
~
8 I am indebted to S. G . Karmay, and the Abb ot S. T. Jongdong for this information.
lo E. Gene Smith, Introduction to
Kongtrul's Encyclopaedia oflndo-Tibetan Culture,
( = ,qatapit.aka Serie s 80), ed. b y Lo kesh Ch andra (New D elhi, 1970), 32.
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20
P ER K V ~ERN E
Khro-bEu blocks reproduce was prepared by the well-known Bonpo
scholar Kun-grol grags-pa (b. STNN 1700).~x
There does not appear to be any copy of the Bonpo Canon outside
Tibet; nor is it known whether any of those copies which actually existed
in the 1950 s inside Tibet have survived the subsequent disruption of the
traditional social and cultural order. However, in the following pages we
shall endeavour to analyse the contents of the Bonpo Canon as far as
they are known, and as will be seen, a not inconsiderable part of this vast
corpus has in fact been preserved and even published in recent years.
II. The dkar-~hag o f ~i-m a bstan-Tin
The influx of Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal following the events of
1959 has - ironically - radically improved our access to Bonpo literature.
The presence of numerous Bonpos in India has had two important
results. In the first place, Bonpo monks have in recent years built a small
monastery near the town of Solan in Himachal Pradesh, where monastic
life is carried on along traditional lines. The monastery possesses a fairly
large collection of books, partly brought from Tibet itself, partly deposited
as a permanent loan from the Bonpo monastery of Samling in Dolpo in
Northern Nepal. 12 Many of these texts have been published by the
Bonpos themselves.
Equally important, perhaps, is the close collaboration - extending over
many years and still continuing - between learned Bonpo monks and a
small number of Western scholars. As a first result of this collaboration,
D. L. Snellgrove published, in 1967, a collection of excerpts from the 14th
century Bonpo text
gZi-briid,
presenting for the first time a systematic
and coherent exposition of the Bonpo religion33 The present author,
besides a study of Bonpo yoga, published in 1971 a short chronological
table bstan-rcis) drawn up in 1842 by the famous Bonpo scholar lqi-ma
11 I h a v e h e a r d t h e o p i n i o n e x p r e s s e d b y B o n p o s t h a t o t h e r p r i n t e d e d i t i o n s a l so
e x i s te d , b u t I h a v e n o t b e e n a b l e t o v e r i f y t h i s. T h e b i o g r a p h y o f K u n - g r o l g r a g s - p a
I s t o b e f o u n d i n Man -~ag rin-po-~he a-khrid-kyi bla-ma brgyu d-pa i rnam-thar pad-ma
dkar-p o i phre~-ba,
xy l . f o l . 33b3-35b3 , by ~ar - r j a bK ra-~ i s rgya l -m chan , T 0306 o f
t h e T i b e t a n C o l l e c t i o n o f l ~c o le F r a n g a i s e d E x t r ~ m e - O r i e n t , P a r i s .
12 R e g a r d i n g t h i s s m a l l b u t o l d a n d e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t B o n p o m o n a s t e r y , s e e
S ne l lg rove , Nine Ways, p . 4 , n . 4 , and idem, Himalayan Pilgrimage (Oxford , 1961) ,
p . 110f t .
18 Snel lgrove Nine Ways. See B i b l i o g r a p h y .
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T H E C A N O N O F T H E T IB E T A N B O N P O$ 2 1
bs tan- ' j in (b . STNN 1813) .1~ The pu bl ica t io n o f th i s chrono logica l tab le
enables us to a ss ign de f in i te da tes to the pr inc ipa l events and pe r sons in
the h i s to r y o f t he B o npos , a t l e a st f r om the 10 th c e n tu r y onw a r ds . F ina lly ,
i n 1972 S . G . K a r m a y , h imse l f a T ibe t a n w i th a B on po ba c kgr o und ,
pub l i she d a t r a ns l a t i on o f the e x t r eme ly im por t a n t H i s to r y o f B o n b y
~ar - r ja ~es- rab rgya l -mch an (1859-1935), th us prov id ing a wea l th o f new
info rm ation . 15
In 1965 a shor t tex t was publ i shed in the ~a tap i fak a Ser i es ze be a r ing the
fo l lowing t i tl e (my t rans la t ion) : Th e Class i fica t ion of the Div is ions of
the b K a ' - ' g yu r a n d t h e brTen- 'gyur , B e in g th e F a n n i n g o f th e W i n d w h i c h
C a use s t he Ex t ingu i she d F i r e o f t he Do c t r ine t o F l a me u p , t he L igh t o f t he
S un wh ic h C a use s t he Lo tus o f B on to B los som . As the t it le i nd ic a te s ,
t h i s t e x t g ive s no th ing l es s t ha n a c om ple t e i nve n to r y
(dkar-dhag)
o f t h e
c on te n t s o f t he two g r e a t s e c t ions o f t he C a no n o f the B on pos . I t w ill
the re fore p rovid e the bas is for a desc r ip t ion of th i s l it e ra ture , p resented
on the f o l lowing pa ge s.
The a u th o r o f t h is wor k p r e se n ts h imse l f i n t he c o lopho n a s t he
twe n ty - se c ond o f t he a b bo t s c a ll e d to oc c u py the a bb a t i a l s e a t o f t he
P e e r le s s J ina , t he m onk o f
s K a m - ~ i g
cal led
l~i-ri gel-~in pa-gah wer-ro,
o f
the c l a n o f s G o , x7 The a bba t i a l s e a t i n que s t ion i s t ha t o f sMa n- r i , t he
f a m ous B on po mo na s t e r y in Tsa ng , foun de d in 1405 by the P e e r le s s
J ina , v iz . mlqa m - me d ~e s - r ab r gya l - mc ha n3 s I f one doe s no t c o un t
~e s - r a b rgya l - mc ha n h imse lf , the 22nd a b bo t o f sM a n- r i i s l q i- ma
bs tan- ' j in , i . e . the au thor of our prev ious ly publ i shed chronologica l
table . 19 H ow ev er , in the pres ent case he gives his nam e in th e ~af l-~ufl
l a ngua ge , a nd mor e ove r , he g ive s a na me wh ic h , whe n t r a ns l a t e d ba c k
in to T ibe t a n , d i f f e r s f r om h i s u sua l one , l q i - r i e t c . be c oming ~ i - ma
bs tan- ' j in dbaf l - sdud rgya l -po . 2~ In the absence o f b iograp hica l ma te r ia l ,
14 P . K v a e r n e B o n p o S t u d i e s ;
idem
A C h r o n o l o g i c a l T a b l e o f t h e B o n p o s .
S e e B i b l i o g r a p h y .
15 S . G . K a r m a y , The Treasury of Good Sayings. See B i b l i o g r a p h y .
16 Vo l . 37 , Par t I I , 31 pp . See B ib l iog raphy .
17 T h e c o l o p h o n ( p . 3 0) r u n s a s f o l l o w s : r g y a l - b a m f i a m - m e d - p a ' i g d a n - s a s k y o fi -
khu l -gy i m k han - rab s f i e r -g f i i s -pa / sgo- r ig s skam -~ ig -g i d ra f l - s ro fl f i i- r i ~e l-~in pa -~afi
w e r - r o ' b o d - p a s g . y a s r u ' i r i - k h r o d m k h a r - s n a ' i b d e - g s a l g s a f i -p h u g - t u b r c a m s - p a .
1s F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n o n s M a n - r i , s e e P . K v a e r n e , R e m a r q u e s s u r l ' a d m i n i s t r a -
t i o n d ' u n m o n a s t ~ r e b o n - p o , Journal Asiatique C C L V II I (Par is , 1970) , 187-92.
lg F o r a c o m p l e t e li s t o f a l l t h e a b b o t s o f s M a n - r i , s e e A p p e n d i x I ( pp . 2 46 -4 8) o f
A C h r o n o l o g i c a l T a b l e .
~0 T h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n is b a s e d o n th e v o c a b u l a r y p u b l i s h e d b y E . H a a r h , T h e
Z h a n g - z h u n g L a n g u a g e , Acta Jutlandica X L : I ( = Humanities Series 4 7 ) ( A a r h u s /
Copenhagen , 1968) .
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P E R K V E R N E
I c a n n o t t h r o w a n y f u r t h e r l ig h t o n th i s n a m e ( p r o b a b l y g iv e n i n c o n n e c -
t i o n w i t h a n i n i t i a t i o n ) b e y o n d p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t N i - m a b s t a n - ' j i n s t y l e s
h i m s e l f i n a s i m i l a r w a y e l s e w h e r e ; i n a c o l l e c ti o n o f r i tu a l t e x t s c o n n e c t e d
w i t h t h e d e it y B y a m s - m a a n d c o m p o s e d b y h i m , 21 h e g i v e s h is n a m e a s
lq i - r i ~ el -b~ .in ( t h r ee t ime s ) , a nd l q l i-ma bs t a n- ' j i n dba f l ( -g i ) rgy a l ( - po )
( tw i c e) . H e a l s o u se s t h e l a t t e r n a m e i n th e c o l o p h o n o f a r i t u a l te x t
c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e t a n t r i c d e i ty M a - r g y u d . 22
F r o m t he c o l o p h o n o f t he
d k a r - ? h a g
w e a l s o l e a r n t h a t i q i - m a b s t a n - ' j i n
c a m e f r o m t h e c l a n ( r igs) o f s G o a n d t h a t h e b e l o n g e d t o t h e f a m i l y o f
s K a m . A n u m b e r o f o t h e r B o n p o l a m a s b e l o n g in g to t h is f am i l y a r e
k n o w n : s K a m - ~ i g l q i -m a l h u n - g r u b ( b . S T N N 1 69 1), s K a m - r i g s g .Y u f l-
d r u f l f i i- r g y al w h o w a s l q i - m a b s t a n - ' j i n ' s u n c l e , ~3 a n d s K a m - ~ i g i q i - m a
r g y a l - m c h a n (b . S T N N 1 87 7). 24 A s t o l q i - m a b s t a n - ' j i n ' s o r i g i n , t h e c l a n -
n a m e s G o p o i n t s t o E a s t e r n T i b e t . 25 W e l e a r n t h a t h e w a s a f u ll y o r d a i n e d
m o n k , a drah-sroh; t h i s t i t l e c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h a t o f dge-sloh (bhik.su) o f
t h e o t h e r la m a i s t s c h oo l s. F i n a ll y , t h e c o l o p h o n i n f o r m s u s t h a t t h e w o r k
w a s c o m p o s e d i n 'T h e S e c r e t C a v e o f L u m i n o u s B l i ss ' a t th e h e r m i t a g e
( r i - khrod) o f m K h a r - s n a in g . Y a s - r u , a s m a ll m o n a s t e r y s i t u at e d a f e w
m i l e s s o u t h o f s M a n - r i . 26 N o d a t e f o r t h e w o r k i s g i v e n , b u t a s i q i - m a
b s t a n - ' j i n r ef e r s t o h i m s e l f a s a b b o t , i t m u s t h a v e b e e n w r i t te n a f t e r
S T N N 1 83 6, t h e y e a r i n w h i c h t h e a b b a c y w a s c o n f e r r e d o n h i m .
