Tonpa Shenrab or Shenrab Miwo (Tibetan: gshen rab mi bo)—also called Buddha Shenrab, Guru Shenrab, Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, Lord Shenrab Miwo, and known by a number of other titles—is the founder of the Bon religious tradition of Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

According to Samten G. Karmey:

gShen-rab mi-bo is the founder of the Bon. He occupies a position very similar to that of Śākyamuni in Buddhism, but in contrast to the Lord Buddha, we have no available sources with which to establish his historicity, his dates, his racial origin, his activities, and the authenticity of the enormous number of books either attributed directly to him or believed to be his word. The latter, the Bonpo say, were written down after his death in much the same way as the Buddhist scriptures were assembled. It is only from later sources in which fact and legend are woven together that we can get any idea of his life. No pre-10th century materials are so far available that might throw light on activities such as his visit to Tibet...."

Shenrab's life according to Bon traditions

According to Bon tradition, Tonpa Shenrab predates Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...

 and the Buddha Sakyamuni. It is held that Tonpa Shenrab first studied the Bon doctrine in Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring

Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring

Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring is a non-dual spiritual realm of the Bon tradition which resides beyond dualism. It is understood to be a timeless perfected realm where peace and joy are the very fabric of being....

 (which for economy may be equated with space

Space

Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...

, heaven

Heaven

Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...

 and the aether

Aether

-Metaphysics and mythology:* Aether , the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere* Aether was the personification of the "upper sky", space and heaven, in Greek mythology-Science and engineering:...

ial realm), at the end of which he pledged to Shenla Odkar (Tibetan: gshen lha 'od dkar), the god of compassion, that he would guide the peoples of this world to liberation.

Like the Buddha Śākyamuni, Tönpa Shenrab was of royal birth. Tonpa Shenrab renounced his royal inheritance at the age of thirty-one to travel the path to enlightenment

Bodhi

Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...

. Tonpa Shenrab embraced the life of a renunciate and commenced austerities, spreading the doctrine of Bon; at length, he arrived in the land of Zhangzhung near what is widely held to be Mount Kailash

Mount Kailash

Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...

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Accounts of Tonpa Shenrab's life are to be found in three principal sources, entitled Do-dü (mdo 'dus), Zer-mik (gzer mig), and Zee-jee (gzi brjid). The first and second of the accounts are held to be terma

Terma (religion)

Terma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...

 (gter ma) discovered by Bon tertön

Tertön

A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or "terma". Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed...

 (gter ston) in the tenth or eleventh century; the third is part of the "aural lineage"(nyen jü, snyan brgyud), transmitted via disciplic succession.

The Four Portals and the Fifth, the Treasury

The doctrines taught by Tönpa Shenrab are generally classified variously, two being most common. In the first, The Four Portals and the Fifth, the Treasury (sgo bzhi mdzod lnga), the:

• White Water (chab dkar) relates esoteric matters;
• Black Water (chab nag) concerns narratives, magic
  Magic (paranormal)
  Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
  
  , funeral rites and ransom rituals;
• Land of Phan (phan yul) codifies monastic rules and philosophical expositions;
• Divine Guide (dpon gsas) enshrines the Dzogchen
  Dzogchen
  According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
  
   teachings; and finally
• Treasury (mtho thog) which serves as an anthology of the salient items of the Four Portals.

The Nine Ways of Bon

The second classification, the Nine Ways of Bon (bon theg pa rim dgu) is as follows—the:

• Way of Prediction (phyva gshen theg pa) codifies ritual
  Ritual
  A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
  
  , prognostication, sortilege
  Sortilege
  Sortilege has several meanings:*As a form of divination see Cleromancy.*As the ancient Roman form of this divination, see Sortes **Sortilegus , one who makes predictions using the above form of divination...
  
   and astrology
  Astrology
  Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
  
  ;
• Way of the Visual World (snang shen theg pa) details the psychophysical Universe
  Universe
  The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
  
  ;
• Way of Illusion (phrul gshen theg pa) explains the rites for the dispersal of adverse thoughtform
  Thoughtform
  A thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a tulpa in Tibetan mysticism. Its concept is related to the Western philosophy and practice of magic. links mantras and yantras to thoughtforms:...
  
  s, entities and energies;
• Way of Existence (srid gshen theg pa) details funeral and death rituals;
• Way of a Lay Follower (dge bsnyen theg pa) contains the ten principles for wholesome activity;
• Way of a Monk (drang srong theg pa) codifies monastic rules and regulations;
• Way of Primordial Sound (a dkar theg pa) charts the integration of an exalted practitioner into the mandala of highest enlightenment;
• Way of Primordial Shen
  Shen
  Shen can refer to:* Shen , a central word in Chinese philosophy, religion, terms for God, and Traditional Chinese Medicine* Shen , a shapeshifting Chinese dragon believed to create mirages...
  
  , (ye gshen theg pa) renders the guidelines for seeking a true tantric master and the commitments (dam tshigs, parallel to the Sanskrit samaya
  Samaya
  The samaya , is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.According Keown, et al., Samaya may be defined as:*A particular system of teaching or...
  
  ) that bind a disciple to his tantric master; and finally,
• Way of Supreme Natural Condition (bla med theg pa), or The Way of Dzogchen
  Dzogchen
  According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
  
  .

The nine ways can also be classified into three groups, the:

• Causal Ways (rgyu'i theg pa) comprises the first four of the above;
• Resultant Ways (bras bu'i theg pa) includes the fifth through eighth; and
• Unsurpassable Way or the Way of Dzogchen (khyad par chen po'i theg pa or rdzogs pa chen po, abbreviated rdzogs chen) is the ninth.

The Bon Canon

The Bon canon comprises more than two hundred volumes, classified in four categories: the Sutras

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

 (mdo), the Perfection of Wisdom Teachings (bum), the Tantras (rgyud) and Knowledge (mdzod). Besides these, the Bon canon includes material on ritual

Ritual

A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....

s, arts

ARts

aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

 and crafts, logic

Logic

In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...

, medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 and narrative

Narrative

A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...

. It is interesting to note that the "Knowledge" section concerning cosmogony

Cosmogony

Cosmogony, or cosmogeny, is any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The word comes from the Greek κοσμογονία , from κόσμος "cosmos, the world", and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα "to be born, come about"...

 and cosmology

Cosmology

Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...

, though in some respects unique to Bon, shares a more than passing resemblance to Nyingma

Nyingma

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...

 (rnying ma) doctrines.

Aspects of Shenrab Miwoche

Shenrab Miwoche is said to have three aspects or forms

Trikaya

The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...

: the tulku

Tulku

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...

(Tibetan: sprul sku; Sanskrit: nirmaṇakāya), Shenrab Miwoche; the dzoku (Tibetan: rdzogs sku; Sanskrit: sambhogakaya

Sambhogakaya

The Sambhogakāya is the second mode or aspect of the Trikaya. Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the "deity dimension", "body of bliss" or "astral body". Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form of clear light the Buddhist practitioner attains upon the reaching the highest dimensions of...

), Shenlha Okar

Shenlha Okar

Shenlha Okar, or Shiwa Okar is the most important deity in the Yangdrung Bon tradition of Tibet...

; and the bonku (Tibetan: bon sku; Sanskrit: dharmakāya

Dharmakaya

The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...

), Tapihritsa

Tapihritsa

Tapihritsa is a Bönpo who achieved the Dzogchen mastery of the rainbow body and consequently, as a fully realised Trikaya Buddha, is invoked as a yidam....

.

External links

• 61 episodes in the life of gŚen-rabs mi-bo