Tibet is a mountainous and rugged land. The tribes that settled it literally had to fight for survival. It is not surprising that the faith that could be born in such conditions was no less severe than life itself …
When a German expedition arrived from Berlin to the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1938, the Germans surprisingly quickly found contact with both the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans. They also found contact with the priests of the Tibetan religion Bon (Bonpo). They even allowed German scientists not only to explore their native mountains and communicate with the local population, but also to film secret rituals.
What so bribed the priests, if they allowed foreigners something that was usually not allowed even to fellow tribesmen? The guests came from a distant northern country that has made the swastika a state symbol. And not a simple swastika, but exactly the same one that has been worshiped for centuries in Tibet.
Gods and demons
Before Indian Buddhism came to these inaccessible mountains, the Tibetans worshiped numerous spirits, gods and demons. And these higher entities had one task - to destroy people. Man was terrorized by water demons, the spirits of the earth, and the heavenly gods were also quite heartless.
The Tibetans represented the world as a three-part structure: the white skies were inhabited by gods and good spirits of lha, the red earth was inhabited by people and numerous bloodthirsty spirits, which became the warriors who did not find rest, and the blue waters were an analogue of hell, from where the most ruthless destroyers of people appeared.
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Priests in Tibetan Demon Costumes
It is clear that the kindness of the gods, so that they protect humanity, should be encouraged. Therefore, prayers and sacrifices were offered to them. Evil spirits and demons had to be propitiated, and they too were prayed and sacrificed. The Tibetans prayed for the protection of the White God of the sky and his wife, who were revered as merciful to people, they prayed for mercy to the Black Goddess of the Earth, the fierce Red Tiger and the Furious Dragon.
The nature of Tibet and the constant raids of enemies did not allow people to relax, and they believed that after death they would find themselves in a better place and in a new young body - in heaven, among the gods.
Scholars believe that the modern Bon religion was formed from the pagan shamanistic cult, Iranian Mazdaism and Indian Buddhism. But the foundation of Bon was precisely shamanism. Although it would be more accurate to call it special priestly practices. By the time Buddhism was established in Tibet (VIII-IX centuries), Bon was already a fully formed religion, one might even say - a kind of state religion of the Tibetan Empire.
It had its own pantheon of gods and heroes, myths about demons and evil spirits were created, and the priests not only practiced the rites of burying the dead, but also performed all kinds of miracles in which all of Tibet believed. They even healed the sick and raised the dead. Not a single mountaineer would dare to go on a long journey without asking the help of the Bon priest. Not a single event in the life of people was left without the attention of these priests.
Gift of Shenrab
According to legend, the Bon religion was brought to Tibet by Tonpa Shenrab Miwo, who ended up there pursuing the demons who stole his horses. This Shenrab lived in the XIV millennium BC. He came to Olmo Lungring (the lands of Western Tibet) from the Tazig kingdom in the east of Iran. Moreover, Shenrab was the king of Tazig.
According to another version, he was just born in the country of Olmo Lungring near the Yundrung-Gutseg mountain, also known as the Mountain of the Nine Swastikas - supposedly this mountain is made up of nine swastikas located one on top of the other, rotating against the sun, and it stands exactly on the Axis of the World. And in general, this happened back in the days when the Indian gods flew on vimanas and waged space wars.
According to the third version, everything happened a little later, closer to our days, but Shenrab also brought with him the sacred weapon dorje, known in India as the vajra (lightning crossed in the form of a swastika), and since then, ritual dorje made in Tibet have been kept in monasteries. in the image and likeness of the first weapon of the legendary Shenrab.
Scholars believe that Shenrab Miwo may well have been a historical figure who perfected the rules and rituals of the Bon religion, and that he was the predecessor of another reformer, Lugi of the Shen clan.
If only the works attributed to him remained from Shenrab, then Shenchen Luga really existed. He was born in 996, received an initiation from the Bon priest Rashag and was engaged in searches for ancient treasures (that is, sacred texts). He was lucky to find three ancient scrolls, which formed the basis for the modification of the then Bon religion, which was greatly distorted after the persecution and persecution of Trisong Deutsen, the Tibetan king who spread Buddhism.
The Bon priests had a disgusting relationship with the Buddhists. Having subdued Tibet, Buddhists tried to eradicate local customs and beliefs. In less hard-to-reach places, it even worked out. True, Buddhism in Tibet was perceived specifically and turned out to be somewhat different from Indian.
However, the confrontation with the followers of Bon reached such intensity that the Buddhists had to urgently introduce the rule that those who died in battle for the confirmation of the correct faith get rid of the karmic punishment for the blood they shed and the murder of the Gentiles!
Until the 11th century, adherence to the Bon religion was prohibited on pain of death. As a result, the adherents of the Bon religion were driven high into the mountains, otherwise they would have been simply cut out. The situation improved only in the 17th century, when a boy from the Dru clan, ardent followers of the Bon religion, was chosen to play the role of Ponchen Lama. He gave up the practice of transferring his entire family and relatives to Buddhism and allowed them to practice their faith and live in the places where they were born. Since then, attitudes towards the Bon priests have improved. They were left alone.
Strange rituals
Nobody knows what the rituals and practices of the Bon religion looked like in ancient times. The ancient texts cited by the Bon followers are just copies of the 14th century. By that time, the influences of Mazdaism and Buddhism had already penetrated into Bon. However, some rituals still have a very old origin.
The custom of performing a heavenly funeral dates back to the darkness of the ages, when the Bon followers sought to reach heaven as successfully as possible and be near the gods. It was believed that the land in which the dead are buried, or the crypts in the mountains, are not the best way to be in heaven. And the priests practiced another method of burial - they left the bodies on the mountain peaks so that the birds completely cleansed the bones of the flesh, because the homeland of people is heaven, and so they could return home.
Another ritual is the resurrection with the help of secret texts. The priests, as they write, could return life to a dead body and used this when many brave warriors died in battles.
True, the resurrected became only bodies called upon to perform unfinished work, that is, they could perfectly fight the enemies, but were no longer suitable for anything. German researchers, once in Tibet, filmed such a resurrection on film. Since the Third Reich believed in mysticism, the film was a great success.
The sacred weapon dorje was also used in rituals. But - alas! - it no longer produced lightning strikes. Dorje became just a part of the priest's vestments, woven into a diadem of stylized skulls and bones worn by the priest. The drum of the damar, which he hit, was also trimmed with skulls. Of course, outwardly it looked intimidating, but the miracles of the priests were based on the ability to masterly control their body and someone else's psyche.
The swastikas, which so amazed and delighted the Germans, also had a simple explanation - not to follow the sun, to achieve everything on our own, avoiding easy paths and simple explanations. From this, in fact, the path of a student of the Bon religion began.
True, the Bon priests themselves did not fully understand what kind of northern comrade they suddenly found. They maintained the most friendly relations with Nazi Germany until the end of 1943. Obviously, the priests considered the German leader as their pupil, and some of them even made it to distant Germany, where they finally found their death.
Modern priests prefer to disown the Hitlerite milestone in the history of the Bon religion. Today, the followers of this religion account for about 10% of the total population of Tibet, they own 264 monasteries and many hermitages.
Nikolay KOTOMKIN