Tibetan Myth

Collection

English Works

English Works

2

Preface

I created tibetanmyth.com to gather the small, scattered field of Bön research — reports divided across Tibetan, English, and Chinese sources — into one trilingual collection that can be read collectively and conveniently. The English Works section contains research and study only, with no creative literature; every study presents myth narrative, scholarship, archaeology, and modern interpretation in clearly separated layers. My role is to gather, organize, translate, and edit these studies, not to claim authorship of the original research, which belongs to the scholars and institutions credited in each paper.

Explore

2

Namkhai Norbu and Cairangtai: A Review of Their Bön Research

This review covers two Bön scholars: Namkhai Norbu (1938–2018), whose six works — including The Necklace of gZi and Drung, Deu and Bön — advance a Zhangzhung-centered thesis (Bön originated in Zhangzhung; Tibetan script descends from Zhangzhung writing), noted for cross-tradition sourcing and a self-critical stance; and Cairangtai (b. 1958), a specialist in Bön literature and canon collation who edited Selected Papers on Bön Studies and co-authored Outline History of Bön, combining textual research with surveys of contemporary monasteries and adherents. Sources are categorized as original works, institutional pages, and secondhand citations; unverified items are listed separately.

Explore

2

Khyung Comparative Summary

Centered on the Tibetan khyung (ཁྱུང་), this study compares the great sacred birds of world civilizations. Part 1 examines the khyung — its horned-eagle image, fire-element symbolism in Bön, the Zhangzhung evidence chain, and its place among the Four Dignities of the wind-horse flag — proposing an "indigenous bird pre-existed, merged with garuḍa in translation" model. Part 2 traces Indian garuḍa from Vedic Garutman to Viṣṇu's mount and foe of the nāgas, culminating in Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang, the clearest fusion specimen. Part 3 surveys other sacred birds: Zhuangzi's peng, the fenghuang, Simurgh, phoenix and Bennu, Thunderbird, Roc, Firebird, and Anzu. Part 4 compares shared motifs and functional differences, verifying three transmission chains (Simurgh→rukh→Roc, Garuḍa→Golden-Winged Great Peng, Bennu→phoenix) while treating the rest as independent convergence. Includes a correction of the modern "metallic flying khyung" claim, five research gaps, and a source list.

Explore
The Dzi Bead: Legends, Archaeology, and Science

2

The Dzi Bead: Legends, Archaeology, and Science

The dzi bead — Tibetan gzi, “radiance” — is the most iconic protective amulet of the Tibetan plateau. This article has seven sections: (1) the name; (2) legends — the gods’ ornaments, petrified insects, sky-descent, Padmasambhava’s burial and Gesar’s unearthing, among other coexisting versions; (3) archaeology and science — etched-carnelian technology originating in the Indus Valley, eyed beads appearing ca. 2000–1000 BCE; (4) uses — amulet, heirloom, medicine, thangka burnisher; (5) related beads and imitations; (6) a scholarly note; (7) sources. Oral legend and archaeological evidence are kept strictly apart: myths are literary-religious material, not historical evidence, and the exact origin and definition of the “pure dzi” remain unsettled.

Explore

2

Preface

I created tibetanmyth.com to gather the small, scattered field of Bön research — reports divided across Tibetan, English, and Chinese sources — into one trilingual collection that can be read collectively and conveniently. The English Works section contains research and study only, with no creative literature; every study presents myth narrative, scholarship, archaeology, and modern interpretation in clearly separated layers. My role is to gather, organize, translate, and edit these studies, not to claim authorship of the original research, which belongs to the scholars and institutions credited in each paper.

Explore