Nine Ways of Bon. Excerpts from Gzi-Brjid, edited and translated by David L. Snellgrove.
David L. SnellgroveWorking in ·conjunction with contemporary bonpos, I have readily accepted (with certain reservations) their own interpretation of their religion, and the present work is an attempt to provide a survey of the whole range of their teachings, as formulated certainly not later than the twelfth century and may be even two or three centuries earlier. It has been our intention at this stage to let the texts speak for themselves as much as possible, so that there may be no risk of others accusing us of putting forward exaggerated ideas of what BON is all about.
The present work represents the first attempt to let the bonpos themselves give some account of their own religion. Lopon Tenzin Namdak was mainly responsible for the selection of the extracts, and he and I worked on them side by side, resolving textual difficulties as well as we could.
DAVID L. SNELLGROVE