Buddha Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche, Founder of Yungdrung Bon

The Twelve Deeds of Tönpa Shenrab

1. The Deed of Birth

The Buddha who revealed the way of Yungdrung Bön, the Conqueror Shenrab Miwo, first generated the supreme mind of enlightenment and gathered the two accumulations for three countless eons. Finally, he attained the complete state of Buddhahood in the realm of Ogmin.

Recognizing the proper time to guide sentient beings, he took birth in Tagzig Olmolungring, in the royal palace of Barpo Sogyed, as the son of King Gyalpön Thödkar and Queen Yochi Gyalzhadma. He was born on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Fire Tiger year under the Gyal star, in the year 16,017 B.C. The Brahmin soothsayer Salkhyab Öden recognized the signs of his enlightened nature and gave him the name Tönpa Shenrab Miwo.

Within one human year he displayed youthful playfulness, and later was enthroned as ruler of the three realms as King of Murig Thrul.

2. The Deed of Propagating the Teaching

For twelve Shen years, equal to 1,200 human years, Tönpa Shenrab taught the outer, inner, and secret teachings of the Nine Ways of Bön.

He taught:

  • The Four Causal Ways:

    • Cha Shen
    • Nang Shen
    • Thrul Shen
    • Sid Shen

  • The Four Resultant Ways:

    • Genyen
    • Drangsong
    • Akar
    • Yeshen

  • The Unsurpassed Way:

    • Yangste Lamed (Dzogchen)

At Nine Stack Swastika Mountain he taught grammar and logic, and at the palace of Wangden Sadag he taught Kalachakra Tantra, astrology, and astronomy. He spread the teachings among gods, nagas, and humans throughout many realms.

3. The Deed of Taming Beings

Without departing from the expanse of ultimate reality, Tönpa Shenrab emanated countless enlightened teachers and manifestations to pacify and guide beings throughout the six realms.

Through these emanations — including bodhisattvas, elemental Shen, and enlightened teachers — innumerable beings were tamed and guided toward liberation.

4. The Deed of Leading Beings

Seeing the suffering caused by desire, hatred, pride, envy, and delusion, Tönpa Shenrab compassionately guided beings overwhelmed by the five poisons.

He led and transformed queens, kings, demons, and ordinary beings alike, placing countless sentient beings beyond samsara and toward perfect Buddhahood.

5. The Deed of Marriage

At the request of the gods, including Indra, Tönpa Shenrab married in order to demonstrate the human way of life and remove doubts among people.

He married ten emanated Dakini queens representing different regions and peoples. Through these manifestations he demonstrated skillful means while remaining free from attachment.

Many royal families and noble lineages also offered daughters in service and support of the sacred court and teachings.

6. The Deed of Emanating Offspring

Although a Buddha has no need for descendants, Tönpa Shenrab emanated sons and daughters to ensure the continuity of the royal and spiritual lineages and to benefit sentient beings.

From his queens were born many important lineage holders and spiritual heirs, including:

  • Tobu Bumsang
  • Chedbu Thrishe
  • Lungdren Salwa
  • Gyüd Dren Drönma
  • Oltrug Thangpo
  • Mucho Demdrug
  • Yungdrung Wangden
  • Kongtsha Thrulbu

These descendants became protectors, preservers, and transmitters of the teachings of Bön.

7. The Deed of Subduing Demons

The demon Khyabpa Lagring and his retinues attempted many magical assaults against Tönpa Shenrab in order to stop the spread of Bön.

When armies of demons attacked with weapons, Tönpa Shenrab transformed the weapons into showers of lotus flowers. Through compassion and wisdom he subdued the demons and many became his students.

Later, after demons stole his horses and abducted his daughter Shen Princess Neuchung, Tönpa Shenrab traveled into Tibet and Kongpo, rescuing beings and binding harmful spirits under sacred oath to protect the teachings.

In Tibet he taught rituals, smoke offerings, methods to abandon animal sacrifice, and laid the foundation for the future spread of the Nine Ways of Bön.

8. The Deed of Leaving and Establishing the Teaching

Tönpa Shenrab traveled to many kingdoms establishing temples, sacred shrines, and centers of learning.

He taught the Nine Ways of Bön, entrusted disciples with preserving the teachings, and established sacred representations of body, speech, and mind.

Together with enlightened beings such as Sidpa Sangpo Bumthri, he explained the outer, inner, and secret scriptures and wrote many sacred texts using precious substances. These teachings were preserved in sacred repositories such as Karnag Trasal.

9. The Deed of Renunciation and Becoming a Monk

At thirty-one Shen years of age, Tönpa Shenrab contemplated the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death and generated renunciation for cyclic existence.

In front of the stupa Namdag Karpo he cut his hair, renounced royal life, and became a monk. He received the full monastic vows in the pure realm of Ogmin and became known as Tönpa Thritsug Gyalwa.

He then taught monastic discipline, vows, and ethical conduct to vast assemblies of students and established the monastic traditions of Yungdrung Bön.

10. The Deed of Abandoning Samsara in Solitude

Tönpa Shenrab entered solitary retreat at Nine Stack Swastika Mountain, abandoning worldly distractions.

To students of highest capacity he taught Dzogchen, the direct path to Buddhahood in a single lifetime. To others he taught gradual paths of practice, ethics, rebirth, and the stages of realization.

He meditated in forests, caves, valleys, islands, and charnel grounds, demonstrating the ultimate realization of view, meditation, and conduct.

11. The Deed of Bringing the Virtuous to Completion

Tönpa Shenrab taught his immeasurable retinues the complete path of compassion, wisdom, and realization.

He explained:

  • The Ten Paramitas
  • The stages of the vehicles
  • The arising of worlds and eons
  • The future spread of Bön
  • The marks and qualities of enlightenment

To countless disciples, bodhisattvas, Yeshens, monks, attendants, and worldly beings, he entrusted the complete teachings of Bön for the benefit of future generations.

12. The Deed of Passing to Nirvana

Although beyond birth and death, Tönpa Shenrab demonstrated the appearance of sickness and passing into Nirvana in order to teach impermanence to sentient beings.

Despite the prayers and rituals of his disciples, he announced that phenomena are ultimately unchanging and that he would demonstrate Nirvana only as a teaching.

At the age of eighty-two Shen years, on the thirtieth day of the first winter month in the Water Rabbit year, Tönpa Shenrab passed beyond sorrow at Nine Stack Swastika Mountain amid countless miraculous signs.

His disciples conducted vast funeral ceremonies and enshrined his relics, which multiplied and were distributed among gods, humans, and nagas as sacred objects of refuge and devotion.

Thus concludes this brief account of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha Tönpa Shenrab Miwo, the eighth perfect Buddha who appeared in this world for the benefit of all sentient beings.