The Primitive Religion in Tibet – Bon

The primitive religion in Tibet – Bon, was formed in the late Tibetan primitive society. All the Tibetans are followers of Bon and believe in the Manito before the Buddhism was spread to Tibet in the 7th century.

The Primitive Religion in Tibet – Religion Culture of Bon

The formation and development of Bon Culture experienced a pretty long historical process. In that process, Bon keeps absorbing and integrating the folk cultures of the surrounding areas and finally developed into a polyphyletic compounded culture from a single ethnic culture. The Bon Culture integrated the life etiquettes, belief, architectural art, medicinal culture and astronomy of the primitive Tibetan people.

Bon is a primitive religion system which expresses the primitive Tibetans' attitude toward the objective world and their subjective world. Originally, Bon only attached importance in the witchcraft. Later, it absorbed several elements from the religion culture in Kashmir, Persia, ancient India and some other regions. Since then, Bon created its own religious doctrines, formal sadhana drubtab and religion organizations, and theoretical system. For further development, Bon even took in some elements of Buddhism after Buddhism was introduced to Tibet. Lake Manasarovar on Ngari Plateau is highly respected as the holy lake by the followers of Bon.

The Primitive Religion in Tibet – Architecture Art of Bon

The architecture of Bon features is an important part of the traditional Tibetan architecture culture. The development of the architectural art of Bon is greatly based on the construction of the primitive altar and some other religious places. The construction of the altar is very rough at the very first - the primitive Tibetans only piled up the rocks into a circle, square or even in a line. And all the Tibetans in the tribe would come here for worshipping the lord of Bon. Later, a series of "cultivating sites" (places for witchcraft ceremonies) were constructed with the support of Tubo Kingdoms. To meet the development demand of Bon Culture, a series of monasteries were constructed and these monasteries became the important bases for the cultural inheritance of Bon. Several ancient monasteries of the primitive Bon are still well preserved in different regions in Tibet.

The Primitive Religion in Tibet – Medicinal Culture of Bon

As the primitive religion in Tibet, Bon had its own pharmacology and medical treatment culture since the 6th Century B.C. It is recorded that the founder of Bon imparted his pharmacology and medical treatment culture to his disciples. There were more than 21,000 medical treatment methods in Bon. The interrogation, observation, palpation and dissection are the four main diagnostics of the medical culture of Bon. In the medical culture of Bon, the food, exercise, medicine and physical therapy were frequently adopted in the treatment of certain diseases after the definite diagnosis. There were also certain superstition and religion elements in the medical culture of Bon, which laid a foundation for the traditional Tibetan medical culture.

With a long history, Bon also has its own art. The exquisite murals, sculptures and thangkas collected in the ancient monasteries always making tourists be reluctant to leave. Bon, as the primitive religion in Tibet, contributes a lot to the Tibetan culture. It plays an important part in the Tibetan culture. It helps the historians to explore the primitive Tibetan culture.