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Chapter 07
Ancient Tibet - History and Culture
Moreover, during the time of the twentieth Jain teacher, Shri Munisuvrat Swami, it is said that tens of thousands of practitioners of his teachings accomplished the consummation of their meaning at the lake of Mt. Kailash. And in Lanka, land of the Rakshas, legend has it that the enemy of King Beng-ravana, King Valli, took monastic ordination and engaged in rigorous asceticism at this place. Then, King Beng-ravana also went to this supreme power-place and remained engaged in asceticism on the banks of the La-ngag Lake, such that the lake also came to be known as Ravana Lake or Rakshas Lake. The lake also came to be called ma-dros lake, mountain-god lake (la lha), and lotus-lake. Whatever it is called, the Extinguishers-the Jainsfrom the founding masters and their followers, have considered Mt. Kailash and its unsullied lake to be a liberating power place. The early histories and those that came later all say that by merely seeing, hearing, thinking about, or touching this place, and through the blessings of the holy masters, one will attain happiness in this life and accomplish one's wishes. It is appropriate to consider it a place that acts as the cause for future liberation. Even today, in an unbroken continuum, like a chain, pilgrims still arrive. The meaning of their asceticism is as explained above, but if one were to give a small comment about their vows, they are the discipline of the ten virtues. Out of concern for harming small animals, they wear small bells on their feet. Out of concern for taking what is not given, they consume fire and the waters of desolate valleys. Out of concern for lying, they cut off speech and make no verbal expression. Out of concern for the tiniest of creatures present in the air, they cover their mouths with white cloth. In such ways they meticulously guard their karma. The text continues with a brief history of the Ganges River and no further mention of Jains.
Conclusion • I have spent time reading through Article 4 provided me, entitled "The Hook that Draws
One Along the Path to Freedom: A Pilgrimage Guide to Mt. Kailash and Lake Mansarovar" and I did not find any relevant information on the Jain or Bon traditions. I am still going through Article 6, which is the Pilgrimage guide from the Library or Tibetan Works and Archives, written by the 6th Drigung Rinpoche (b. 1886 d. 1943). The pages are all out of order, so it is a bit slow going, but I have yet to find any relevant passages. It appears to be entirely Buddhist oriented. Article 2: Ironically, from the text titled, "The History of Tibet's Bon Monastic Estates and Their Current Condition" there is not much mention of actual Bon History. Under the short descriptions of the monasteries around Kailash, the author mostly relays their Buddhist history, such as when they were visited by such important figures as Atisha and especially Milarepa. The only explicit mention of Bon is the activity of Na-ro Bon-chung, who was most famous for losing his magic-competition with Milarepa. Moreover, Na-ro Bon-chung is sometimes argued to be an apochryphal figure invented by Buddhists. This draws into question the affiliation of the author, phun tshogstshe ring (b. 1936).
Note : We wish to thank Mr. Joseph McClellan for his help with translation.
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Translation from a pilgrimage guide to Mt. Kailash
