A History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet, Volume One: The Early Period Paperback – Illustrated, May 14, 2013

The series is probably one of the best sources for learning about the history and culture of Tibet.

drawing predominantly, yet not exclusively, on Bon written sources compiled in the last millenium or so, which - in Western terms, at least - fall in the category of mythology. We have every reason to believe some portions of these narratives were based on ancient oral tradition(s) well preceding the invention of Tibetan alphabet and script, by the 640s CE the latest, which historically has been attributed to THon-Mi Sambhota ("Fine Tibetan [from the] Thon clan"). Also factor in the lore passed down among local equivalents of bairds and minstrels (Tib. sGrung-mKHan)."The text was originally conceived as a set of university lectures that Chögyal Namkhai Norbu was invited to give at the University of Nationalities in Beijing...in 1988. The contents of the lectures formed a first abridged version "[The Precious Mirror.] A[n Ancient] History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet" [ZHang Bod gNa'-Rabs-kyi Lo-rGyus Nor-Bu'i Me-Long, 1990 Chengdu], which was subsequently enlarged and expanded by the author after further research, until the manuscript, written in his unique calligraphy, became a work of 1,900 pages, divided in three volumes" (p. 10).The final version bearing the title 'ZHang Bod-kyi Lo-rGyus Ti-Se'i 'Od' ("The Light of Kailash. A History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet") appeared in block print in China (1996 Beijing), but as it "presents some omissions and imprecisions...was not used as a main source, though at times it was consulted" (p. 12). The material is presented in a format of quoted passages being followed by the Dzogchenpa author's explanations of various length and depth, coupled with his footnotes, as well as those of the translator Donatella Rossi.I. (pp. 15-75) discusses cosmogonies (emptiness + clear light, self-originating wind giving birth to other three basic elements ('Byung-ba) and their interactions, creating their respective mandalas, with space having preceded all four; cosmic eggs of varying number, etc.); sacred geography that can be interpreted on several levels (i.e., outer, inner, secret), with the mighty Kailash mountain at its heart (mNGa'-Ris: "Royal Domain" in southwestern Tibet); theogony, to a lesser extent (various classes of nonhuman/supernatural beings affecting mankind); primordial White Man known under many names, such as Sangs-po 'Bum-KHri, Ye-sMon rGyal-po; four (or six) original great clans (Rus CHen bZHi: lDong, r/dMu, sTong, [b]Se) and the six family lines of early human generations (Mi'u gDung Drug).II. (pp. 77-123): r/dMu gSHen-Rab Mi-Bo-CHe ("Great Human. Excellent Ritual Expert [of the] rMu [family]"), the originator of g.Yung-Drung ("Eternal/Swastika") Bon, is treated as a historical figure who - based on Tibetan calculation - lived between 1917 and 1836 BCE (!) (p. 123). Not mentioned in the present book but in  Drung, Deu and Bon: Narrations, Symbolic Languages and the Bon Tradition on Ancient Tibet  (1995 Dharamsala), Namkhai Norbu quotes on page 39 the founder of 'Bri-Gung bKa'-brGyud ('Jig-rTen mGon-po, 1143-1217) to the effect that said gSHen-Rab was born much later in dBus province, during the reign of one KHri lDe bTSan. What's more, he is said to have acquired his magic powers during the time of those missing 13 years being shared with some unspecified nonhuman beings (Mi-Ma-Yin) who kidnapped him at the age of 13. Furthermore, when gSHen-Rab was summoned to perform funerary rites for the famous legendary king Gri-gum ("Slain by Sword"), he had the following to say: "Even though I practice many kinds of Bön, they can all be arranged in three fundamental types: the rites to suppress the Dre and the Si (spirits) below, those to worship ancestral deities above, and those to guard domestic hearth in the middle. I do not posses other Bön, and I do not know the funerary rites for the slain."In this chapter we can also read about how he is credited with the introduction of sacrificial cakes (gTor-ma) and ritual ransom (gLud) to bypass the custom of blood offerings to harmful entities/demons; the classification of Bon scripture in the "Four Portals and the Treasure