The Treasury of Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon

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The Legs-bshad rin-po-che'i mdzod dpyod-Idan dga'-ba'i-char (the Precious Treasury of Good sayings, pleasant rain for the wise) presents what is known among Bon-po histories as baTan-'byung, a class of works which in their most comprehensive forms cover the history of all Tibetan religion. This book deals with different states in the development of the Bon-po religion. it gives an account of how the universe and living beings came into existence. It relates in detail the different views of the origin of existence, and there is an extensive description of the land of 'Ol-mo lungring and its importance as the centre of civilization. It describes the life of the Teacher, Shen-rab Mibo who is the protector of the present age; and it describes history of the gSang-sngags and rDzogs-pa chen-po taught by 'Chi-med gTsung-phud. It deals briefly with the genealogy of the Shakya clan, the Tibetan Kings. It gives an account of how the Bon doctrines spread from their land 'Olmolung-ring to other countries and especially to Tibet. It deals in great detail with the propagation of Bon and the persecution by the King Gri-gum in gTsang. The book deals in great detail with the rediscoveries of the hidden texts at the beginning of the tenth century in gTsang and narrates the renewal of the Bon-po doctrines and the firm footing gained bythem in gTsang and some other parts of Tibet with their various monastic establishments. The author also provides a translation of those parts of the work which seem most likely to be of interest to historians.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samten G. Karmay

Born in Amdo, North Eastern Tibet, and educated in a Bonpo Monastery, Samten G. Karmay studied Buddhist philosophy at Drepung, a monastic university in Central Tibet, till 1959. He was also Visitiing Scholar or the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he had obtained M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees. He has been visiting Scholar in a number of academic institutions; Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, paris; Toyo Bonko, University of Tokyo and the University of Kyoto, Japan. In 1981, he became Charge de Recherche in the Centre national de la recherche scientique (C.N.R.S.), Paris and a member of Laboratoire dâ€™ethnologie et de sociologie comparative, Universite de sociologie comparative, Universite de Paris-X. From 1989, he became a Directeeur de Recherche in C.N.R.S. and was awarded the 1990 silver Medal of the C.N.R.S. For â€œToriginalite et la qualiteâ€ in his research. He has carried out several research missions in Tibet: Amdo in 1985, Central Tibet in 1987 and 1991; Khams and Amdo in 1993; Central Tibet in 1995; India and Nepal in 1996. In 1995 he was elected President of the International Association for Tibetan Studies at its 7th Congress in Graz, Austria. He is the author of several books including The Great Perfecton, A Philosophical and Meditative Teaching of Tibetan Buddhism, and Secret Visions if the Fifth Dalai Lama. He has also published over forty articles on various aspects of Tibetan civilization in English, French and Tibetan.