Bon

The relationship between Bon and Tibetan Buddhism has been subject to debate. Modern scholar Geoffrey Samuel believes that while Bon is "essentially a variant of Tibetan Buddhism" with resemblances to Nyingma [the oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism], it also preserves some genuinely ancient pre-Buddhist elements." Around 760 Vajrayana, or tantric Buddhism was transmitted from India to Tibet by legendary Buddhist mystic Padmasambhava. The first Buddhist monastery in Tibet, Samye, was established.  From the eighth until the eleventh century, this Vajrayana textual tradition, which later became known as Nyingma, was the only form of Buddhism in Tibet. In the reign of King Langdarma (836–842), an era of political instability commenced and continued for the next three centuries. Buddhism was persecuted and forced underground because the King regaded it as a threat to the indigenous Bön tradition. Langdarma persecuted monks and nuns in his attempt to wipe out Buddhism. Prior to these persecutions Dzogchen had been formulated, a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and abiding in the ultimate ground of existence. This ground was believed to possess the qualities of purity, spontaneity, and compassion. Swiss-Italian historian Flavio Geisshuesler suggests that Dzogchen might actually be a pre-Buddhist tradition indigenous to Tibet. Exploring a series of motifs that pervade the system such as the hunting of animals, Geisshuesler infers that the tradition was originally associated with shamanism and the Eurasian cult of the sky-deer. From the eleventh century onward, there was an attempt to reintroduce Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. This saw new translation efforts which led to the foundation of new Vajrayana schools which are collectively known as the Sarma, or new translation schools because they rejected older translations of the Nyingma canon. Nyingmapas traditionalists came to view themselves as a distinct group. The term Nyingma was used to refer to those who continued to base their religious practices on translations created when Buddhism was first introduced to Tibet, translations that theoretically incorporate pre-Buddhist Tibetan traditions. According to the Nyingma-tradition, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and his principal disciples concealed hundreds of scriptures, ritual objects and relics in secret places to safeguard Buddhism during its time of decline under King Langdarma. When the kingdom eventually reaquired a stable political climate, these concealed terma (hidden treasures) were rediscovered and used to reinvigorate the dharma of the Tibetans.