Ganden monastery

Posted in: 24th Dec, 2014 Post Category: Blog of Nepal

Tibetan Buddhism is the main religion of Tibet. Religion is a daily, if not hourly practice. Tibetans spend much of their time in prayer or spinning prayer wheels, which is believed to be almost as spiritually meritorious an activity as prayer. Like all Buddhists, Tibetans adhere to non-violence, do good deeds, present gifts to monks and aspire to have gentle thoughts.

Tibetan Buddhism absorbed elements of Bon when it developed in the 8th century AD. The Bon religion is an ancient shamanist religion with esoteric rituals, exorcisms, talismans, spells, incantations, drumming, sacrifices, a pantheon of gods and evil spirits, and a cult of the dead. It has greatly influenced Tibetan Buddhism. Prayer flags, prayer wheels, sky burials, festival devil dances, spirit traps, rubbing holy stones – all of which are associated with Tibetan beliefs – evolved from the Bon religion.