Bon

Bon
Family	Tibetan / Himalayan
Origin region	Tibet and the Himalayan region
Founding period	Ancient and medieval Tibetan development; continuing as a living tradition
Estimated adherents	Unknown; practiced by communities in Tibet, Himalayan regions, and diaspora settings.

Bon is a Tibetan religious tradition with ancient roots and a developed monastic, ritual, philosophical, and meditative heritage.

Overview

Bon is often discussed in relation to Tibetan Buddhism, but Bon communities understand their tradition as a distinct religious lineage. It includes ritual practices, monastic institutions, teachings on cosmology, ethics, meditation, deities, spirits, and liberation. Some Bon forms preserve older Tibetan ritual layers, while later Bon literature and philosophy developed sophisticated systems comparable to other Tibetan religious schools.

Key beliefs

• Teachings on liberation, karma, rebirth, and spiritual realization
• A rich cosmology including enlightened beings, protectors, spirits, and ritual powers
• Respect for lineage, teachers, monastic discipline, and sacred texts
• Ritual concern with healing, protection, death, and harmony with local powers
• Meditative paths leading toward wisdom and awakening

Practices

• Monastic study and ritual
• Meditation, mantra, visualization, and contemplative exercises
• Funerary rites, healing ceremonies, and protective rituals
• Pilgrimage to sacred mountains, lakes, and monasteries
• Transmission through teachers, lineages, and textual study

Places of worship

• Monasteries, temples, hermitages, homes, sacred mountains, and ritual sites

Sacred texts

• Bon has a large scriptural and commentarial literature, including teachings attributed to Tonpa Shenrab in traditional accounts

Holidays and observances

• Observances vary by monastery and community, including ritual festivals, lineage commemorations, and Tibetan calendar ceremonies

Branches and related traditions

• Buddhism
• Indigenous and Traditional Religions
• Shamanism

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion
• New Religious Movements
• Indigenous and Traditional Religions