S e v e r a l o t h e r d k a r - ? h a g o f t h e B o n p o C a n o n h a v e b e e n w ri tt en , b u t
a r e , u n f o r t u n a t e l y , n o l o n g e r a v a il a b le , l q i - m a b s t a n - ' ji n m e n t i o n s
( K T D G , 1 1) t h e t w o p r e v i o u s a u t h o r s o f i n v e n t o ri e s o f th e K a n j u r ' , 27
w i t h o u t g i v in g f u r t h e r d e t a i ls . O n e o f t h e s e i s K u n - g r o l g r a g s - p a , t h e
21 Ku n-gsal byam s-ma i sgrub-thabs,
published by the Bonpo Fo undation (Delhi,
1966), 378 fols. On e o f the texts is dated saphag, i.e. 1839.
22 Th e first text in:
gSati-sliags m a-rgyud sgrub-skor,
a ritual anthology published by
the Bon po Fo unda tion (Delhi, 1964), 383 fols.
2s Me ntioned in L ~ J (p. 188) as the disciple of bSod -nams blo-gros (STN N 1784-1835)
who w as also iqi-ma bstan -'jin's guru an d predecessor at sM an-ri. In l~i-ma bsta n-'jin's
collection of
Byams-ma
ritual texts, one is attributed to sKam-rigs Drun-mu fii-wer
( = ~ fii-rgyal).
24 One notes the recurrence of the personal nam e iqi-ma.
22 Cf. R . A. Stein , Les tribus anciennes des marches sino-tibJtaines ( = Bibliothkque de
l Institut des Hautes ~tudes ChinoisesXV ) (Paris, 1961), p. 40 a nd p. 74.
22 m K har-s na was originally the hermitage of the Bonpo m onastery g.Yas-ru dBen -
sa-kha (founded ST N N 1072, destroyed by a flood soon after 1386, see
L~qd,
139 , n. 1).
A t lZ/i-ma bsta n-'jin's time m Kh ar-sn a was still a sm all monastery, bu t later it becam e
a fairly large establishment, being, with sMan-ri and g.Y ufi-d n~ gliI1, one of the three
m ain Bonpo monastic centres in Central Tibet.
~7 sflon-du bka '- 'gy ur sgrig-mi dkar-~hag byed-pa gfiis .
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THE CANON OF TH E~BE TA N BONPOS 23
e d i t o r o f t h e K h r o - b 6 u e d i t io n o f th e C a n o n . 28 M o r e o v e r , o n p . 3 0
/ q i - m a b s t a n - ' j i n m e n t i o n s , b e s i d e s t h e p r e s e n t
Classification o f the
Divisions of the Kanjur and the Tenjur, a n o t h e r w o r k , T he Se para t ion o f
the Au thentic W ord fr o m that which Dep ends Thereon. ~9 T h e t i t l e i s
s e l f - e x p l a n a t o r y . B o t h w o r k s a r e r e f e r r e d t o b y L ~ J , t h e l a t te r u n d e r t h e
t i t le T he Br igh t L igh t o f t he Sun o f the Ex p lana t ion o f t he Au the n ti c W ord
an d that which Dep ends Thereon. a~ I f it h a d b e e n a v a i l a b l e , th i s t e x t
w o u l d , n e e d l e ss to s a y , h a v e t h r o w n m u c h l i g h t o n t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e
p r e s e n t s t u d y .
I l l . Form al S truc ture o f the Canon
T h e B o n p o C a n o n , a s w e h a v e s ee n , h a s t w o m a i n d i v is io n s c o r r e s p o n d i n g
t o th o s e a d o p t e d b y o t h e r T i b e t a n s c h oo l s. T h e bKa' - 'gyur (Kanjur)
c o n t a i n s t h o s e t e x t s w h i c h a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o h a v e b e e n p r o c l a i m e d s l b y
t h e B u d d h a h i m s el f, i.e ., a s fa r a s t h e B o n p o s a r e c o n c e r n e d , b y s T o n - p a
g ~ e n - r a b . T h e s e t e x ts a re a c c o r d i n g l y r e f e r r e d t o a s bK a ' t h e W o r d .
T h i s i s n o t a l w a y s t o b e u n d e r s t o o d i n a n a b s o l u t e l y l i t e r a l s e n s e ; t h e
gZ e r - mig , f o r in s t an c e , is t h e b i o g r a p h y - n o t a u t o b i o g r a p h y - o f s T o n - p a
g ~ e n - r ab , b u t a s i t n ev e r th e l es s c o n t a in s n u m e r o u s s e r m o n s a n d p r a y e r s
u t t e r e d b y t h e B u d d h a , i t is c la s se d a s
bKa' .
S i m i l a rl y , t h e B o n p o t a n t r a s
w e r e p r o c l a i m e d b y ' ( ~ hi -m e d g c u g - p h u d , b u t a s h e w a s b o r n a s s T o n - p a
g ~ e n - r a b i n h i s s u b s e q u e n t r e b i r t h , 3~ t h e se , t o o , a r e c o u n t e d a s bKa' .
A s f o r t h e t i tl e o f t h e s e c o n d s e c t i o n o f t h e C a n o n , i t i s n o t , a s is t h e
c a s e w i t h o t h e r s c h o o l s , s p e l l e d bsTan- 'gyur, b u t brTen- 'gyur ( t h e p r o -
n u n c i a t i o n is t h e sa m e i n b o t h c as es ). F r e q u e n t l y th e s y n o n y m bka ' -br ten
i s e m p l o y e d , w h i c h is e x p l a i n e d a s f o l l o w s : A s i t h a s b e e n c o m p o s e d i n
d e p e n d e n c e (r ten) o n t he W o r d (bka ' ) o f t h e T e a c h e r , ( i t is c a l le d ) ' T h a t
w h i c h d e p e n d s o n t h e W o r d ' (bk a'-rte n) . 83 H a v i n g t h i s d e f i n i t i o n i n
m i n d , t h e B o n p o s a r e c a r e f u l t o p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e i r Tenjur d o e s n o t ,
l ik e t h a t o f t h e B u d d h i s t s, c o n t a i n ~dstras, f o r A s i t t a m p e r s (b?os) w i t h
28 I am indebted to S. G. Ka rm ay for this information.
~ bka ' dab bka'-brten-gyi rnam-dbye.
8o bk a'd ati bka'-brten-gyirnam-b~ad~i-'odrab-gsal;LJJ,
192 ; 348, 33 (i.e. translation:
p. 192, text: p. 348, 1.33 - thus also in the following).
81 KTDG,2, 1. 9: ~al-nas gsu6s-pa .
3~ See L~ J, xxi.
s3 bsTan-pabon-gyi klad-don-gyirafi-'grel, fol. 4b, MS belonging to the Abbo t S. T.
Jongdong . By sGa-ston Chu l-khrims rgyal-mchan (14 th cent.).
-
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2 4 PER KV,~E.RNE
t h e D o c t r i n e ( b s t an ) of t he Sugat a , ( i t i s ca l l ed) gdst r a ( b s t an - b ( o s ) . ~
B o n p o t e x t s c o n v e n t i o n a l l y s t a t e t h a t t h e r e a r e t h i r t e e n w a y s o f
c l as s i fy i ng t he W ord . 35 K T D G g i v e s a n u m b e r o f e x a m p l e s : t h e T h r e e f o l d
W o r d ( b k a ' - g s um ) , t h e N i n e V e h i c l e s ( t h e g - p a r im - d gu ) , t h e F o u r P o r t a l s
a n d t h e T r e a s u r y a s t h e F i f t h ( s go - b s m jod - l h a ) , a n d O u t e r , I n n e r , a n d
Secre t
( p h y i n a b g sa h g s um ) .
H o w e v e r , a p a s s a g e i n t h e
mD o - ' d u s
i s
q u o t e d s6 w h e r e s T o n - p a g ~ e n - r a b o r d a i n s t h a t " A f t e r m y e n t r a n c e i n t o
N i r v a f i a , c l a ss i fy , o a t t e n d a n t s m y W o r d , d i v i d i n g it i n t o mD o , ' B u m ,
r G y u d , a n d m J od / , s7 I t i s t h i s c l a s s i f ica t i on w hi ch i s adop t ed b y q l i- m a
bstan- ' j in .
I n a c o m p a r a t i v e l y r e c e n t w o r k , t h e
bKa - lu h r gya-mcho
by ~ar-rja
bKra-~ is rgya l-mchan, the d iv i s ion o f the W ord o f the Bu ddh a in to
mDo,
Bum, Gyud,
a n d
mJod
s d i scussed as fo l low s fo l . 239b-240b) :
T h e S O t r a3s s a y s : C o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e 8 4 0 0 0 h in d r a n c e s , 8 4 0 0 0 D o o r s o f
B o n h a v e b e e n p r o c l a i m e d . A s f o r h o w t h e 8 4 0 0 0 D o o r s o f B o n a r e sa i d t o
b e t h e r e m e d i e s o f t h e 8 4 0 0 0 h i n d r a n c e s , t h e m D o - ' d u s s a y s : ' T h e 8 4 0 0 0 D o o r s
o f B o n 3~ a r e d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r ( g r o u p s o f ) 2 1 0 0 0 , i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e f o u r
s e c t i o n s
m D o , ' B u m , r G y u d ,
a n d
m J o d ' .
( 1) T h u s t h e r e m e d y f o r t h e 2 1 0 00 h i n d r a n c e s a r i s in g f r o m d e s i r e - p a s s io n is
s a i d t o b e t h e 2 1 0 0 0 D o o r s o f B o n o f t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y S Q t ra s ( 'du l -ba ' i mdo) ,
n a m e l y : t h e D i s c i p l in e t e a c h in g w h a t s h o u l d b e a v o i d e d - t e n t h o u s a n d ; t h e
D i s c i p l i n e t e a c h i n g w h a t s h o u l d b e s e i ze d - t e n t h o u s a n d ; t h e D i s c i p l i n e
t e a c h i n g t h e i d e n t i t y o f a v o i d i n g a n d s e i zi n g i s s a i d t o b e o n e t h o u s a n d .
( 2 ) T h e r e m e d y f o r t h e 2 1 0 0 0 h i n d r a n c e s a r i s i n g f r o m i l l -w i l l i s s a i d t o b e t h e
2 1 0 0 0 D o o r s o f B o n o f t h e c o p i o u s P ~tra m if ft ( rgyas -pa 'bum) , n a m e l y : t h e
s e c ti o n o f th e P ~ a m i t ~ . t ea c h i n g c o n t e m p l a t i o n - t e n t h o u s a n d ; t h e s e c t io n o f
t h e P ~ r a m i t ~ te a c h in g a c t i o n - t e n t h o u s a n d ; t h e s e c ti o n o f th e P ~ r a m i t i
t e a c h i n g t h e i d e n t i t y o f c o n t e m p l a t i o n a n d a c t i o n i s s a i d t o b e o n e t h o u s a n d .
