A Look into the Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture Through a Review of Research into the Bon Religion

　　Dhondup Lhakyi（China）

　　Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, various industries in Tibet have flourished. In the academic field, disciplines such as philosophy and Tibetology have achieved unprecedented progress. Before liberation, there was no Tibetology research institute in the modern sense or academics active in the field. Tibetology is an entirely new discipline. In the past 60 years, this discipline has developed into a solid and comprehensive field of research. Tibetology research includes social science subjects taking the Tibetan culture as their subject, natural sciences, and also some cross-disciplinary subjects. The specific areas it covers include politics, economics, ethnicities, history, religion, philosophy, languages, literature, art, geography, education, law, logics, archeology, folk traditions, medicine, astrology, calendar systems, craftsmanship and environmental protection.

　　Research institutes focusing on Tibetology were first established in such universities as Minzu University of China, Northwest University for Nationalities, Southwest University for Nationalities and Tibet University. This thesis reviews 60 years of research into Bon, which is an important component of Tibetology, in order to shed light on the preservation and development of Tibetan culture in Tibet since the region’s liberation.

　　History of Tibetology research

　　Tibetology research has gone through three stages: the opening stage during the early period of new China, the large-scale social surveys conducted during the democratic reform period in 1959, and the rapid development and flourishing of the discipline since reform and opening-up in 1978.

　　During the opening stage immediately after liberation, preparatory works for Tibetology research were carried out, such as the compilation of reference books. During the democratic reform period, large-scale surveys into Tibet’s social situation, history and languages were conducted, which provided first-hand materials for subsequent comprehensive research into Tibetan society and history. The survey results were compiled and published later in a book series titled Survey Materials of Tibetan Society and History.

　　Cultivation of professional Tibetology research fellows started after reform and opening-up. The Beijing-based Minzu University of China opened a Tibetan language research course in order to train senior Tibetology research personnel. A group of high-level professional researchers gradually evolved, and a number of Tibetology research centers were set up to carry out systematic Tibetology research.

　　In addition, publishing institutions were set up for the exclusive publication of treatises and theses on Tibetology. Some private Tibetology research institutes were also founded.

　　A review of Bon research

　　a. As an important discipline of Tibetology, research into the Bon religion has gone through two stages: the first stage was to become acquainted with and understand the Bon religion, and the second stage involved a greater degree of specialization. Becoming acquainted with Bon

　　The dark and backward feudal serfdom prevalent in Tibet had severely reduced productivity and stalled economic growth for a long time. Bon was excluded from Tibetan Buddhism and regarded as a black and occult religion. It struggled to survive. Research and development into the religion during that period was impossible. The liberation of Tibet overthrew the feudal serfdom that existed under theocratic rule and allowed different religious sects equal rights to pass down and disseminate their doctrines. As a consequence of the new social institutions, Bon began to attract wider attention as an important component of Tibetan culture.

　　As guardians of the Bon culture, monks at monasteries have made a great contribution to Bon research. On the one hand, they have revamped old monasteries; on the other hand, they have collected precious documents and records of Bon from among the common folks.

　　As Bon suffered serious discrimination by other religious sects before liberation, most of its records were paper manuscripts, with only a few wood carvings. The task of collecting and combing through such paper records and getting them published involves a lot of work.

　　Documents of the Bon religion were published by various ethnic publishing houses in the 1980s to help researchers gain a better knowledge of the history and basic doctrines of the religion.

　　In 1985, the Ethnic Publishing House in Beijing published Origins of the Tibetan Bon Religion in the 1920s. The publication of this book signaled that the Bon religion was beginning to win recognition from society, and it facilitated research into Bon. In 1997, a living Bon Buddha headed the compilation and printing of the Tibetan sutra of Bon, which contained 398 manuscripts altogether. In 2000, the Ancient Tibetan Works Publishing House published Bstan-vgyur by one of the Bon Masters. Tibet People’s Publishing House published the catalogue of Bstan-vgyur. This widespread publication of Bon treatises demonstrates that China's policy fostering the preservation and bequeathal of ethnic culture has been effectively implemented. Such a policy has granted Tibetology researchers the opportunity to develop their knowledge of Bon.

　　b. Bon Research Becomes Specialized

　　In addition to the publication of large numbers of Bon documents and the cultivation of Bon researchers, Bon research was included as an important discipline of Tibetology. As Tibetology research progressed, its areas of research expanded and Bon was incorporated as one of its disciplines. Since liberation, and especially since reform and opening-up, Bon research has achieved a breakthrough and become more specialized and systematic thanks to the increased attention paid to this discipline. Especially in recent years, Bon research has reaped fruitful results with the number and quality of theses published increasing year by year. Many Bon treatises have been published and Bon research is thriving. Recent Bon publications include An Outline of the History of Bon, A Brief History of the Tibetan Bon Religion, and Dictionary of the Bon Culture, all of which have significantly boosted Bon research.

　　Moreover, Bon researchers have had greater opportunities to cooperate and communicate with Bon scholars from other countries. Bon research has made substantial progress in China and some of its results are at the forefront of international Tibetology research. Bon experts from Tibet reveal the results of their new research at international seminars on Tibetology. At the same time, they inform Chinese researchers of recent progress made by foreign scholars in order to further research at home.

　　In conclusion, Bon research in Tibet has developed rapidly since liberation and since reform and opening-up, along with the wider field of Tibetology. It holds an important position in both domestic and international Tibetology. Bon researchers are now capable of carrying out basic study and of solving difficult academic problems. Recent achievements in Bon research have won widespread acclaim both at home and abroad.

　　The future prospects for Bon research appear to be even brighter. In addition, intensive research into the history of the Bon culture’s interactions with cultures in areas surrounding Tibet will also be conducted.

　　（Dhondup Lhakyi, Research fellow of the Academy of Social Science of Tibet）