SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The work of which I here offer a partial translation is a history of the Bon religion from its origins down to the lifetime of the author (1859-1935). The sections which I have left Untranslated are those dealing with the origins of the religion. I have preferred to limit myself to the sections concerning the spread of Bon (approximately the second half of the work) on the grounds that these are the sections most likely to be of interest to historians. The translated sections, therefore, concern the spread of Bon. The work divides this into three phases, interruption having been brought about by persecution and abolition on two occasions. The reassembly of the textual material dispersed at these times is a major object of attention. The sources of the work are numerous and varied and it is the principal aim of my notes to indicate them as fully as possible. In an introduction I have tried to make some assessment of the historical value of the work, to consider the extent of its reliability and factual accuracy, to define its scope and note its limitations.