Abstract and Snyopsis

[The topic: Re-evaluation of Myth, Religion and History of Tibet by Tsewang Gyalpo Arya Ph.D. Candidate Department of Buddhist Studies University of Delhi, Delhi, INDIA 2019]

Abstract:

Tibet is an ancient nation with rich indigenous myth, religion and history dating back to more than 1000 BC^[1]. Scientists have said that human civilization existed in Tibet as far as 12,000^[2] years back, and primitive tools and implements found in the regions are said to date back to some 8000 years^[3]. But in most of the Tibetan works and literatures, it has been shown that the real Tibetan civilization started from the 7th century only. Not much is known or discussed about the pre-7th century Tibet. What little discussion found on the subject too are not in alignment with the time and reasoning. Research question here is -does Tibet have any indigenous myth, religion and history before the 7th century CE? If yes, what are they and why they have not been discussed?

Introduction:

Buddhism from India brought enormous change in Tibet and greatly enriched the Tibetan religious and cultural history. But much before the advent of Buddhism in 7th century, Tibet's indigenous religion Bon sustained the Tibetan culture and imperial authority. The religion greatly influenced the neighboring regions too. As Buddhism gained strong foot hold and support in the land, indigenous religion and values began to suffer discrimination. Ancient myths and values were cast into oblivion. New myths of Indic affiliation ascribed major aspect of Tibetan civilization, the origin of Tibetan race, the first King of Tibet, Tibetan language etc. to India. As native values were castigated, Bon scholars too began to assert the origin of Bon religion to some Tagzig [Tib:sTag-gzig], a distant land supposed to be Persia of the time. In this way, Bon and Buddhist scholars, the two major authorities in Tibet in some way competed in ascribing the native wisdom and culture to Tagzig and India. Therefore, despite being an ancient civilization with rich history and culture, we find some serious contradictions in Tibetan myth, religion and history, which do not corroborate to the history and ancient nature of the Tibetan civilization.

Research hypothesis:

Contrary to the popular belief, the research hypothesis established here is that the myth, religion and history of Tibet dates back to 1000 BCE or before, and the first king Nyatri Tsanpo appeared much before 127 BCE and he was of Tibetan origin. There was an ancient Zhangzhung civilization which greatly influenced Tibet and the neighboring countries along the Himalayan ranges. The 33rd King Srongtsan Gampo lived for 82 years, and there existed some form of writing system in Tibet before 7th century AD.

Chapterization:

The thesis has seven chapters excluding Introduction and Conclusion.

Gist of the each chapter is as follows:

Ø Chapter one -Origin Myth: Tibetans as descendants of Bodhisattva monkey and rockogress theory is well known. But there is an ancient native version of cosmic egg on the origin of universe and the living beings which has not been known widely.

Ø Chapter two -Zhangzhung civilization: Not much has come out about the existence of this civilization, which has greatly influenced not only Tibet but also the neighboring countries along the Himalayan belts.

Ø Chapter three -The First King, Nyatri Tsanpo: The origin and identity of Nyatri Tsanpo has been so mixed up in myth and religion that it has obfuscated the historicity of the king. The three traditional theories of bGrags pa bon lugs [according to Bon tradition], gSang ba chos lugs [according to Buddhist tradition] and yang gsang the'u rang lugs [according to pre-bon tradition] have been discussed, and logical conclusion made.

Ø Chapter four -King Srongtsan Gampo: Though a legendary king, his birth and reigning period are not properly established. The research has produced enough evidence to show that the king lived for 82 years and reigned for more than 60 years.

Ø Chapter five -Tibetan writing system: Tibetan historians have maintained that writing system came in Tibet from India in 7th century. But the research has shown that the historical evidences are indicative of the existence of writing system based on Zhangzhung script.

Ø Chapter Six -Tonpa Shenrab and Bon religion: the religion is greatly misunderstood in Tibetan community because of the persecution it suffered in early period of Buddhist supremacy. Efforts have been made to clarify and present the historical evolution of the religion and the current situation.

Ø Chapter Seven -Buddhism in Tibet: How Buddhism came to Tibet and how the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism evolved. Salient feature of Vajrayana Buddhism discussed.

Conclusion:

The popular Tibetan origin myth based on the Buddhist theory of Tibet and Tibetans coming after the enlightenment of Buddha has failed to stand the test of the time. Jampal Tsagyu, the text on which Drukpa Kunkhyen [1527-1592] based his statement, in fact does not touch anything about Tibet and Tibetans. The origin of the first Tibetan king Nyatri Tsanpo as an Indian Shakya king or the descendants of Pandava or Kauravas of Mahabharata too has been rendered invalid^[4]. Existence of more reliable native theory of origin myth of cosmic egg and the first king as the descendant of god has been discussed. Chronology of the Tibetan kings with Nyatri Tsanpo at 127 BCE does not go well to justify the existence of 43 Kings of the Yarlung dynasty^[5]. The study has found it more reasonable and scientific to put Nyatri Tsanpo beyond 127 BCE, Srongtsan Gampo's birth at 569 CE. The study has shown the importance of Zhangzhung and the religion to prove the existence of advanced civilization in Tibet since early time. The origin of Tibetan script and writing system has been demonstrated from a new angle to encourage new perspective to look at the subject. In a nutshell, the study has achieved some strong working hypothesis in Tibetan studies and it has also offered more space for the scholars to explore further into these subjects.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

1) Tenzin Namdak, sNga rabs bod kyi byung ba bjod pa [An early history of Tibet], p-168, 2) Jonh V. Bellezza, gShen rab myi bo -His life and times according to Tibet's earliest literary sources

[2]:

Tibetan Lived in Himalayas Year Round Up to 12,000 Years Ago by Laura Geggel, Senior Writer / Jan 5, 2017. Live Science. [http://www.livescience.com/57403-humans-inhabited-tibet-mountains-earlier-than-thought.html]

[3]:

Bod kyi lo rgyus bgro glen, LTWA, p-1ix [Ancient artifacts found in Chamdo was said to be four thousand years old, and at one another place artifacts dating some eight thousand years have been found -Dalai Lama]

[4]:

Three popular theories based on ancient texts have been discussed. Indian Mahabharata and Tibetan version compared and studied. According to Dr. P.V. Vartak, the Scientific Dating of the Mahabharata War happened around 5000 -3000 BCE

[5]:

With Nyatri at 127 BC, the 28th King Lhathothori birth at 173 CE and the 33rd King Srongtsan at 617 CE, the chronology doesn’t flow well.