Wednesday, August 19, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

Bon

Bon and Old Tibetan frontier texts: Dunhuang ritual materials, divination manuals, funeral rites, myths, law, contracts, royal inscriptions, and imperial Buddhist documents.

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Texts

GlossaryA shelf-specific slice of the Good Works Glossary for Bon and pre-Buddhist Tibetan terms.Introduction to Bon and Old Tibetan TraditionsA critical introduction to the Bon and Old Tibetan shelf: Dunhuang ritual manuscripts, divination, funerary rites, royal tomb ideology, law and administration, imperial Buddhist inscriptions, the Bon/Buddhist source problem, and living Yungdrung Bon.Reader's Guide to Bon and Old Tibetan TraditionsA source-field guide to Old Tibetan manuscripts, ritual and mortuary texts, divination, law, inscriptions, Buddhist polemic, and the distinct living history of Yungdrung Bon.
Cosmology and Decline Prophecies4 pages

Old Tibetan cosmological and eschatological texts on the end of the good age, moral decline, cosmic disorder, and ritual remedy.

Divination and Oracles10 pages

Dunhuang divination manuals, dice oracles, coin-casting systems, deity speeches, and everyday prognostications from the Old Tibetan world.

Funeral and Mortuary Rites6 pages

Old Tibetan funeral narratives, royal burial protocols, animal-offering charters, and guides to the paths and realms of the dead.

Law, Contracts, and Administration25 pages

Old Tibetan legal, commercial, administrative, and judicial records from the imperial and Silk Road documentary world.

Myths, Tales, and Sayings4 pages

Early Tibetan mythic narratives, folktales, divine journeys, lineage stories, and proverb collections.

Ritual, Healing, and Bon-Gshen Traditions5 pages

Bon and Gshen ritual materials: healing contests, counter-sorcery, bird-lore, sacrifice polemic, and early Tibetan ritual taxonomy.

Royal Inscriptions and Imperial Buddhism12 pages

Old Tibetan royal inscriptions, charters, treaties, tomb records, Buddhist imperial oaths, and dynastic memory texts.