Bon spread throughout the universe due to the natural energy of compassion,  which was initiated by the words of the great teacher Tonpa Shenrab. His  intention was that the teachings and the emanations of the Buddhas acting  through them should appear wherever sentient beings exist, supporting them  in their practice. Thus according to canon, Tonpa Shenrab became the  founder of the Bon tradition.

The great teacher was born in Olmo Lung Ring about 18,000 years ago, and  the teachings he gave are called “Yungdrung Bon” or “Eternal  Bon”. The term Yungdrung describes that which is eternal and has  always existed.

Tonpa Shenrab dedicated his entire life to the welfare of all sentient  beings. He had eight sons and two daughters who became the most important  heirs and lineage holders of the Bon teachings. At a later period Tonpa  Shenrab decided to become a monk. He offered his princely possessions to  the Enlightened Ones of the Ten Directions to benefit all sentient beings,  while he bestowed his wealth on people in need. As a blessing, he received  six sacred robes and five monastic objects from the Enlightened Ones, which  gave rise to the monastic tradition of Bon.

Bon teachings moved from the “inner gate” of the Shang Shung  kingdom – the Olmo Lung Ring (this is not a place that actually exists,  rather it symbolizes the necessity of practice to purify negativity and  achieve enlightenment, “Ol” symbolizes the unborn,  “mo”- the indefinable, “lung” – refers to the prophetic  words of Tonpa Shenrab, and “ring” symbolising eternal  compassion), to Tazig in the area of the “middle gate” of Shang  Shung and further towards the outer gate carrying to the Precious Snow  Mountain known as Mount Kailaś.

This mountain once belonged to the Shang Shung kingdom. Before his  departure Tonpa Shenrab prayed that the Bon teachings would become  available in 37 places in Tibet. This wish was fulfilled after his death.  The great Shenrab departed for nirvana at the age of 82 years. This age is  given in Olmo Lung Ring time.  In human terms he was 8200 years old.

The bon teachings are divided according to the teaching cycles given by the  Great Shenrab. First the teacher gave explanations about the nine bon  paths, then he taught about the Four Bon Doors and the Fifth Gate called  the Bon Treasury.

An important part of bon practices are rituals such as:
• rituals to heal,
•  long life rituals,
•  rituals for bringing about good fortune and harmonising the environment
•  post-mortem rituals to relieve the deceased from suffering,
•  consecrations and transfers of power.

Moreover, among these are two higher levels of teachings, Tantra (Sang Ngag) and Great Perfection (Dzogchen).

Tantra practice include the visualisation (generation) stages; the gathering (building) stage and the fulfillment (perfection) stage, Additionally, tantra contains practices like trulkhor that  deal with  the channels (tsa), prana (lung), and the enlightened mind (tigle).

Dzogchen is considered the highest and most secret class of teachings within the bon tradition.  It contains teachings on the nature of mind – the boundless fullness that can only be known through direct experience. The essence of Dzogchen practice is the non-conceptual and authentic insight of open awareness.

One thousand eight hundred years after the paranirvana of Tonpa Shenrab, Mucho Demdung – widely regarded as an emanation of Tonpa Shenrab’s enlightened speech –  classified the Bon teachings into four categories:

The first category are the Sutra teachings. These include prayers, mantras, teachings, indications of monastic discipline, and Tonpa Shenrab’s biography (MDO). The second category: the Prajnaparamita or ‘Bum’ includes detailed representations of the perfection of primordial wisdom. The third category includes the practices of Tantra previously enumerated in tgushave been classified. The fourth category are the teachings of Dzogchen.

Mucho Demdung had many disciples. Of these, the most famous are the six scholars who translated Bon’s teachings into their own languages and spread them in their own countries such as Tagzik, India, China, and Trom.

In the tenth century, many of the Bon teachings were translated from Shang Shung into Tibetan by a fourth great scholar. This translation spread throughout Tibet where it is still continues to be practiced to this  day.