Introduction to the Bon Tradition

Origins and Historical Roots

Bon is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet, predating Buddhism for thousands of years, and it originates from a mixture of different ancient shamanistic and animistic practices. Ancient Bonpos worshipped their ancestral spirits, nature spirits, mountain gods, and water deities. Those rituals include communication with unseen forces via spells, offerings, and prayers. Bon evolved into a rich spiritual tradition filled with rituals, meditation, philosophy, and deity worship. Today, it remains a vibrant faith practiced by Tibetans worldwide, emphasizing harmony with nature, compassion, and spiritual growth.

Bon’s origins outline back to Tibet’s earliest history. Local beliefs from the Zhangzhung civilization in Western Tibet influenced Bon. Its teachings were consolidated by the legendary teacher Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. Bon's followers (Bonpo) regard him as a Buddha-like figure. Having the same influence as Shakyamuni Buddha over buddhism. Spiritual wisdom was brought by Tonpa Sherab thousands of years ago in Tibet. 

Philosophical & Spiritual Significance and Evolution

Harmony with Nature and Interconnectedness

According to Bon, there is a strong relationship between all elements of nature, and everything is analogous. The deities in the Bon religion are primarily symbolic of the significant aspects of meditative factors that aid in overcoming both intra-psychic and extra-psychic difficulties. For example, the wrathful aspect of these deities signifies their fierce resolve to shield believers from harm and help them overcome impediments encountered on their spiritual journey. At the same time, peaceful deities signify harmony, compassion, and wisdom.

Bon’s Evolution Amid Buddhist Influence

Despite facing rivalry and, at times, being oppressed when Buddhism was introduced in Tibet in the 7th century AD, Bon managed to survive by changing a little and taking some parts from Buddhism. This happened while it remained identifiable for what it was and kept all of its customs intact. With time, people identified Bon as an independent spiritual path known as Yungdrung Bon or the Eternal Bon. Even though there were some elements of resemblance with Buddhism, Bon stayed different because of its distinct gods, rites, symbols, and customs.

Key Deities of the Bon Tradition

Deities and Their Significance in Bon

The hallmark of Bon lies in its numerous different pantheon of deities, specialized in their practices, including peaceful creator gods, wrathful protectors, nature spirits, and enlightened beings. Though some Bon deities mirror those in Buddhism (often with different names or forms), Bon also preserves unique figures rooted in the pre-Buddhist landscape.​ Bonpos categorize their deities into various classes. For example, “Peaceful” and “Wrathful” manifestations or higher enlightened deities and worldly spirits. Transcendent enlightened beings such as the Four Primeval Lords. as well as a multitude of local gods and elemental spirits.

What is Yidam, according to Bon?

The yidam (meditational guardian deities) and the chökyong (protectors) are particularly important in Bon practice. The yidams are often wrathful in appearance and represent the enlightened mind, speech, body, qualities, and activities of awakening. Almost Similar to buddhist Yidams. In the Bon tantric system, a set of Five Supreme Embodiments (Tib. Sé Khar Chog Nga) personify these five aspects: for example, one yidam embodies an Enlightened Body, an Enlightened Speech, an Enlightened Mind, another Enlightened Quality, and an Enlightened Activity.

Below, we explore four prominent Bon deities – Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa, Sipai Gyalmo, Trowo Tsochok Khagying, and Lhago Tokpa – examining their historical origins, symbolic roles, and ritual and myth.

Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa: The Peaceful Embodiment

Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa, meaning "All-good Collection of Conquerors," is a significant peaceful deity in Bon. He is represented as the amalgamated qualities of every enlightened being within the religion of Bon. He symbolizes unity, harmony, and tranquility, contrasting the fierce forms of other Bon protectors.

Iconography and Symbolism

Click to check Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa Statue

He is depicted with five heads and ten arms, each holding symbolic items:

• Five heads: Each of his five heads is differently colored, representing the Five Families of Conquerors (analogous to the five Buddha families in Buddhism) unified in a single being​.

• Sun and Moon Discs: He holds various sacred objects; notably, the primary hands clasp at his heart, holding the sun and moon discs inscribed with the Tibetan seed syllables A and Ma, which in Bon signify absolute reality and skillful means​.

• Swastika: Represents eternal truth and unending energy. In Bon, a swastika is considered to have an equal value to a Buddhist vajra or a thunderbolt.

• Various Ritual items: In the deity's other hands, he holds different symbolic objects such as a bow, a string, a hook, a jewel, a staff, and a parasol, each representing various characteristics of his abilities to assist sentient beings.

In some depictions, he is accompanied by two consorts – Yum Tugje Chamma (Loving Mother of Compassion, identified with Sherab Chamma) and Namkai Lhamo (Lady of the Sky) – flanking him, which further emphasizes his integration of masculine and feminine principles.​

Role in Rituals and Meditation

Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa’s peaceful appearance highlights the transformation of negative qualities into positive, enlightened wisdom. He is regarded as the peaceful counterpart to several fierce Bon deities, specifically the trio of Walse Ngampa, Trowo Tsochok, and Lhago Tokpa​. By Meditating on this all-encompassing deity, practitioners aim to harness the powers of the wrathful energies benevolently.

