Bon

Bon is the oldest religion in Tibet, often seen as the original religion of Tibet. About the bon-religion and it's beginning isn't known much. Bon and the Buddhism are very close connected to each other. The Bon is influenced by the Buddhism and the Buddhism is influenced by the Bon religion. The Tibetan history is raised from the battle between the Buddhism and the Bon. The Bon religion is very old, and there is not an exact date when it was spread. It's spread in Tibet by T`npa Shenrap, who came from Tazig. There are different stories about TÅnpa Sherap coming to Tibet and spreading his religion: The first version comes from a myth. It tells TÅnpa Sherap came to Tibet to get back his horses, which had been stolen by a Tibetan demon. The Bon religion TÅnpa Sherap spread didn't exits when TÅnpa Sherap came to find his horses in this story, he came back later and brought the Bon with him. The second version tells us TÅnpa Sherap only came to Tibet to spread his religion, and he succeed. There were no horses and he only came one time. Scientifically there is enough evidence to proof the Bon religion has arisen from some religions of ancient tribes and shamanism The bon religion looks like the shamanism in many ways. In the bon, spirits are in every mountain, river and also in the air. These spirits are seen as gods, not as spirits of dead people. Appearance is seen as just a cover for the inside, the spirit is seen as the being in itself. There were priests in the Bon, called bonpo's. They were the only interpreters between heaven and earth. The king was a living god, and many rituals were to please, save or help the king. Dead wasn't the end of a life, but just a turning-point where a life changed. When a king died, the whole nation was in mourning. But that didn't last long, because the king had received a better life. When someone died, he received a reward for the life he had lived on earth. The Bon religion as it is now, looks more like the Buddhism. The 2 religions have been mixed. Many Tibetan people still believe Bon is their religion, but the Bon hasn't got monasteries. Buddhism has a lot of monasteries. The typical Tibetan flags on hills are to control the spirits in the mountains. They are from the Bon. The mills containing mantra's are from the Buddhism. So the 2 religions live together in peace and respect each other. The Chinese invaders do not respect any of these religions. Maybe some day the Tibetan people will have a new religion, but for our concern that must not be in the near future.