To practising bonpos, Bon simply means the true religion of Tibet, while to Tibetan Buddhists, Bon refers to the false teachings and practices that were prevalent before Buddhism finally succeeded in gaining a firm hold on the country. The present study resulted from a period during which the author, a renowned scholar of Asian languages and cultures, was engaged in intense contact with practicing bonpos. It consists of the translation of fundamental texts of Bon, based on a manuscript of some 400 years of age, in which the entire Bon tantric practice is summarized. In many ways remarkably parallel to the early Buddhist teachings, much of the Bon tradition was subsequently incorporated back into Buddhism when that religion was formally adopted into Tibetan culture. This important study, first published in the 1960s and long out of print, will be welcomed by all with interest in the religions of the Himalayas.

The Bon religion claims to be the original and authentic religion of the Tibetan people, and to have been firmly established in the Land of Snows long before Buddhism was introduced in the seventh century AD. Although its adherents were gradually reduced to a minority, Bon has nevertheless continued to flourish in many areas up to the present day in Tibet, especially in the eastern and north-eastern regions where a reconstruction and renaissance is taking place, as well as within the Bon community in exile in India. The iconography of the Bon religion is presented through a series of thangkas, miniatures and bronzes from public and private collections in the West, as well as from communities within Tibet and in exile. With a few exceptions they are hitherto unpublished and date from the late fourteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. The peaceful, tutelary, protector and local deities as well as the Bon siddhas, lamas and dakinis are identified and fully described by means of excerpts from ritual or biographical texts which are translated here for the first time.

The practice of fumigation and offering of sacred smoke, known as sang, uses smoke created according to the instructions of an ancient ritual to purify contamination of the environment and its seen and unseen inhabitants. This contamination is caused by the negative activity of humanity and results in many types of calamity and misfortune. The ritual of sacred smoke purifies this contamination and its negative consequences and create a basis for good fortune and prosperity, and supports positive and harmonious circumstances for spiritual practice and development.

Tantric Revisionings presents stimulating new perspectives on Hindu and Buddhist religion, particularly their Tantric versions, in India, Tibet or in modern Western societies. Geoffrey Samuel adopts an historically and textually informed anthropological approach, seeking to locate and understand religion in its social and cultural context. The question of the relation between 'popular' (folk, domestic, village, 'shamanic') religion and elite (literary, textual, monastic) religion forms a recurring theme through these studies. Six chapters have not been previously published; the previously published studies included are in publications which are difficult to locate outside major specialist libraries.

The Tibetan Gesar epic has known countless retellings, translations, and academic studies. The Many Faces of Ling Gesar, presents its historical, cultural, and literary aspects for the first time in a single volume for both general readers and specialists.

Discover the hidden tradition of Tibetan yoga, a practice of magical movement for wellness of body, breath, and mind. In Tibetan Yoga, discover ancient Tibetan yogic practices that integrate body, breath, and mind on the journey to personal cultivation and enlightenment. Tibetan Yoga offers accessible instructions for performing the ancient yogic techniques of Tibet’s Bön religion. This is Tibetan yoga, or trul khor, a deeply authentic yogic practice. Drawing on thirty years of training with Bön’s most senior masters as well as advanced academic study, Dr. Alejandro Chaoul offers expert guidance on practices that were first developed by Bön masters over a millennium ago, framing them according to the needs of contemporary yoga practitioners and meditators. No matter their level of experience, dedicated practitioners of Tibetan yoga will discover its ability to clear away obstacles and give rise to meditative states of mind. In this book you’ll learn what it means to practice for the benefit of all beings, and to experience your body as a mandala, from center to periphery. These movements help you live in a more interconnected mind-breath-body experience, with benefits including: - better focus, - stress reduction, - the elimination of intrusive thoughts, - better sleep, - and general well-being.