( 3) T h e r e m e d y f o r t h e 2 1 0 00 h i n d r a n c e s a r i s i n g f r o m i g n o r a n c e i s s a i d t o b e
2 1 0 00 D o o r s o f B o n o f th e T r e a s u r y o f t h e A b h i d h a r m a ( m ~ o n - p a m j o d ) ,
n a m e l y : t h e A b h i d h a r m a t e a ch i ng S k il lf u l M e a n s - t en t h o u s a n d ; t he A b h i d h a r -
m a t e a c h in g W i s d o m - t e n t h o u s a n d ; t h e A b h i d h a r m a t e a ch i n g t h e i d e n t it y o f
S k i l lf u l M e a n s a n d W i s d o m i s s a i d t o b e o n e t h o u s a n d .
, t Ibid.
T h e w h o le p a s s a g e i s a s f o l lo w s : s t o n - p a ' i b k a ' - l a r t e n - n a s sd e b - p a s b k a ' -
b r t en /bd e-b ar g~egs-pa 'i b s tan -p a- la b~os-pas bs tan -b~os / .
K T D G ,
28 1 .20 gives the
same e tym ology : sa f i s- rgyas bs tan -pa- la ra f l - ' dod-ky is bzo b~os-su so f i -bas bs tan -
b~os-su m i6 b tags -p a y in / .
a5 L,~J, 191; K T D G , 2, 1. 10.
8s Ibid.
87 f i a n i m y a - f i a n - ' d a s ' o g - tu / m d o ' b u m r g y u d m jo d b ~ i r p h y e s - l a / ' k h o r - r n a m s
b k a ' - y i b s d u - b a g y i s /.
8s Perhap s the
gZer-mig.
a9 hos-sgo.
Cf.
Ga~ s-~an bod-kyi brda-skad m i-g~i gsal-bar ston-pa'i bstan-b dos
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THE CANON OF THE TIBETAN BONPOS 25
(4) The rem edy of the 21 000 (hindrances) of the three poisons taken together
i s s a id to b e the 21 000 Doors o f Bon of the Tant ras o f medi t a t ion on m ant ras
(stkTgs-sems rgyud),
namely: the sect ion of the Tantras teaching pr incipal ly
utpattikrama -
ten thousand; the sect ion of the Tantras teaching pr incipal ly
ni$pannakrama - ten thou san d; the sect ion of the Tantras teaching the ident i ty
o f
utpattikrama
a n d
nis.pannakrama
i s sa id to be one thou sand .
m D o ,
o f c o u r se , c o r r e s p o n d s t o
sfttra;
h o w e v e r , i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e
presen t c l a s s i f i ca t ion , i t a l so inc ludes
'dul-ba,
i .e.
vinaya . 'Bum
c o n t a i n s
t h e B o n p o
praj~dpdramitd
l i t e ra t u r e . T o ge t h e r the s e t w o s e c t ions a re
c a l le d T h e V e h i cl e o f C a u s e
(rgyu'i theg-pa), rGyud (tantra)
i s desc r ibed
a s
gsafz-sftags
( secre t spel ls i .e.
mantras),
o r a s
s~ags-sems
( l i t . m a n t r a -
m i n d ) ,
m J o d T r e a s u r y ,
i s t he h i ghe s t , ( c ons i s t ing o f ) t e a c h i ngs de a l i ng
w i t h t h e M i n d
(b la -med sems-don) - -
i n o t h e r w o r d s , i t c o n t a i n s t h e
G r e a t P e r f e c t io n
(rjogs-dhen)
t e a c h in g s o f t h e B o n p o s . T h e l a t t e r t w o
s e c t ions a r e s ty l e s T h e V e h i cl e o f Re s u l t
('bras-bu'i theg-pa).
I t i s
i n t e re s t in g t h a t i n t h e
bKa'-lu~ rgya-mcho,
t he T r e a s u r y i s g i ve n a s t he
t h i r d a n d s t y l e d
m /z o n - p a
i .e.
abhidharma,
t h u s a c h i e v i n g a f o r m a l
c o n f o r m i t y w i t h t h e t r a d i t i o n a l s c h e m e o f t h e T r ip i t. ak a .
R o e r i c h r e p o r t e d , a s w e h a v e s e e n , t h a t t h e
Kanjur
c ons i s t e d o f 140
v o l u m e s , t h e
Tenjur
o f 1 6 0 . D i f fe r e n t e d i ti o n s o f t h e C a n o n m a y o f
c o u r s e h a v e e x i s t e d ; b u t i n a n y c a s e , t h e C a n o n a s d e s c r i b e d b y
K T D G
(p . 31) cons i s t s o f 306 vo lum es , the
Kanjur
t o t a l l i ng 175 , t he
Tenjur
131.
T h e d i s t r ib u t i o n o f th e v o l u m e s o f t h e
Kanjur
a r e s t a t e d t o be a s f o l l ow s :
m d o 62 vols . , ' b u m 91, rgyud 18, and m jo d 4 .
W e s ha l l now b r i e fl y s u r ve y t he a l t e r na t i ve c l a s s if i c a ti ons o f t he C a no n .
E xc e p t s c he m e ( e), t he y a l l r e f e r to t he
Kanjur.
( a ) T he s i m p l e s t d i v i s i on i s t ha t o f paramitd-naya a n d mantra-naya,
w h i c h i s a l s o w e l l - k n o w n f r o m B u d d h i s t s o u r c e s . K T D G (p. 2) def ines
t he s e a s f o l l ow s :
T h e W o r d o f p d r a m i td i s t h e C a u s e , t e a c h i n g c h ie f ly t h e W a y o f
R e n u n c i a t i o n ; t h e W o r d o f t h e E t e r n a l V e h i c le o f S e c r e t S p ell s is th e
R e s u l t , t e a c h i n g c h ie fl y [ t h e W a y s o f ] T r a n s f o r m a t i o n a n d L i b e r a t i o n ?~
A l t h o u g h o n ly ' b u m a n d rgyud a r e m e n t i o ne d e xp l ic i tl y i n t h i s pa s s a ge ,
K T D G g o e s o n t o e x p l a i n t h a t pc~ramitd i n c l u d e s b o t h m d o a n d ' bum,
a n d t h e m a n t r a b o t h r g yu d a n d mjod.
( b) T h e F o u r P o r ta l s a n d t h e T r e a s u r y a s t h e F i f t h is a p u r e l y B o n p o
dgos-'byuti nor-bu'igter-~hen
(Delhi, 1966). By 'Jig-med nam -mkha'i rdo-rje b. S TN N
1897. P. 146 unde r ho hos ~es bon da6 hos -kha6 lha-khaf i mchu6s ] .
40 spo6-1amgco-bor bstan-pa rgyu pha-rol-tu phyin-pa'i bka' da6/sgyur-grol gco-bor
bstan-pa 'bras-bu gsa~ -s6ags g.yu6 -dru6 theg-pa 'i bka' gfiis .
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2 6 P E R K V ; E R N E
c l a ss i fi c a ti on . I t ha s be e n f u l l y de s c r i be d b y S n e l lg r ove in N i n e W a y s
(pp . 16-19), t o wh ich the rea der i s re fe r red .
(c ) T h e N i ne W a y s i s l ike w i s e a B on po s c he m e . T he r e a de r is r e f e r r e d
t o S ne l l g r ove 's a na l y s i s in
N ine W ay s ,
pp . 9 - 11 .41 H ow e ve r , i t s hou l d be
p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e N y i n g m a p a s , t o o , p r e s e n t t h e D o c t r i n e i n t h e f o r m
o f N i n e W a y s ; b u t w h il e t h e s c h em e o f t h e B o n p o s r e s u m e t h e w h o l e
r a n g e o f T i b e t a n r e l ig i o u s p r a c t ic e s , 42 t h e N i n e W a y s o f th e N y i n g -
m a p a s d o n o t i n c l u d e t h e b e l i e f s a n d p r a c t i c e s f o u n d i n t h e f i r s t f o u r
W a y s o f t h e B o n p o s , a n d a r e m a i n l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h t a n t r i c r i tu a l a n d
m ed i t a t ion . 4s
(d) In
L ~ J aa
w e fi n d a d i v is i o n o f th e W o r d i n t o ' F o u r S u p r e m e
B u m
( bum bla-m ed sde-b~i) :
( I ) t he
b u m
o f
dhdra.n?s (gzu hs-k yi bum )
( 2 ) . . . . . . s~tras (mdo- bum)
( 3 ) . . . . . . ma ntras (gsah-shags-ky i bu m)
( 4 ) . . . . . .
praj~d (pdra mitd ) (ges-rab bum )
H e r e ( 1 ) a nd ( 3 ) c o r r e s pond t o rgyud, (4) to bum, a nd ( 2 ) t o m d o ; m j o d
i s miss ing.
(e ) T h e d i v i s io n o f t h e W o r d i n t o O u t e r , I n n e r , a n d S e c re t (phy i na~ gsah)
is a d o p t e d b y K T D G w i t h r e f e r e nc e to t he Tenjur, i . e . , s t r ic t ly speaking, i t
i s a do p t e d w i t h r e f e r e nc e t o t he ba s i c te x t s o f t he Kanjur w h i c h a r e c o m -
m e n t e d o n b y t h e
Tenjur.
O u t e r T e x t s c o m p r i s e t h e t r a d i t io n a l T ri p i-
. ta ka , i n t he f o l l ow i ng o r de r :
vinaya, abhidharma,
a n d
sfttra.
I n t h e
Kanjur,
t h i s c o r r e s ponds t o
m d o
a n d
bum.
I n n e r T e x t s c o n s i st o f t a n t r i c r i tu a l s
o f a ll k i n d s ( t h u s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o
rgy ud)
w hi l e S e c r e t T e x t s de a l w i t h
m e d i t a t i on , i . e . w i t h t he s ub j e c t - m a t t e r o f mjod. T hi s s c he m e t hus c o r r e -
s p o n d s t o t h e d i v is i o n i n t o t h r e e g r o u p s - O u t e r , I n n e r , a n d S e c r e t
f o l l o w e d b y t h e N y i n g m a p a s w i t h r e g a r d t o th e i r N i n e W a y s . 45
( f ) A s w e ha ve s e e n , t he e x i s te nc e o f a Bo npo
Kanjur
is m e n t i o n e d b y
t h e G e l u g p a s c h o l a r ~ h o s - k y i f ii -m a , w h o g i v es a s u r v e y o f t h e c o n t e n t s o f
t he Bo np o s c r ip t u r e s , a na l y s e d i n t he f o l l ow i ng w a y :46
41 On the translation of
theg-pa
by W ay , see Snellgrove,
op. cit., p. 8.
42 Op. ci t., p. 11.
4a Fo r the Nine W ays of the Nyingm apas, see H. Hoffm ann, The Religionso f Tibet
(Lon don , 1961), p. 65.
44 L~J, 95.
45 Li An-cbe Rfiifi-ma-pa: the Early Fo rm o f Lamaism , Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society (1948), 142-63; see pp . 145-46.