In ritual contexts, Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa is often invoked during high tantric ceremonies and empowerment rites. He can appear at the center of Bon mandalas or visualization practices as a symbol of the fully realized state. Bonpos see Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa as an entity of refuge and meditation, often reciting prayers that praise him as the essence of all Bon deities’ power and benevolence. His image is found in Bon monasteries as a reminder that, despite the array of deities in Bon, ultimately, all dissolve into the one state of primordial enlightenment personified by Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa.

Sipai Gyalmo: Wrathful Queen of the World

Click to check Sipai Gyalmo Statue

Sipai Gyalmo, known as the "Queen of the World," is one of Bon’s fiercest and most revered protector deities. Despite her frightening form, Sipai Gyalmo embodies compassion and wisdom. She is the wrathful aspect of Sherab Chamma, the Great Mother of Wisdom, representing how compassion can manifest powerfully to protect others. In Bon theology, Sherab Chamma is akin to a mother of all Buddhas, and Sipai Gyalmo is her wrathful manifestation, assumed to subdue demons and opposing forces​. This dual identity means that Sipai Gyalmo embodies enlightened wisdom and compassion, even as she appears ferocious​.

Sipai Gyalmo’s Iconographic Elements and Retinue

Iconographically, Sipai Gyalmo is awe-inspiring. She is usually shown with three faces and six arms, each hand holding a weapon or magical implement dripping with potent symbolism​. Six arms, each holding weapons or magical items such as a victory banner, sword, mirror, trident, wand, and skull cup filled with blood, Sipai Gyalmo symbolizes her ability to conquer evil and ignorance. Riding a mule surrounded by flames, she conquers negative energies and guides practitioners safely through spiritual obstacles, which gallop through an ocean of blood or a sea of fire. Under the mule is often a skinned human skin, symbolizing impermanence and the destruction of ego​. Flames of wisdom blaze around her, indicating her fiery energy of enlightenment that burns away impurity​. Despite being depicted as wreathed in fire and wrathful visages, her inner nature is understood to be fundamentally benevolent. 

Sipai Gyalmo has six principal manifestations, each with different colors and slight iconographic variations (white, yellow, red, black, blue, and dark brown forms)​. She is attended by a large retinue of 28 guardian figures, often described as her daughters or emanations, many with animal heads. These include the “Ten Warlord Goddesses” and other fierce ladies who serve her command​. 

Myths and Relation of Sipai Gyalmo and Palden Lhamo

Check Palden Lhamo Print From Enlightenment

According to Bon legend, Sipai Gyalmo was originally an ancestral sky goddess of Tibet, and some scholars have even linked her to ancient Central Asian deities (one hypothesis connects her to a form of the Iranian goddess Anahita)​. Over time, as Bon interacted with Buddhism, her iconography resembled the Buddhist Palden Lhamo (Sri Devi) — indeed, Palden Lhamo is the closest Buddhist counterpart, and the two share many attributes.​

Yet Bon practitioners insist on Sipai Gyalmo’s independent, pre-Buddhist origin and hold numerous origin myths about her. In one famous Bon myth, the Loving Mother (Sherab Chamma) assumes the form of Sipai Gyalmo to vanquish a host of evil spirits that were threatening the teachings – upon her victory, she promises to remain as the eternal protector of Bon. This myth underscores that her wrath is driven by compassion to protect the Bonpo. In practice, Sipai Gyalmo is one of the most frequently propitiated figures in Bon.​

Trowo Tsochok Khagying: Wrathful Lord of Supreme Power

Trowo Tsochok Khagying, meaning "Wrathful Supreme Lord Towering in the Sky," is a central deity of Bon tantra. Trowo Tsochok Khagying is one of Bon’s principal tantric deities, especially within the Father Tantras of Bon. His dark, fearsome appearance symbolizes the infinite power to conquer negativity. He is depicted embracing his consort, Khala Dukmo, symbolizing the unity of wisdom and method.

Iconographic Elements of Tsochok 

With three faces and six arms brandishing weapons such as swords, daggers, nooses, and tridents, Trowo is a fierce warrior against ignorance and evil forces. His wrathful form symbolizes the ferocious energy of wisdom and compassion united to clear the spiritual path of obstacles. Each face bares fangs and a menacing expression, representing his wrath directed at the three poisons of delusion, attachment, and aversion. Trowo’s six arms brandish an array of weapons and ritual objects (sword, dagger, noose, trident, etc.), signifying his ability to combat and cut through all obstacles​. 

He stands in an embrace with his consort on two prone figures, symbolizing the trampling of ego and evil. He wears the ornaments of a charnel ground – bone jewelry, tiger-skin skirt – common to wrathful tantric deities, indicating mastery over death and fear​.

