Volume 2 covers the History of the Intermediate Period: Tibet and Zhang
Zhung. It is focused on the rise of human generations, the Bonpo
lineages, the spread of Bon during the lifetimes of the first Tibetan
kings, the dynasties, written language, and civilization of ancient
Tibet, as well as on the reigns of specific kings, the Bon religion, and
Bonpo religious figures (Dranpa Namkha in particular) of Zhang Zhung
during that period.
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, a great Dzogchen
master but also former professor of Tibetan and Mongolian Language and
Literature at the University of Naples L'Orientale, has dedicated his
academic career to the study of Tibetan culture, and in particular, its
origins. In his findings, the cradle of Tibetan culture is to be looked
for in the ancient realm of Zhang Zhung, which had the revered Mount
Kailash as its centre and heart, and in the Bon spiritual traditions
which flourished within and spread from that kingdom.
The Light
of Kailash, through meticulous selection and a critical use and analysis
of a vast array of literary sources, offers an open, daring, holistic,
unbiased approach to the study of the cultural and spiritual heritage of
Tibet, and to the understanding of the origin of this fascinating and
endangered civilization.
"Tibetan studies have a long and
honoured history, though only in the second half of the last century did
scholars begin to take an interest in the Tibetan Bonpo culture. The
reasons for this delay lie primarily in the previous lack of access to
textual sources, and in the prevalence of orthodox Buddhist views which
not only greatly influenced the attitude of modern Bonpo adherents, but
have also been adopted by Western scholars as the unquestioned basis for
the study of Tibetan culture as a whole, resulting in a simplistic
view, still maintained by some, according to which Tibet was a savage
land before the adoption of Buddhism, even lacking a written
language....The availability of extensive (new) literature has paved the
way for a series of analytic cataloguing, research studies, field work,
seminars, and so on, that have contributed dramatically to improve
understanding about the Bon tradition as a whole. The Light of Kailash
can be considered a highly significant contribution to this body of
knowledge." Donatella Rossi.
Light of Kailash: A History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet, Volume Two The Intermediate Period , Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Shang Shung Publications, Hardcover, 301 pp, $42.00