46 S. C . Das Co ntributions (1970), 13-15; Ho ffma nn Qu ellen , 332-33.
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THE CANO N OF TH E TIBETANBONPOS 27
( 1) w o r k s t e a c h i n g r i g h t v i e w s ( l t a - b a s t o n - p a ' i g ~ u h )
( 2) w o r k s o n m e d i t a t i o n
( s g o m - p a ' i g ~ u h )
( 3) t h e c y cl e o f r i g h t p r a c t i c e
( s p y o d - p a 'i s k o r )
( 4 ) t h e c y c l e o f r i t u a l s ( ' p h r i n - l a s - k y i s k o r )
( 5) t h e c y c l e o f u t p a t t i - a n d n i . s p a n n a k r a m a , i .e . , t h e R e s u l t ( b s k y e d -
r j o g s ' b r a s - b u ' i s k o r )
(6 ) t h e c y c l e o f p ro t e c t i v e d e i t i e s'
( s r u h - m a ' i s k o r )
I t i s e v i d e n t t h a t ( ~ h o s - k y i f i i - m a h a d n o f i r s t - h a n d k n o w l e d g e o f B o n p o
l i te r a t u r e , m u c h l e ss o f t h e B o n p o
K a n j u r .
H i s a n a l y s i s d o e s n o t a g r e e
w i t h a n y k n o w n c l a s s i f i c a t i o n u s e d b y t h e B o n p o s t h e m s e l v e s , a n d i t b y
n o m e a n s c o v e r s t h e e n t i r e r a n g e o f c a n o n i c a l s cr i p tu r e s . I n p a r t i c u l a r ,
o n e n o t e s th e t o t a l a b s e n c e o f B o n p o s fi tr as . A r a p i d e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e
t i t l e s q u o t e d b y ~ h o s - k y i f i i - m a u n d e r e a c h h e a d i n g s h o w s t h a t s e c t i o n s
1 a n d 2 c o r r e s p o n d t o m j o d , s e c t i o n 3 t o ' b u m , a n d s e c t i o n s 4 , 5 a n d 6
t o r g y u d .
IV .
O r i g in s o f t h e C a n o n
A s f a r a s t h e B o n p o s a r e c o n c e r n e d , th e K a n j u r c o n t a i n s th e W o r d o f t h e
B u d d h a - a t l ea s t t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h i s W o r d h a s b e e n e i th e r p r es e r v e d
o r r e v e a l e d u p t o t h e p r e s e n t d a y . F o r t h e B o n p o s , t h e n , t h e r e i s n o
p r o b l e m i n a n s w e r i n g t h e q u e s t i o n o f th e o r i g i n o f t h e t e x ts c o n t a i n e d i n
t h e K a n j u r - t h e y w e r e p r o c l a i m e d b y s T o n - p a g S e n - r a b i n ' O l - m o l uf l- ri fl
a n d e l s ew h e r e , a n d c o l l e c t e d o n e y e a r a f t e r h is d e a t h b y h i s c h i e f d i sc i -
p l es . 47 T h e s u b s e q u e n t h i s t o r y o f t h e D o c t r i n e , a s c o n c e i v e d b y t h e
B o n p o s , w i ll b e f o u n d c o n v e n i e n t l y p r e s e n t e d in S . G . K a r m a y ' s t r a n s -
l a t i o n o f L ~ J , a n d n e e d n o t , t h e r e f o r e , b e d e a l t w i t h i n d e t a i l h e r e ; 4a
4r bsTan-scis 25.
48 A num ber o f texts dealing with the history of Bon are available:
(a) Bon-~ hos-kyi dar-nub-kyi lo-rgyus bsgrag s-pa rin-~hen gl#i-grags, O slo University
Library O st.as. T T 14, MS 95 fols. Discovered by mTha'-b~i Ye-~es blo-gros
(10th-1 lth cent.).
(b) bsTan-pa ' i rnam-b~ad dar-rgyas gsal-ba' i sgron-m a, MS from Samling in Dolpo,
137 fols., publishe d as fol. 498-769 in Sources or a His tory o fBon, ed. by T enzin
Namdak (Dolanji , 1972) Tibetan M ona stic Ce ntre . By sPa-ston bsTan-rgyal
bzafi-po (14th cent.).
(c) Srid-pa rgyud-kyi kha-byati ?hen-mo, Biblioth~que Nationale (Paris) Fonds Tib.
n ~ 493, MS 199 fols. Discovered by G yer Thogs-m ed in 1310 (L~J, 339, 31).
(d) rG yal-rabs bon -gyi 'byuli-gnas, ed. b y S. C . D as (Darjee ling 1900 [.9] an d Calcu tta,
1915), 61 pp. By Khy uh-po bLo-gros rgyal-mchan (14th-15th cent.). Reviewed and
-
8/10/2019 canon of bon (1)
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28 P ER K V /ERN E
for our purposes , i t wi l l be suf f ic ien t to po in t ou t the broad out l ines of
th is h is tory , a s un der s too d b y la te r Bo np o t r ad i t ion . 49
The Doc t r ine , t he n , w a s t a ugh t b y sTon - pa g~e n - r a b , c h ie fly i n
'Ol -mo luf i - r i f i , f rom whence i t spread to the va r ious count r ie s sur round-
ing T ibe t , d i s se mina ted by a suc c e s sion o f supe r na tu r a l be ings o f t he
bod h i sa t tva a s we ll a s the s iddha type . F r o m the se c oun t r ie s , a nd in
par t icu la r f rom India , ~a fi -~ufi , and China , Bo n spread to Tibe t . Cer ta in
texts , i t is t rue , rea che d Ti be t direc t ly f ro m 'O l-m o luf i- ri fi , 5~ and cer ta in
p r a c t i c e s ha d e ve n be e n t a ugh t i n T ibe t by sTon- pa g~e n - r a b h imse l f
whe n he o n on e oc c a s ion pa s se d th r ough tha t c ou n t r y ; 5 t bu t a bo ve a ll
i t i s v ia ~a fi -~ufi tha t Bo n i s cons ide red to h ave reach ed T ib e t ) ~ In th is
process of t r ansmiss ion , s iddhas f ro m ~af i-Zuf i d i ssem ina ted the D oc t r ine
in T ibe t , a ide d by T ibe t a n s c ho lar s who t r a ns l a te d num e r ous t e x t s f r om
the langua ge of ~af i-~ufi . Va r ious l i s ts o f these s iddhas an d schola r s a re
kno wn ; i n ge ne r al , t he s iddha s c onn e c te d w i th t h is i n i ti a l sp r e a d o f t he
Doc t r ine s~a-dar) a re sa id to be e ighty53 - a c lear para l le l l to the e ighty-
f ou r s iddha s o f t he B uddh i s t t r a d i t i o n ) 4
Th i s i n it ia l d i s se mina t ion o f B o n in T ibe t i s suppose d to ha ve t a ke n
place dur ing the re ign o f the f ir s t T ib e tan k ing , g lqa ' -khr i bcan -po .
Having f lour i shed in Tibe t dur ing the re igns of seven success ive k ings ,
B o n w a s p e rs e c u te d b y k i n g G r i - g u m b c a n - p o , a n d t h e B o n p o s d r i ve n
ou t o f T ibe t. Ta k ing the ir t e x ts w i th t he m, t h e y h id m a ny o f t he m in
va r ious p l a c e s be f o r e l e a v ing f o r a r e a s be yond the r e a c h o f t he k ing .
/~ i- ma bs t a n - ' j i n i n f o r ms us t ha t t he F ive K ing - Tr e a su r e s a nd F ou r
p a r t l y t r a n s l a t e d b y B . L a n f e r , Ober ein tibetisches Geschichtswerk der Bonpo
( = T o u n g P a o , S6r ie I I , vo l . 2) (Le yde n, 1901), pp . 24-44.
( e ) bs Tan-pa i spy i byuti-khutis yid -M in nor-bu dod-pa ]o-ba i gter-mjod, Br i t i s h
M u s e u m O r i e n t a l M S 1 3 10 0, M S 1 7 6 f o l s. B y K u n - g r o l g r a g s - p a (b . S T N N 1 70 0),
c o m p o s e d 1 76 6. O n e c h a p t e r e d i t e d a n d t r an s l a te d b y H . H o f f m a n n , A n A c c o u n t
o f t h e B o n R e l i g i o n i n G i l g i t ,
Central Asian Journal
(1971), 137-45.
( f ) Legs-bgad rin-po ~he i mjo d dpyod-ldan dga -ba i ~har (L ~J ), s e e B i b l i o g r a p h y .
(g) g.Yuti-druti bon-gyi bstan- byuil, 2 v o l s . ( D o l a n j i , 1 9 72 ). B o n p o M o n a s t i c C e n t r e
By dP a l - ldan chu l -kh r ims (d ied 1972) .
4~ T h e f o l l o w i n g s u m m a r y i s b a s e d o n
L,~J.
A s f a r a s t h e h i s t o r y o f B o n b e f o r e th e
I 0 t h- 1 l t h c e n t u r y i s c o n c e r n e d , w e w i l l n o t u n d e r t a k e a c r i t ic a l e x a m i n a t i o n , b u t o n t h e
w h o l e s im p l y a d o p t t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e B o n p o s t h e m s e l v e s . T h i s d o e s n o t , o f c o u r s e ,
i m p l y t h a t w e a c c e p t t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e a s t h e h i s t o r i c a l l y v a li d o n e .
60 L ~ J
19-21.
5 t gZer-mig
I I , c h a p . 1 2. T h e p a s sa g e i n q u e s t i o n i s t r a n s l a t e d b y S n e l l g r o v e ,
Nin e
Ways , 14-15.
52 F o r a d i s cus s ion o f ~a f i -~u f i and 'O l -m o lu f i -r i fi , s ee L,qJ, xxv i i -xxx i i i .
5a KTDG, 2 0 1 . 2 2 .
5~ O n c e m o r e i t m u s t b e st r e ss e d t h a t w e d o n o t i n t h is c o n n e c t i o n p r o p o s e t o d i sc u s s
o r e v a l u a t e t h e h i s t o r ic a l a u t h e n t i c i t y o f t h i s B o n p o t r a d i t io n .
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8/10/2019 canon of bon (1)
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T H E C A N O N O F T H E TI B E T A N B O N P O S
29
M inis te r -Treasures , a s we l l a s the 360 Pro fou nd T reasures , w ere h idden . 55
I n o the r w or ds , t he t e ac h ings o f t he B u ddh a ( i.e ., sTon - pa g~e n - r a b ) we r e
p r e se r ve d f o r fu tu r e ge ne ra t ions in the f o r m o f T r e a su r e s g t e r - m a ) -
and, a s we sha l l see , the d iscovery of such Trea sures wa s in la te r t imes
c ons ide r e d the n o r m a l p r oc e du r e o f r e- a s se mbl ing those t e a ch ings.
A f te r th is in it ial r ise and dec l ine of Bon, G r i -gum bca n-po w as k il led by
his minis te r Lo- f lam ; a f te r the de a th of the la t te r , the k ings ' s so n , sPu- lde
Guf i - r gya l , i nv i t e d the B onpos to r e tu r n to T ibe t , a nd the Doc t r ine
f lour ished du r ing the re ign of h is successors .