Khandro Dukmo: The Goddess Khala Dukmo

Notably, Trowo Tsochok Khagying is often depicted in ecstatic union with a consort, the goddess Khala Dukmo (also called Khandro Dukmo)​. Embracing his consort represents the fusion of method and wisdom (compassion and insight) in the enlightened mind. Khala Dukmo typically has one face and two arms, holding a five-pointed star or meteor iron in her hand. A symbol of energy and the sky – and together, the couple dances on the flames of pristine awareness. 

Ritual Applications and Empowerment

​Trowo Tsochok Khagying’s significance in Bon's practice is profound. As a meditational deity (yidam), advanced practitioners visualize themselves as Trowo during intensive tantric meditation retreats. By identifying with this wrathful Buddha, they seek to transform anger and other passionate energies into a weapon against inner delusions. Ritual texts such as “The Great Empowerment of Trowo” are devoted to him, guiding initiates through the complex mandala of Trowo and his retinue​. In ritual application, Trowo Tsochok Khagying is evoked to destroy malignant forces and protect the Bon community. Bon lamas perform ceremonies where a torma (dough figure) of Trowo is made and empowered, then perhaps symbolically unleashed to chase away harmful spirits.​

Lhago Tokpa: Embodiment of Enlightened Speech

Lhago Tokpa is known for his fierce energy and association with enlightened speech. He is another prominent wrathful yidam in the Bon pantheon. The name “Lhago Tokpa” carries connotations of a “wild, ferocious deity,” highlighting his untamed, raw power.

Lhago Tokpa’s iconography

Click to check Lhago Tokpa Statue and Trowo Tsochok Khagying Statue

Lhago Tokpa is depicted much like Trowo in general appearance but with distinguishing traits. He has four heads (one more than Trowo’s triad), each head ferocious with bared fangs and flaming hair, and eight arms holding weapons and magical tools. His multitude of arms and heads symbolizes the all-reaching impact of enlightened speech. Spreading in different directions and addressing countless beings. Each hand may hold instruments for subjugation: swords, axes, spears, fire, etc., indicating Lhago Tokpa’s readiness to combat every possible obstacle or demon. Like Trowo, he stands surrounded by flames of wisdom and wears wrathful ornaments of bone and skull.

Lhago Tokpa’s consort: Jangnak Troma

Lhago Tokpa’s consort is Jangnak Troma, a wrathful goddess described as emanating from Sipai Gyalmo’s nature​. This detail is intriguing: it means Lhago Tokpa’s shakti, or feminine counterpart, is effectively a form of the Great Queen of the World, tying him back to the protective energy of Sipai Gyalmo. Together, Lhago Tokpa and his consort represent the inseparability of enlightened speech and action. Lhago thunders the sacred mantras, and Jangnak carries them out in reality.

Roles in Bon Rituals and Practices

In this profound religion of Bon, these four deities are significant parts. Their particular purpose separates them from the rest. 

• Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa is prayed upon for harmony, spiritual enlightenment, and peace.

• Sipai Gyalmo for protection against internal or external forces. Which includes danger from evil spirits or negative thoughts of self.

• Trowo Tsochok Khagying to destroy severe obstacles and purify negative influences.

• Lhago Tokpa is evoked to purify speech, improve communication, and subdue negativity associated with words and sounds.

Rituals include chanting special mantras, visualizing the deities’ powerful forms, and using symbolic offerings such as incense, water, and ritual cakes (tormas).

Why Bon Still Matters Today

Bon and Bonpo are still here because the ancient religion provides impactful ways to counter uncertainty and negativity. And provides their devotions with compassion, wisdom, and courage. It is a practice for followers to connect deeply with nature, emphasizing ecological awareness, harmony, and balance. Bon rituals remind people of the interconnectedness of all life and encourage ethical living, compassion, and respect for the environment.

Bon has more to offer than being tagged as an ancient Tibetan religion or following ancient rituals. It is an ongoing tradition profoundly interconnected to Bonpo’s (Follower of Bon) identity and unique culture. Learning about this ancient bon tradition and their powerful, spiritual deities hints at respecting the richness and depth of Tibet’s aged-old history. Through peaceful forms like Kunzang Gyalwa Dupa or wrathful protectors like Sipai Gyalmo and Trowo Tsochok Khagying, Bon teaches us that true spiritual power arises from compassion, wisdom, and harmony with the world.

By exploring Bon, we learn about a tradition that has survived thousands of years by adapting, evolving, and holding tightly to its unique identity. Its deities inspire practitioners today, as they have guided people toward inner peace and spiritual awakening for countless generations.

References:
arunachaltimes.in

balkhandshambhala.blogspot.com

himalayanart.org

himalayanart.org

metmuseum.org

rubinmuseum.org

ravencypresswood.com

searchcollection.asianart.org