He advised them to take human birth in three different ages...
Tönpa Shenrab prophesized that in the future his teachings would flourish in Tibet
![Excerpt from "Opening the Door to Bön"
by Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche
Long ago in a part of heaven called Sidpa Yesang, there were three brothers named Dakpa, Salwa and Shepa. Their father was Sidpa Triöd and their mother was Kunshe. These brothers studied under a great teacher named Tobumtri Log Gi Che Chen. After completing their studies, they went to Shen Lha Odkar, the enlightened One of Compassion, and asked how they could be of the greatest assistance in liberating sentient beings from the suffering of the cyclic world. He advised them to take human birth in three different ages so that each brother could help the sentient beings of that age achieve liberation. Following Shen Lha Odkar's advice, Dakpa, the elder brother, was born as a teacher of the past age, and took the name Tönpa Togyal Ye Khyen. The second son, Salwa, was born in this present age as Tönpa Shenrab. Shepa will be born in a future age as Thangma Medon.
Salwa, the second son, manifested as a blue cuckoo and along with his two disciples, Malo and Yulo went to the top of Mount Meru, where he deliberated as to where and to what parents he should be born. Through his wisdom, he foresaw that he would be born in the heart of Olmo Lung Ring in a palace called Barpo Sogyed, located on the south side of Mount Yungdrung Gutsek. His father would be Gyalbon Thökar, and his mother, Yochi Gyalzhed Ma.
Two texts, Dho Zermig and Dho Due contain biographies of Tönpa Shenrab, who was born in Olmo Lung Ring at dawn on the day of the full moon in the first month of the Tibetan calendar. This was the year of the male wood mouse. More than 18,000 years have passed since that time. He married at a young age and had eight sons who became his most important successors and spread his teachings, and two daughters. At the age of thirty-one, he renounced the cyclic world and became a monk. He cut his hair himself and took off his princely robes, offering them in the ten directions for the benefit of all sentient beings. He then distributed all his princely belongings to people in need.
The Enlightened Ones of the Ten Directions, (Chok Chu Dewar Shekpa), were pleased with his offering and in appreciation of this and other great deeds (such as detaching himself from the material world), they blessed him. The six robes (naza gö drug) and the five objects (rinchen ze nga) of a monk descended to him from the sky. This initiated the Bön rules regarding monks' robes and material possessions. Since then, the tradition of these rules has been preserved without interruption.
Tönpa Shenrab made one trip to Tibet in his lifetime. A demon called Khyap Pa Lag Ring stole Tönpa Shenrab's horses and took them to the Kongpo Valley in Tibet. Tönpa Shenrab shot an arrow to make a path through the mountains. This is referred to as the "pathway of the arrow of light" or Oser Da Lam. When Tönpa Shenrab visited the Kongpo Valley, he pacified the demons and evil spirits that inhabited Tibet. He blessed a mountain in the Kongpo Valley now known as the "Bön Mountain of Kongpo" or Kongpo Bön Ri. Bönpos and Buddhists still make pilgrimages to Kongpo Bön Ri, circumambulating the mountain counterclockwise in the Bön manner. Self-appearing recitation prayers and images of deities can be seen on the rocks, from which pilgrims can receive blessings. In the center of the mountain is a special rock known as "The Heart of Kuntu Zangpo." One can see three essential recitations and a statue of the Enlightened One of the Six Realms on this rock. There are also five caves here, blessed by Tönpa Shenrab, where people still practice. One cave is found at each of four directions, while the last is in the center of these four. In practicing even one or two hours here, one can achieve more blessings than in any other place.
During his only visit to Tibet, Tönpa Shenrab gave blessings and teachings: purifying the environment, making smoke offerings to local spirits, erecting prayer flags, exorcising evil spirits, etc. He stopped the local tradition of offering animal sacrifices, and taught the offering of ransom and red torma instead. This satisfied the evil spirits, who had been causing illness and misfortune.
Tönpa Shenrab brought many kinds of ceremonies, ritual performances, and religious dances that spread rapidly throughout Tibet. No form of uddhism outside Tibet shares these traditions. The only reasonable explanation for this is that these ceremonies become rooted and preserved in Bön culture after Tönpa Shenrab's visit. Tibetan Bönpos have practiced these rites from generation to generation, and do so even to this day.
Determining that the Tibetans were not yet ready to receive the full teachings of Bön, Tönpa Shenrab prophesized that in the future his teachings would flourish in Tibet. Then he returned to Olmo Lung Ring. In order to demonstrate impermanence, Tönpa Shenrab passed away at the age of eighty-two. Measured in Olmo Lung Ring time eighty-two years equates to 8,200 human years.
Tönpa Shenrab performed many great deeds in his whole life, but among the most well known are "The Twelve Great Deeds" [Zedpa Chunyi]. More details about these deeds are given in the three sources of his biography: the short one [Dho Dhe or the Epitome of Aphorism], rediscovered in the tenth century, in one volume; the medium one [Dho Zermig or The Piercing Eye], rediscovered in the eleventh century, in two volumes, and the long one [Zi Jid or Glorious], given in the fourteenth century by oral transmission by Tulku Lodhen Nyingpo, in the fourteenth century, in twelve volumes.](C5E420F4-652D-462F-AD82-82C642BF9233_files/shapeimage_10.png)