Ho w ever , dur ing the re ign o f Khr i - s rof i lde -bcan (742-797 A.D . ) , Bo n
was pe rsecuted once aga in . W e shal l no t go in to the de ta i l s o f the ex t re -
me ly c on f use d a nd c ompl i c a t e d t r a d i t i ons c onc e r n ing the r e l ig ious
s t ruggles dur ing h is r eign . W e have no w ente red h is tor ica l time (and m ust
he nc e f o r th a dop t a c r i t i c a l a t t i t ude to ou r sou r c e s ) , bu t t he d r a ma t i c
e ve n t s o f t ha t c e n tu r y , t he c om pl i c a t e d pa t t e r n o f sh i ft ing loya l ti e s a nd
re l ig ious and dynas t ic r iva l r ie s , a re obscured by the guarded re t icence of
c on te m por a r y sou r c e s a nd the pa r t ia l i ty a n d c o n f us ion o f l a te r e p i c
na r ra t ive s . One f a c t , howe ve r , shou ld be m e n t ione d : t he sa me sc ho lar s
and s iddhas tha t the la te r Bonpo t rad i t ion assoc ia tes wi th the FIRST
spread and dec l ine of Bon , a re a lso asso c ia ted w i th the SECOND; and
toge the r w i th the f a c t t ha t t he t e x t s wh ic h ha d be e n h idde n du r ing the
f ir s t de c line we r e no t t a ke n ou t o f t he ir c on c e a lme n t d u r ing the se c ond
spread of the D oc t r ine , 5e ce r ta in ly leads us , a s K arm ay sugges ts, to
suspe c t t ha t l a t e r B o npo h i s to r i a ns ha ve m a de two pe r se c u t ions ou t o f
w ha t w as in fac t on ly one '57 - i .e ., th e pe rse cut ion of Bo n du r ing the
re ign o f Khr i - s rof l lde -bcan .
This much, a t leas t , i s ce r ta in : the Buddhis t mas te r s inv i ted to Tibe t
by Khr i - s r o f l l de - bc a n me t w i th the oppos i t i on no t on ly o f a s e c t ion o f
the po we r f u l a r i s toc r a c y , bu t a l so o f a n o r ga n i se d r e l ig ious bod y r e -
presen ting the established , t radit io nal (b ut NOT necessa r i ly INDICENOUS)
re lig ion . In the course of the s t ruggle wi th the pa r t i sans o f the new
r e lig ion f r om I nd ia , t he m e mb e r s o f t he sa c e r do ta l c l as s o f t he o ld r e lig ion ,
k n o w n
i n t e r a l i a )
as
b o n - p o ,
were e i the r banished or forc ib ly conver ted .
The l a t e r B onpo t r a d i t i on ma in ta in s tha t t he se
b o n - p o s
were prec ise ly
those t e a c he r s o f B on whose a c t iv i t i e s du r ing l e ge nda r y dyna s t i e s we
ha ve no te d a bove . B e th is a s i t ma y , t he B onp o sou r c e s r e la t e t ha t t he
B onpo t e a c he r s a nd s iddha s we r e f o r c e d to l e a ve T ibe t f o r t he se c ond
56 b s T a n - r c i s
4 6
5e L ~ J .
7 3
6 7 I b i d .
x x x i i i
-
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3 PER KV. ,ERNE
t im e . O n c e m o r e t h e t ex t s w e r e h i d d e n in n u m e r o u s p l a c es in T i b e t a n d
a l o n g i ts b o r d e r s , a n d t h e B o n p o s l e ft t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y .
~ i - m a b s t a n - ' j in p la c e s t h is ev e n t i n 7 4 9 A . D . ) s w h i le K a r m a y , h a v i n g
ex am ine d a l l av ai lab le so urces , f ixes i t a t c . 784. 59
I t is th i s t h i r d s p r e a d o f t h e D o c t r i n e , k n o w n a s th e " L a t e r P r o p a g a t i o n "
phyi-dar) ,
w h i c h is o f pa r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t t o u s , a n d i t i s w i t h t h i s t ha t t he
f o r m a t i o n o f a B o n p o C a n o n i s c o n n e c te d . T h e c e n t u r y a n d a h a l f
f o l l ow i n g t he b r e a k - up o f c e n t r a l pow e r ( c. 842 A . D . ) i s a da r k a nd
t r o u b l e d o n e i n t h e h i s t o r y o f T i b e t. L i t tl e is k n o w n a b o u t t h e se y e ar s .
A n d y e t th e y m u s t h a v e b e e n o f f u n d a m e n t a l im p o r t a n c e f o r s u b s e q u en t
r e li g io u s d e v e lo p m e n t s . W h e n w e o n c e m o r e , i n th e 1 l t h c e n t u r y , h e a r
o f B o n p o s , w e a r e c o n f r o n t e d w i t h w h a t i s in f a c t a n o t h e r l a m a i s t sc h o o l ,
d i s ti n g u i s h e d f r o m o t h e r s c h o o l s n o t s o m u c h b y r i t u a l o r d o c t r i n e a s b y
t he c la i m , no t e d a bove , o f r e p r e s e n t i ng t he t r a d i t i on a l r e l i g i on o f T i be t .
T h e p r o b l e m o f g i v in g a n e x a c t d e f in i t io n o f t h e r e l a t io n o f t h is l a m a i s t
B o n p o t r a d i t i o n t o t h e o t h e r B u d d h i s t s c h o o l s a s w e l l a s t o t h e p r e -
B u d d h i s t
bon-pos
ha s by no m e a ns be e n f i na l l y s o l ve d ; s ~ bu t i t i s a t l e a s t
c e rt ai n t h a t w e c a n n o t s i m p l y s p e a k o f a " t r a n s f o r m e d B o n " o r a n
" a s s i m i l a te d B o n " . C e r t a i n l y t h e l a m a i s t B o n p o t r a d i t i o n o f t h e l l t h
c e n t u r y w a s h e a v i l y p e n e t r a t e d b y p o p u l a r , e s se n t ia l ly n o n - B u d d h i s t
e l e m e n t s - b u t s o w a s e v er y o t h e r f o r m o f T i b e t a n B u d d h i s m , a n d h a s s o
r e m a i ne d t o t h i s da y . T h e d i f f ic u l ty , i t s e e m s t o m e , is t ha t doc t r i ne s a n d
m e d i t a t i ona l p r a c t i c e s , m a n i f e s t l y Buddh i s t i n c ha r a c t e r bu t pa s s i ng
u n d e r t h e n a m e o f B o n , a re d e f in i te l y t r ac e a b l e t o t h e 1 t h c e n t u r y ; a n d
e v e n a t t h a t s ta g e , t h e y m u s t h a v e p a s s se d t h r o u g h a p e r i o d o f c o n s i d e r a b le
l e ng t h o f e xp e r i m e n t a t i on , a da p t a t i o n , a n d c od i f i c a t ion . ~1 T he r e i s no
q u e s t i o n o f a m o r e o r l es s p e r f e c t sy n t h e si s o f B u d d h i s t a n d n o n - B u d d h i s t
( t he t e r m " s h a m a n i s t " is st il l s om e t i m e s e m p l oye d ) be l ie f s a n d p r a c t i c e s
i n t h i s c onne c t i on ( a l t hough , a s R . A . S t e i n ha s r e c e n t l y s how n , s uc h
s yn t he s e s w e r e , i n f a c t , a t t e m p t e d ) , 62 bu t o f a r e l ig i on w h i c h , ho w e v e r
c om pos i t e , i s ne ve r t he le s s c ohe r e n t a n d e s s e n t ia l l y Bu ddh i s t .
W i t h t h i s pe r s pe c t i ve i n m i nd , a s t a r t , a t l e a s t , ha s be e n m a de by t he
p r e s e n t a u t h o r i n t h e s t u d y o f t h a t s y s t e m o f m e d i t a t i o n k n o w n a s
" T h e G r e a t P e r f e ct io n "
rjogs-pa dhen -po).
A s i s w e l l kn ow n , t h i s s y s t e m
is f o u n d . n o t o n l y w i t h in t h e B o n p o t r ad i t io n , b u t a ls o w i t h t h e N y i n g -
~s bsTan-rcis w55.
s9 L ~ J , 94 , n . 2 .
e0 S e e K v a e r n e , A s p e c t s o f t h e O r i g i n , a n d S n e l l g r o v e , Nine Ways I n t r o d u c t i o n .
6x S e e K v a e r n e , B o n p o S t u d i e s .
e~ R . A . S t e i n , U n d o c u m e n t a n c i e n r e l a t i f a u x r it e s f u n 6 r a i re s d e s b o n - p o t i b 6 t a i n s ,
Journal Asiatique C C L V I I I ( P a r i s , 1 9 7 0 ), 1 5 5 -8 5 , p a r t i c u l a r l y p . 1 57 .
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8/10/2019 canon of bon (1)
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THE CANO N OF THE TIBETANBONPOS
31
m a p a s . A c o m p a r a t i v e s tu d y o f t h e e a rl ie s t G r e a t P e r f e c t i o n t e xt s o f t h e
t w o s c h o o l s m i g h t w e l l f u r n i s h a c l u e t o t h e s o l u t i o n o f t h e e n t i r e p r o b l e m
o f t h e B o n p o s , a s s e v e r a l T i b e t o l o g i s t s h a v e r e c e n t l y p o i n t e d o u t . 63 T h e
s a m e , it m i g h t b e a d d e d , w o u l d b e e q u a l l y t r u e o f a s t u d y o f t h e B o n p o
a n d N y i n g m a p a t a n t r a s - a v a s t c o l l e c ti o n o f t a n tr i c te x ts h i t h e r to
v i r tu a l l y u n e x p l o r e d .
T h e B o n p o s a n d t h e N y i n g m a p a s a p p e a r t o b e t w o p a r a ll e l d e v e l o p -
m e n t s f r o m o n e a n d t h e s a m e s o u r c e , v iz . t h e r e l i g io u s s t ru g g l es d u r i n g t h e
r e ig n o f K h r i - s r o f i l d e - b c a n a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t t w o h u n d r e d y e a r s . B o t h
t r a d i t i o n s t r a c e t h e i r l in e a g e s a n d t e x t u a l t r a n s m i s s io n s b a c k t o t h e s a m e
c o n f u s e d s ce n e ; t h e r e li g io u s e p i c o f P a d m a s a m b h a v a i s p a r a l le l e d b y
t h a t o f s T o n - p a g S e n - r a b o r D r a n - p a N a m - m k h a ' ; t h e i r l i te r a t u re a p p e a r s
t o b e o f e ss e n t ia l ly t h e s a m e t y p e , r e d i s c o v e r e d o v e r a p e r i o d o f s e v e ra l
c e n t u r i e s i n t h e f o r m o f T r e a s u r e s , so m e t i m e s , a s w e s h a ll se e, e v e n b y
t h e s a m e T r e a s u r e - D i s c o v e r e r s
( g t e r - s t o n ) .