as the Fifth" (sGo bZHi mDZod dang lNGa). The author argues that elemental astrology ('Byung rTSis as per sMe-ba and sPar-KHa) originated in the land of Zhang Zhung, not in China (cf. ba gua), with gSHen-Rab and/or ancient Bönpos; and that the name of Kong-TSe 'PHrul-rGyal in Tibetan sources was mistakenly identified with Confucius (see pp. 118-22).III. Ancient (mythological) royal lineages of Zhang Zhung (pp. 125-48): 18 Bya-Ru-can ("[equipped] with eagle[-like] horns") kings; division of the country into Outer, Inner, and Middle regions; list of twelve minor principalities (rGyal-PHran bCu-gNYis).IV. Written language (pp. 149-66): magical creation of an alphabet from the five powerful seed-syllables; Namkhai Norbu challenges the notion propagated by some 'new Bönpos', according to which the sPungs script of sTag-gZig gave birth to the alleged Zhang Zhung script. Instead, he says the original one is the so-called sMar (see the seal of king Lig-Mi-rKya, a titular rather than a personal name, on the book cover and pp. 163-4). The only problem is that so far no evidence has come to light in support of the theory that Zhang Zhung script predates, or at least is cotemporal with, Tibetan writing, unless we consider a manuscript from the Dunhuang cave-library: see Tsuguhito Takeuchi - Ai Nishida's "The Present Stage of Deciphering Old Zhangzhung," pp. 151-65 in  Issues in Tibeto-Burman Historical Linguisticsw (Senri Ethnological Studies, 75)  2009 Osaka. (Related to this very chapter is Siegbert Hummel's interesting little book  On Zhang-Zhung , 2000 Dharamsala.)V. (pp. 167-219): prehistoric artefacts, such as precious gZi-stones, amulets - especially those representing KHyung-eagle/garuda - made of meteoric iron (THog lCags), some rock carvings. Various divination (mo) methods, some of which are associated with PHywa gSHen strand of Bon, used for diagnosis and healing, to clarify hidden circumstances and the intentions of imperceptible supernatural beings of different dispositions, to avert impediments or bestow fortune, etc. These include gTo, divination by cords and knots (Ju-THig) or 42 magic pebbles (rDe'u 'PHrul), symbolic images (brDa), scapulimancy (Sog-Mo), CHo-Lo dominoes, etc. To be honest, I prefer the author's discussion of the same topic in the relevant chapters of his already cited title from 1995.I think it would have been great to hear Norbu Rinpoché's opinion about megalithic sites in the respective area, or maybe that's reserved for the upcoming two volumes. At any rate, Tarthang Tulku ( Ancient Tibet (Tibetan History Series)  1986 Berkeley: p. 97) has the following to say in this regard: "Megaliths have been found...in the far west at sPu, Shab-dge-sdings, gZhi-sde-mkhar, and Byi'u near Ma-pham [Manasarowar] lake. Close to Pang-gong lake in the northwest are eighteen parallel rows of standing stones aligned in an east-west fashion with circles of stones arranged at the end of each row...Near Dang-ra lake are also large standing stones encircled by slabs, as well as sites that appear to be ancient square tombs."Bibliography of Tibetan titles (pp. 221-8), detailed index (229-61), plus - relative to how you count them - more than 30 or 60 b&w illustrations, + 9 charts.Miniscule suggestions, inconsistencies:> Some geographical names on page 23 can be clarified without any difficulty: "in the southeast, there is 'Jang" - this must be refering to the state of Nanzhao, known to Tang China and Yarlung Dynasty ruled Tibet, in what today is Yunnan; "in the northeast, the country of Hor" - depending on the given epoch, this term may designate various Turkic or Mongolic peoples, residing - most probably - in the Kokonor/mTSHo sNGon/Qinghai area.> It is beyond my modest comprehension how aural transmission (sNYan rGyud, lit. "thread [via] hearing") was possible between one dMu-TSHa Gyer-med, living in the 8th century CE, and a bLo-lDan sNYing-po (b. 1360), bridging some six centuries (p. 102). Isn't it about "clear vision" (Dag sNang), rather?> The regular type of Tibetan script is incorrectly spelled twice as 'dbu chen' ("big head") on pp. 157-8, and once correctly as 'dbu can' ("[equipped] with head").

Hews too closely to religious texts that are boring in translation.

good reading

Clear, precise, beautifully written, as any of Namkhai Norbu's works, not even a line to be missed.