The doctrines of Bon spread from Ol-mo'i-gling of sTag-gzig to India, Zhang-zhung, and China.
From these three they spread to Tibet. (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon)
Dzogchen Origins
Origins of Tibet's Dzogchen
and Bon Teachings
The uniqueness of Tibetan Buddhism, so different from its Indian counterparts, may be explained, at least in part, to the influence of another non-Buddhist belief - that of Bon, which itself was influenced by the Manichaean tradition flowing toward Tibet from Persia. The Bon religion, according to both its own, and Nyingma Buddhist history, originated from white robed adepts from a Persian country to the northwest. Bon claims that its teachings were brought to Central Tibet sometime before 600 A.D. from the previously independent country of Zhang-zhung, west of Tibet near Mt. Kalish, and more remotely from a place called "Olmo Lungring" in Tazik. Many scholars recognize Tazik as the present day Tazikhstan which is northwest of the ancient country of Zhang-Zhung. In ancient western Tazikhstan there were many Persian Sogdians who espoused the beliefs of Mani, (as well as numerous Nestorian Christians and Buddhists). One writer, when speaking of these same Bon origins, wrote:
"Yungdrung Bon did not solely originate in Zhang-zhung, but were said to have been brought from Tazik, that is, Iranian speaking Central Asia, to Zhang-zhung in Western and Northern Tibet by a number of mysterious white-robed sages long before the political events of the seventh and eighth centuries. Besides shamanism, healing, magical rites of exorcism, astrology, and divination (these practices belong to the four lower or Causal Ways among the Nine Ways of Bon), Yungdrung Bon contained the higher spiritual teachings and practices of Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Moreover, due to the spiritual influence of Yungdrung Bon and later Indian Buddhism, many animistic practices have been reformed and the practice of blood sacrifice more or less eliminated in Tibet, although it is still practiced on occasion by the Jhangkri shamans of Nepal.- (Ancient Tibetan Bonpo Shamanism by Vajranatha)In the ancient texts of Bon it says:
The doctrines of Bon spread from Ol-mo'i-gling of sTag-gzig to India, Zhang-zhung, and China. From these three they spread to Tibet. (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon)It is perhaps significant that the ancient histories say that Bon spread from Tazik to India, not from India to Tazik as some have proposed. The writings do say that some Bon teachings came into Tibet from India, but it makes the point that the Indian form of Bon did not originate there, but in Tazik. The main source of Dzogchen teachings that came into Tibet's Bon and Nyingma schools appears to have arrived from Zhang-Zhung which is now in western Tibet/China. The ancient histories further comment:
The Dul-ba gling-grags says that the Dul-ba'i-lung and some other texts were translated into the language of Zhang-zhung from that of sTag-gzig by rDzu-'phrul Yes-shes. (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p22)Manichaean teachers wore their hair long, and their robe white, often white silk. Apparently the ancient Bon priests followed this custom as well, for we read of one of them that:"The bon-pos of Tibet, the clear minded Khyung-po sTag-sgra Don-gtsug, sNya Li-shu sTag-ring, Bhe Shod-kram, and gCo Khri-gtsug were sent to Zhang-zhung to search for texts of Bon together with a wild yak's hornful of gold dust, They made contact with the four Zhang-zhung scholars and, offering them the gold dust, they entreated them to impart to them the doctrines of Bon. The Zhang-zhung scholars imparted the texts of the four Great Secret Doctrines of Bon, the Five Great Bum, and many other exoteric and esoteric texts of Bon, both in detailed and condense form. Carrying the books they went back to dBus, Tibet, and presented the books to the king who was well pleased. " (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p27)
"Monks gave their thoughts to Bon. Their conduct followed the customs and Rules.(from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p39)
"At that time the Tibetan kingdom was the land of Bon, the kings were great, the priests were dignified, laws were strict, and the subjects were happy….the activities of the "United System" (i.e. church and state) flourished." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p43)
"At that time, in India Dharma flourished, in China astrology calculations flourished, in Phrom diagnosis flourished, and in Tibet and Zhang-zhung only Everlasting Bon flourished, although other fields of study were also popular." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p43)
"He carried the lake of gNam in the lap of his white silk robe." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p49)A royal decee may also has reflected this preference for white silk clothing, for we read:
"The king granted the priests three honors to mark the superiority of their nobility to his own. For the body: the honor of not having their hair cut at the ends, a turban of white silk on which a feather of the king-bird, the vulture, was fixed, a robe of white lynx-skin, the collar of which was made tiger, leopard, and caracal skin, a pair of shoes made of silk with silver chains as laces." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p44)Another link to ancient Manichaean teachings may be in the Bon practice of taking refuge in four Jewels, not three like the Buddhists:
"Up to the king Khri-thog-btsan there was no sound of the Three Precious Ones (Buddhism) in the Land of Snows…..From the reign of the seven Khri up to this king (Khri-thog-btsan) refuge was being taken in the "Four Precious Ones" of Everlasting Bon and escape procured from fears and suffering now and hereafter and ultimate enlightenment attained. ." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, p76-77)Another link to Mani may also be found in the Triple Doctrine and Two truths of Bon, for Manichaeans were known for the Doctrine of the Three Times and Two Truths:
"The subjects expressed in our system of Bon are the Triple Doctrine, the Two Truths, etc., i.e. not those of Chos (Buddhism)of which Bon is alleged to be the false name." (from the Treasury of Good Saying: A Tibetan History of Bon, 186)Dzogchen, as commonly taught by Tibetan teachers is highly buddhasized, even the Bonpo version, and suffers from severe verbosity and endless vague descriptions of the non dual state. When this veneer is stripped away, the core concepts of Dzogchen are very compatible with the Gnostic Stream espoused by Mani. The Bon claim that their Dzogchen teachings came from Persia, the land of Mani, is plausible.