A l t h o u g h t h e g t e r - m a l it e r a tu r e o f t h e N y i n g m a p a s h a s b y n o m e a n s
b e e n e x p l o r e d i n it s e n t i re t y , i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e f ir s t g t e r - m a s w e r e
d i s c o v e r e d i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e l l t h c e n t u r y ; 64 a p a r t i c u l a r l y f e r ti l e
p e r i o d s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n t h e 1 4 th c e n t u r y , a p e r i o d o f n a t i o n a l
r e s u r g e n c e a n d r e l i g i o u s r e n e w a l . T h e q u e s t i o n o f p r i o r i t y in e v i t a b l y
a r is e s w h e n d e a l in g w i t h B o n p o a n d N y i n g m a p a l i te r a tu r e . I t w a s l o n g
t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d t h a t t h e B o n p o s w e r e , o n t h e w h o l e , m e r e p l a g i a r i s t s .
T h i s h a s b e e n t h e tr a d i t io n a l v i ew a m o n g o t h e r T i b e t a n s c h o o l s - f o r
i n s t a n c e , i t is s t a t e d v e ry fo r c e fu l l y b y t ~ h o s -k y i f i i-m a , w h o e v e n g i v e s
d e t a i l e d l is ts o f t e x t s w h i c h h e c l a im s h a v e b e e n t r a n s f o r m e d b y t h e
B o n p o s . ~5 T h e g e n e r a l u n r e l i a b i l it y o f ~ h o s - k y i f ii - m a r e g a r d i n g B o n
w o u l d i n i ts e l f b e s u f f ic i en t t o c a s t d o u b t o n t h i s a s s e r t i o n ; a n d i n a n
i m p o r t a n t s t u d y , A . - M . B l o n d e a u h a s r e c e n tl y c o n v i n c i n g ly s h o w n t h a t i n
o n e c a s e, a t l e as t, i t i s n o t t h e B u d d h i s t , b u t t h e B o n p o t e x t w h i c h is t h e
e a r l i e r o n e . 66 U s i n g t h e o n l y m e t h o d w h i c h c a n g i v e d e f i n i te r e s u l t s, v i z . a
d e t a i l e d t e x t u a l c r it ic i sm , c e r t a i n c h a p t e r s o f t h e B o n p o
g Z e r - m i g
a r e
~3 Snellgrove, N/ne Ways, 15, G. Tucci D ie Religionen Tibets , in: Die Relig/onen
Tibets und der M ongolei, Tucc i and He issig (Stuttgart, 1970 ), 19.
e~ Tucci,
T P S
I, 109. Fo r short biographies of the major Nyingmapas
gter-stons, see
TTGL, passim (Bibliography) and Bo d s~a-rabs-pa gsah-Ehen r~iti-ma i Ehos- byuti
legs-bgad gsar-pa i dga -ston (Kalimpong , 1964), 398 fols., by bDud -'joms sprul-sku
rin-po-~ he (still active), fol. 244a-337b.
e5 Das, 1970: 13; Hoffmann Quellen , 206-07. The assertions of (~hos-kyi fii-ma
are repudiated by L,qJ, 130. K T D G reverses he accusation in the case of K 44 and T 29.
e6 A.-M . Blondeau, Le Lha-'dre bka'-thafi , in:
Etudes tib~taines d~diEes d la
mEmoire de 3,larcelle Lalou (Pa ris, 1971), 29-126. I have review ed this article in
Journal Asiatique
CC LIX (1971), 391-94.
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32 PFa~ KV.~RNE
show n to b e the sou r c e o f l a rge pa r t s o f t he 14 th c e n tu r y B u ddh i s t
gter-ma Lh a-'dre bka'-thafz,
t hus p r ov ing tha t t he who le que s t ion o f t he
r e la t io n s h i p b e t w e e n B o n p o a n d N y i n g m a p a l i te r at u re i s m u c h m o r e
c om pl i c a t e d tha n ha s p r e v ious ly ge ne ra l ly be e n though t .
T u r n i n g t o t h e B o n p o gter-mas, t he t e x t s wh ic h we r e d i s c ove r e d we r e
n o t a ll, o f c o u rs e , t h e W o r d o f t h e B u d d h a . M a n y w e r e c o m m e n t a ri e s
and subs id ia ry tex ts , com po sed by the s iddhas and schola r s o f ~a fi -~ufl
a n d T i b e t o f w h o m w e h a ve s p o k e n a b o v e . T o g e t h e r w i t h s im i l ar t ex t s
c o m p o s e d b y B o n p o s c h o l ar s fr o m t h e 1 l t h c e n t u ry o n w a r d s , m a n y o f
these tex ts w ere la te r co l lec ted in the Tenjur. W e n o w p r o p o s e t o a t t em p t
an ana lys is of th i s vas t l i t e ra ture . In the ab sence of prev io us s tud ies of a
c omp r e he ns ive na tu r e , i t goe s w i thou t s a y ing tha t ou r c onc lus ions w i ll
ha ve to be sub je c t t o f u tu r e r e v i s ion whe n mor e de t a i l e d s tud ie s ha ve ,
hope f u l ly , be e n unde r t a ke n . Ho we v e r , a s ta r t m us t be ma de .
Tw o sou r c e s ha ve be e n u t i li s ed . F i r s tl y i q i -ma bs t a n - j i n s dkar-Shag
(KTDG), whe r e he no r ma l ly i nd i c at e s t o w ha t gter-ma a tex t be longs , o r
whe the r i t ha s be e n tr a nsmi t t e d in a ny o the r wa y . De a l ing w i th the
Tenjur, he l i s t s the commenta f i s to a g iven tex t in chronologica l o rde r .
The se c ond sou r c e is t he
Legs-bgad mjod (L J)
of ~a r - rj a bK r a - i i s r gya l -
mc ha n . I n S e c t ion VI I ( pp . 105 -92) he de al s w i th t he La te r P r op a ga t ion
o f t he Doc t r ine (phyi-dar), me nt ion ing e a c h ind iv idua l gter-ston (of ten
wi th fa i r ly ex tens ive b iographica l in format ion) , and g iv ing de ta i led l i s t s
o f t he t e x t s d i s c ove r e d by e a ch . e7 F o r que s t ions o f da t e s a nd c h r ono logy ,
we a r e p r a c t i c a lly e n ti r ely de pe n de n t on the
bstan-reis
of i q i - ma bs t a n - j in
( S T N N ) ; how e ve r , t he b iog r a ph ie s o f t he va r ious
gter-stons
in
L,~J
a re
a r r a nge d in a n a pp r ox ima t ive ly c h r ono log ic a l o r de r , t hus i nd i c a ting in a
ge ne r al wa y whe n a g ive n gter-ston f lour ished.
T h e L a t e r P r o p a g a t i o n o f t h e D o c t r in e i s c o n s id e r e d t o h av e c o m m e n c e d
wi th t he d i s c ove r y in S T N N 913 A .D . o f t e x ts a t bS a m - ya s by th r e e
e r r a n t mo nks f r om N e pa l . I n th i s c onne c t ion the re a r e two f a c ts wh ic h
invi te fur the r r e f lec tion . The f i rs t i s tha t the d iscov ery was m ade a t
bSam -yas . The p ivota l pos i t ion , in the la te r r el ig ious ep ics cen te r ing
r o u n d P a d m a s a m b h a v a a n d t h e e s ta b l is h m e n t o f B u d d h i s m i n T ib e t , o f
the f ound in g o f bS a m - ya s du r ing the r e ign o f Khr i- s ro f i l de -bc a n , i s t oo
we l l kno wn to r e qu i r e f u r the r me n t ion . How e ve r , t he t r a d i t i on r e c o r de d
by these la te r tex ts in form s us th a t a t bSa m -yas Bu ddh is t AS WELL AS
67 T h e l is t s a r e n o t t r a n s l a t e d b u t a r e f o u n d i n t h e r o m a n i z e d v e r s i o n o f t h e te x t
p p . 2 7 1 - 3 4 8 .
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T H E C A N O N O F T H E T I B ET A N B O N P O S
33
Bonpo texts were translated; thus the Biography of Padmasambhavaes
states that the king invited a number of Bonpo masters from Zafl-~ufi
to bSam-yas where they translated Bon-texts in the Temple of Avaloki-
te~vara. 69 It further states that the Tibetan
lo-cd-ba
Vairocana translated
Bonpo as well as Buddhist texts. 7~
The second point of interest is that the three monks from Nepal had no
intention of bringing to light hidden texts. According to
L ~ J, 71
at least,
their purpose in going to bSam-yas was to obtain gold - by fair means or
foul, for the box containing the texts was stolen by them in the belief that
it contained gold, and the contents, on being discovered to be books,
were later exchanged for food. In this connection it is interesting to note
that one set of texts was given to a group of Tibetans on their way to
bSam-yas to look for BUDDmST textual Treasures; in other words,
bSam-yas must already have had the reputation of being a depository of
Treasures . The Bonpos thus do not claim to possess the EARLIEST
Treasures , nor do they claim to have initiated their discovery.
A number of the earliest
gter-mas
appear to have been discovered by
accident. In particular, this seems to have been the case with the dis-
coveries made at bSam-yas which are placed by STNN in the 10th
century. We have already mentioned the discovery made in 913 by the
three Nepalese
dcdryas (a-ca-ra);
two of them are reputed to have made
further discoveries in 961, under similar circumstances.72 Again, a crack
in a pillar at bSam-yas led rKo-bo Yon-sgom Thar-mo to discover texts in
962. 73 We also hear of texts buried in the ground being discovered by
hunters digging for a stone (perhaps to make a fireplace); having no
interest in the texts, they simply gave them away.74 Likewise, from the
1 th century, we are told of a group of Buddhists looking for Buddhist
texts in Yer-ba'i rjofi near Lhasa; finding only Bonpo texts, they gave
them away.7s
We also find several cases of texts being discovered with the help of a
guide
(kha-bymi),
i.e. a written description of how to find a particular
e8 T r a n s l a t e d b y G . C . T o u s s a i n t
Le d ic t de Pad ma (= Bibl io th~que de l In s t i tu t des
Hautes F. tudes Chinoises
I I I ) (Pa ri s , 1933). Th e pas s ages in que s t ion hav e a l s o been
t r a n s l a t e d b y H o f f m a n n , Q u e U e s , 2 53 -6 5.
69 Tou s s a in t , 1933 : 317 ; Ho f fm ann , 1950 : 260 .
70 Tou s s a in t , 1933 : 330 ; Ho f fm ann , 1950 : 264.
~t L,~J,
118-19.
~2 L~J,
160-61.
~a L~J,
122-23.
~ 4 L ~ J 124.
~ 5 L . ~ J 152
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3 4 P E R K V E R N E
g t e r - m a . S u c h g u i d e s w e r e o f t e n c o m e a c r o s s b y c h a n c e , a n d w e c a n n o t
e x c l u d e t h e p o s s i b il it y t h a t a u t h e n t i c g u i d e s w e r e i n f a c t f o u n d . K t m - c h a
Z l a - ' o d ' b a r ( b . S T N N 1 0 2 4 ) d i s c o v e re d a T r e a s u r e i n S T N N 1 0 3 8
f o l l o w i n g t h e d i r e c t io n s o f a g u i d e ;Te g ~ a n R a - s t o n ' B u m - r j e d i d t h e s a m e
i n S T N N 1137. 77 I n o t he r c a s e s t he r e e x i s t e d a n o r a l t r a d i t i on a s t o w he r e
a t e x t w a s h i dde n ; t h i s s e e m s t o ha ve be e n t he c a s e w i t h t he g Z e r - m i g
w h i c h w a s d i s c ove r e d a t bS a m - ya s 7a - a c c o r d i ng t o i t s d k a r - d h a g in 893
( o r 913 ), 79 bu t p r o ba b l y i n t he 1 l t h c e n t u r y . I n s uc h c a s e s, t he g t e r - s t o n s
s i m p l y a c t e d o n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y r e ce iv e d .
T h e r e i s n o t h i n g in t r in s i c al ly i m p r o b a b l e a b o u t t h e se a c c o u n t s . W e
h a v e a l r e a d y n o t e d t h a t t h e 1 t h c e n t u r y s a w th e e m e r g e n c e o f a c o rr e -
s p o n d i n g li t er a t u re a m o n g t h e N y i n g m a p a s . I n f a c t, t h e l l t h c e n t u r y
a p p e a r s t o b e t h e c ru c i a l p e r i o d i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e B o n p o l i te r a t u re
a s w e l l, a nd a s w e s ha l l se e, a nu m be r o f i m po r t a n t t e x t ua l d i s c ove r ie s ,
a s s ig n e d b y t r a d i t i o n t o t h e 1 0 th c e n t u r y , h a v e in r e a l i ty p r o b a b l y t a k e n
p l a c e i n t h e l l t h .
I t is t r u e t h a t i n th e c a s e o f m o r e t h a n h a l f ( 45 o f 8 4) o f t h e T r e a s u r e -
D i s c o ve r e rs m e n t i o n e d b y L 3 ~ J i t i s s i m p l y s t a t e d t ha t t e x t s w e r e
d i s c o v e r e d , w i t h o u t f u r t h e r d e t a i ls c o n c e r n i n g t h e c i r c u m s t a n ce s o f t h e
d i s c ove r y be i ng o f f e re d . T h i s is t r ue o f a l l pe r i ods . O n l y f u t u r e r e s e a r c h
m a y p e r h a p s r e v e a l h o w t h e se d i sc o v e ri es w e r e m a d e . H o w e v e r , th i s
m u c h i s c l e a r: a f t e r a n i n i t ia l p e r i o d i n w h i c h t h e re u s u a l l y i s n o t h i n g o f
t he s upe r na t u r a l i n c onne c t i on w i t h t he t e x t ua l d i s c ove r i e s , s uc h d i s -
c o v e r i e s t e n d t o b e s u r r o u n d e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g f r e q u e n c y b y s u p e r -
n a t u r a l p h e n o m e n a , s u c h a s d r e a m s , v is io n s , p r o p h e c ie s , et c. T h u s a n e w
pa t t e r n i s e s t a b l i she d - i n t he c ou r s e o f t he 11 t h c e n t u r y - w h i c h m a i n t a i n s
i ts e l f r i g h t d o w n t o o u r o w n t im e s .
A l t h o u g h w e h e a r o f o n e i n st a n ce o f a p r e m o n i t o r y d r e a m i n c o n n e c t io n
w i t h t he d i s c ove r i e s a t bS a m - ya s i n t he 10 t h c e n t u r y , 8~ i t i s o n ly wi th
g ~ e n - ~ h e n k L u - d g a ' ( S T N N 9 96 -1 03 5) t h a t w e m e e t w i t h a c o m p l e t e ly
ne w t yp e o f T r e a s u re - D i s cove r e r .81 H e i s i n m a n y w a ys a ke y f i gu r e i n
t h e f o r m a t i o n o f B o n p o l i t e r a t u r e ; h is d i s co v e r y ( S T N N 1 01 7) i n c l u d e d
n u m e r o u s e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t t ex t s. W h a t , h o w e v e r , d i s ti n g u i sh e s h i m
f r o m h i s p r e de c e ss o r s , i s t ha t t h i s d i s c ove r y w a s p r e c e de d by s e ve ra l
y e a r s o f i n i t i a t o r y p r e p a r a t i o n s c u l m i n a t i n g i n a s er ie s o f v i s io n s i n w h i c h
~s L {J
145-48.
~ L ~ J 151.
~8 L ~J 162-65.
7 m D o g Z e r - m i g - g i d k a r -d h a g by Tenzin Nam dak (New Delhi, 1965), fol. 6.
8o L ~ J
123.
8x L ~J 126-32.
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THE C NON OF THE TIBET N BONPOS
35
supernatural beings of various kinds revealed the place where the
Treasure was hidden.
At other times, of course, the part played by the supernatural was more
discreet. Thus a shepherd later known as gl~an-ston ~es-rab rdo-rje
discovered, in STNN 1067, a cave full of volumes of books all round the
walls by following a ray of white light which led to a crack in a rock. 8~
It is not necessary to enumerate all the subsequent
g t e r - s t o n s ;
two points,
however, should be mentioned. In the first place, often only a certain
part of the Treasure in question was actually taken out; thus the remainder
must, or so Bonpo tradit ion implies, still be left intact, awaiting discovery
at a suitable time. The re-discovery - which in fact amounts to the
revelation - of the Word is therefore not yet a completed process.
Secondly, the guardian deities often prevented the original Treasure from
being removed, only permitting its being copied out by the discoverer;
thus the possibility of rediscovery was ensured.
A third stage in the history of the
g t e r - s t o n s
was initiated in the begin-
ning of the 12th century by the appearance of texts which were said to
have been orally transmitted s h a n - d u b r g y u d - p a ) , i.e. dictated to the
adept by supernatural beings in the course of a vision. Obviously, this
represents not only a quantitative, but above all, a qualitative increase of
the supernatural element in the process of revelation. We hear of texts
being transmitted orally for the first time in the case of Gyer-mi lqi-'od
to whom they were transmitted by Dran-pa Nam-mkha' ; 8a the exact year
is unknown, but it must have been around the beginning of the 12th
century, as he discovered an important Treasure in STNN 1108. Equally
early, perhaps, is the oral transmission bestowed by Che-dbafl rig-'jin 8~
on Lufi-bon Lha-gfien, who was born in STNN 1088. There follows an
unbroken series of other visionaries - for the 12th century alone,
L ~ J
mentions at least six, among them the important figure of dByil-ston
dPon-gsas Khyufl-rgod rcal (b. STNN 1175),85 who, under the name of
Rig-'jin rGod-kyi ldem-phru-6an, also played an important role as
g t e r - s t o n
in the Nyingmapa tradition. 86 In the second half of the 14th
century we find a group of particularly important visionaries, the chief
one being Khyufi-po bLo-ldan sfiifl-po (b. STNN 1360),a7 to whose
84 L ~ J
1 5 3 .
s L ~ J , 1 5 9 .
84 KTDG,
21 1.7.
85 L~J,
173-74.
86 TTGL,
fol. 50a6-51a4.
sT L~J, 182.
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36 PER KV/ERNE
p r o d i g i o u s o u t p u t ( h e d i e d a t t h e a g e o f t w e n t y - f iv e ) n o t o n l y th e t w e l v e -
v o l u m e
g Z i - b r f i d ,
b u t a l so n u m e r o u s o t h e r te x t s a r e as c r ib e d . V i s i o n a ri e s
o f th i s ty p e h a v e c o n t i n u e d t o b e a c t iv e ri g h t u p t o o u r o w n c e n t u r y ;88
L , ~ J
m e n t i o n s t w e n t y - t w o ( i n cl u d in g s e v e ra l w o m e n ) , a m o n g t h e m
b K r a - g i s r g y a l - m c h a n ' s o w n g u r u , b D e - ~ h e n g l if i- p a ( b . S T N N 1 83 3).
W e f i n d , a m o n g t h e s e v i s i o n a r i e s , a g r a d u a l d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n i n t h e t y p e
o f v i s i o n r e c e iv e d . O r i g i n a l l y th e y t o o k t h e f o r m , a s w e h a v e s t a t e d , o f
v i s io n s o f s u p e r n a t u r a l b e i n g s w h o d i c t a te d t e x ts to t h e a d e p t . T h e s e
b e i n g s w e r e e i th e r s i d d h a s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h th e E a r l y P r o p a g a t i o n s u c h a s
D r a n - p a N a m - m k h a ' , s~ C h e - d b a f i r i g - 'j i n , 9~ s T o f i - rg y u f i m t h u - ~ h e n , 91 o r
s T a f i -~ h e n d M u - c h a g y e r - m e d ; 9z o r e l se
d. kin.~s
( s P y a n - g ~ i g m a ) , 93 g o d -
d e s s e s ( S r i d - p a r g y a l - m o ) , 94 o r d i v i n i ti e s ( g S a f m a ~ h o g m t h a r - t h u g ) . 95 I t
i s i n te r e s ti n g t o n o t e t h a t i n o n e c a s e w e h e a r o f a T i b e t a n l a m a , d G o f i s -
m j a d R i - k h r o d - p a ( S T N N 1 03 8 -1 0 96 ) tr a n s m i t ti n g t e x ts o r a ll y t h r e e
h u n d r e d y e a r s la t e r . 9s H o w e v e r , i n th e 1 4 t h c e n t u r y w e a l s o h e a r o f
r e v e l a t i o n s i n t h e f o r m o f d g o h s - g t e r , l it . m e n t a l T r e a s u r e s , i .e . , t e x t s
w h i c h t h r o u g h t h e b l e s s in g ( b y i n - r l a b s ) o f s u p e r n a t u r a l b e i n g s a r is e
s p o n t a n e o u s l y i n th e m i n d o f t h e a d e p t. N e e d l e s s t o s a y , t h e a u t h e n t i c i-
t y o f su c h te x t s w o u l d a l w a y s b e o p e n t o q u e s t i o n , a n d i n f a c t w e o n l y
f i n d t w o i n s t a n c e s o f dgoi~s-gter m e n t i o n e d i n L,~ J. 9~ I n t w o o t h e r c a s e s ,
t h e e x p r e s s io n i s e m p l o y e d b y K T D G w h i l e L ~ J s t a t e s t h a t t h e t e x t s w e r e
p a s s e d o n o r a l l y , 9s w h i l e i n a n o t h e r t h e r e v e r s e i s t h e c a s e . 99 H e n c e i t is
p r o b a b l y i m p r a c t i c a b l e to d r a w a c le a r l in e o f d e m a r c a t i o n b e t w e e n
s h a n - b r g y u d
( a u d i t i v e re v e l a t i o n ) a n d
d g o h s - g t e r
( m e n t a l r e v e l a ti o n ) . I n
an o th e r case , 1~176e h e a r o f a p u r e l y v i s u a l r e v e l a ti o n , a t e x t a p p e a r i n g i n
t h e f o r m o f l u m i n o u s l e tt e rs . 1~ F i n a ll y , f r o m t h e l a s t c e n t u r y w e h e a r o f
8s A vision w hich too k place in 1956
(me-sprel)
has been recorded by the visionary
himself, 1Dofi-bcun bZ od -pa rgyal-mchan (b. S TN N 1866), in Drafi-srofi bZ od -pa
rgyal-mchan-gyi lufi-yig, MS 4 fols. (private collection of the A bb ot S. T. Jongdong)
which I plan to pu blish in the n ear future.
80 B 14 - this and the following num bers refer to the list of gter-stom given below
(pp. 42ff.) where full references will be found.
90 B 11, B 29, B 32, B 42, B 45.
91 B3 3, B3 9.
9 2 B 4 4
9 2 B 2 6
9 4 B 1 9
9 5 B 4 6
9 e B
45.
97 L,~J, 182 (B 46) and 185 (Kun-grol grags-pa b. S TN N 1700).
2 s B 1 9 a n d B 4 7 .
99 B 46.
loo B 50.
lol od-kyiyi-ger babs-pa. However, K T D G , 23 1 .21 simp ly states: dgotis-par dar-ba
-
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THE C NON OF THE TIBET N BONPOS
37
e x t a t i c j ou r ne ys t o s up e r na t u r a l r e g i ons li ke U d.q i y ~ n a - h e r e th e N y i n g -
m ap a in f luence i s ev ide nt . 1~
A f i n a l v a r i a n t o f t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l t y p e o f r e v e l a ti o n m a y b e m e n -
t i o n e d : t h e d i s c o v e r y o f te x ts w r i t te n i n m y s t i c l e tt e r s
( b r d a - y i g )
w h i c h
a r e d e c i p h e r e d
( b k r o l - b a )
by a c om pe t e n t a de p t , 1~ o r o f t e x t s w r i t t e n i n
t h e s c r ip t o f th e P u r e G o d s
( d a g - p a l h a i y i - g e )
w h i c h a r e d u l y r e n d e re d
i n t o T i b e t a n s c ri p t ( b o d - y i g - t u b s g y u r ) , x~
I n g e n e r a l , w e m a y f o l l o w s T T G L 1~ i n d i v i d i ng a l l g t e r - m a s i n t o t w o
m a i n g r o u p s :
s a - g t e r
( e a r t h - T r e a s u r e ) a n d
d g o h s - g t e r .
T h e f o r m e r c a te -
go r y i nc l ude s a l l
g t e r - m a s
w h i c h a r e d i s c o v e r e d , w h e t h e r b y a c c i d e n t o r
o t h e r w i s e ; t h e l a t te r w o u l d , a s f a r a s th e B o n p o s a r e c o n c e r n e d , i n c l u d e
o r a l t r a n s m i s s i ons a s w e l l a s m e n t a l t r e a s u r e s i n t he s tr i c t s e nse , a~
S u m m i n g u p , w e m a y c o n c l u d e t h a t c e r t a i n t e x t s , h i d d e n d u r i n g t h e
8 t h c e n t u r y , w e r e , n o d o u b t , a c t u a l l y d i s c o v e r e d d u r i n g t h e 1 0 t h a n d
p a r t i c u l a r ly d u r i n g t h e 1 t h c e n t u r y , a n d p o s s i b l y a ls o f r o m t i m e t o t i m e
i n l a t e r ce n t u r i e s. I t i s ha r d l y pos s ib l e t o s t a t e de f in i t e l y t od a y w h i c h
t e x ts m i g h t i n f a c t d a t e f r o m t h e 8 t h c e n t u r y ; o n l y c a r e fu l a n d e x t en s iv e
t e x t ua l c r i ti c i sm c a n d i s cl o s e t h i s. L a t e r t r a d i t i on na t u r a l l y t e nde d t o
a s s ig n t h e e a r l ie s t p o s s ib l e d a t e t o t h e d i s c o v e r y o f a t e x t ; a n d f a m o u s
t e x t - d i s c ove r e r s w ou l d i n t i m e i ne v i t a b l y be c om e a s s oc i a t e d w i t h t e x t s
w h i c h i n f a c t ha d be e n d i s c ove r e d l at e r . I t is t he r e f o r e e x t r e m e l y ha z a r d -
o u s t o a t t e m p t t o e s t a b li s h , a t t h e p r e s e n t m o m e n t , a r e l a ti v e c h r o n o l o g y
w i t h i n t h e C a n o n i ts el f.
H o w e v e r , a s t h e t r a d i t i o n o f tr e a su r e -d i s co v e r e rs b e c a m e e s ta b l is h e d a n d
a c c i d e n ta l ( a n d p r e s u m a b l y a u t h e n t i c ) f in d s b e c a m e r a r e r , t h e p r o c e s s o f
r e v e l a ti o n c o u l d o n l y b e c a r ri e d o n b y r e l y in g o n t h e a i d o f s u p e r n a t u r a l
b e i n g s ; a n d d r e a m s , v i s i o n s , a n d s i g n s b e c a m e t h e n o r m a l a c c o m p a n i -
m e n t s o f t e x t u a l d is c o v e ri e s; a n d y e t l a te r t h e n e c e ss it y o f a n a c t u a l
d i s c o ve r y ( i. e. , o f a
s a - g t e r ,
a n e a r t h - T r e a s u r e ) w a s o f t e n d i s p e n s e d
w i t h a l t oge t he r , a n d te x t s w e r e t r a ns m i t t e d o r a l l y e tc . S uc h , a t l e a s t , t he
e x t e r n a l p a t t e r n a p p e a r s t o b e ; t h e i n n e r d y n a m i c s o f t h i s p r o c e ss a r e
n o t k n o w n t o u s.
W e h a v e s tr e ss e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f th e l l t h c e n t u r y . I n f a c t, t h e
B o n p o t r a d i t i o n c l a im s , a s w e h a v e s e en , t h a t i m p o r t a n t d i sc o v e ri e s w e r e
('arose as a me ntal sensation').
lo2 LJJ, 188-89.
lO8
L,~J ,
178.
lo~ L,qJ,
175.
105 TTGL,34b4.
loe W hi le 160
gter-stons
are listed by TT GL under the heading
sa-gter,
only 29 are
given for dgotis-gter.
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38 PER KV ERNE
m a d e i n t h e 1 0 t h c e n t u r y , p a r ti c u l a r ly a t b S a m - y a s . H o w e v e r , th i s is
o p e n t o a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f d o u b t , a n d I b e li ev e t h a t a t le a s t t w o c a s e s
m a y b e s a f e ly a s s i g n e d t o t h e l l t h . T h e f ir st c o n c e r n s t h e t h r e e , l a t e r
t w o , dcdryas f r o m N e p a l . A f t e r t h e ir s e c o n d d i s c o v e r y a t b S a m - y a s
S T N N 9 6 1 ) , t h e y o f f e r e d t h e t e x t s t o a d i s c i p le o f L h a - r i g f i en p o . 1~
T h e la t t e r, h o w e v e r , l iv e d S T N N 1 0 24 -1 0 91 . T h i s e v e n t c a n t h e r e f o r e
h a v e t a k e n p la c e a t t h e e a rl ie s t a r o u n d 1 05 0. T h e s e c o n d c o n c e r n s
D r a h - r j e g S e r - m i g , th e d i s c o v e r e r , l ik e w i s e a t b S a m - y a s , o f t h e gZer-mig.
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e dkar-dhag o f t h e gZer-mig , t h i s t o o k p l a c e i n 8 9 3 o r
9 1 3 ) ; h o w e v e r , L'~J s t a t e s t h a t D r a r ~ - r j e t r a n s m i t t e d t h e t e x t t o L h a - r i
g f ie n - p o , w h i c h , o n c e m o r e , p l a c e s t h e d i s c o v e r y s o m e t i m e b e t w e e n
c. 1051 and 1091.1~
W e m a y , t h e re f o r e , c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e l it e ra t u r e o f t h e B o n p o s - t h o u g h
c e r t a i n l y n o t w i t h o u t a p r e h i s t o r y l i n k i n g i t w i t h t h e r e l ig i o u s l if e o f t h e
8 t h c e n t u r y - e m e r g e s , f o r t h e f i rs t t i m e , i n s y s t e m a t i c f o r m i n t h e 1 l t h
c e n t u r y ; a n d , a l t h o u g h t h e li ne s o f c o n n e c t i o n c a n o n l y , o n th e w h o l e , b e
v a g u e l y d i s c e r n e d a t p r e s e n t , o n e c a n n o t b u t s e e t h is w i t h i n t h e w i d e r
p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e g e n e r a l r e l i g i o u s re n a s c e n c e i n T i b e t i n t h a t c e n t u r y ,
w h i c h s a w t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a ll t h e m a j o r s c h o o l s o f T i b e t a n B u d d h i s m .
W h i l e t h i s c o n c l u s i o n s e e m s t o b e f a i r ly c e r ta i n , t h e q u e s t i o n o f th e
d a t e o f t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e B o n p o C a n o n r e m a i n s t o b e d is c u ss e d . W e
m u s t a d m i t t h a t w e c a n n o t a t p r e s e n t g i v e a d e fi n it e a n s w e r . H o w e v e r ,
a f a i r l y e x a c t terminus a quo m a y b e e s ta b l is h e d . T h e y o u n g e s t t e x t i n t h e
Kanjur a p p e a r s t o b e t h e sKal-bza~, o n e v e r s i o n o f w h i c h w a s t r a n s m i t t e d
t o K h r o - g f ie n r G y a l - m c h a n in S T N N 1386.1~ T h e Kanjur c o n s e q u e n t l y
c a n n o t h a v e b e e n fi n a ll y a s s e m b l e d b e f o r e t h is d a t e . I t is t r u e t h a t t e x t s
i n c l u d e d b y K T D G i n t h e Kanjur w e r e d i s c o v e r e d o r t r a n s m i t t e d e v e n
a f t e r t h a t y e a r , b u t n e v e r f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e - w e f r e q u e n t l y f i n d t h a t t h e
s a m e t e x t i s d i s c o v e r e d a t v a r i o u s t i m e s a n d p l a c e s . 11~
I f w e t u r n t o t h e Tenjur, o u r c o n c l u s i o n i s s u p p o r t e d - i t d o e s n o t s e e m
t o c o n t a i n te x t s t r a n s m i t t e d l a te r t h a n K h r o - g f i e n r g y a l - m c h a n 1 3 86 )
a n d b L o - l d a n s f ii n - p o b . S T N N 1 36 0, d . 13 85 ). m I n a d d i t i o n , i t a l s o
xo7 L~J, 161.
10s
L ~ J
165
109 LffJ , 182.
ix0 An exam ple of this is the Ma-rgyudwhich, although discovered by G u-ru rnon -rce
b. ST N N 1136), was subsequently transmitted orally to sTag-za Rin-~hen mcho-mo
14th cent.?), and discovered by sPa-ston Lhun-grub dpal-bzafi in ST NN 1486 - alm ost
certainly after the formation of the Cano n.
tax There are two possible exceptions: T 194 an d T 283, transmitted to B 50 and B 48
respectively, to whom definite dates cannot be assigned.
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THE CANON OF THE TIBETAN BONPOS
39
c o n t a i n s m a n y c o m m e n t a r i e s a n d l it u rg i e s w h i c h w e r e
