The Cult and the Practice of the Bonpo Deity Walchen Gekhod, also known as Zhang-Zhung Meri, the Meditation Deity for the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud Tradition of Dzogchen from the Ancient Kingdom of Zhang-zhung in Western Tibet, containing translations of the Sadhana Practice texts for the Deity Zhang-zhung Meri from the Me-ri sGrub-skor, together with the Origin Myth of Walchen Gekhod and translations of commentaries on this practice by John Myrdhin Reynolds.

Before the coming of Buddhism from India to Tibet in the 7th and 8th centuries and the simultaneous arising the empire in Central Tibet, there flourished in northern and western Tibet the ancient kingdom of Zhang-zhung. This kingdom, which centered around the sacred mountain of Kailas, was closely connected with other ancient Central Asian cultures and its own religious culture was known as Bon. In later centuries after the fall of the Tibetan empire and the fragmentation of the country, this ancient religious tradition was preserved among the Tibetan people by the Bonpo Lamas and this continued to exist and be practiced among the Tibetan people until the present day, parallel to the Buddhism of Indian origin. Central to this Bonpo tradition was the theory and practice known as Dzogchen, "the Great Perfection." Of Central Asian origin, it also flourished in the Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism since the early days.

Connected with the Bonpo practice of Dzogchen, known as the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud, "The Oral Tradition from Zhang-zhung," there is the practice and ritual of the meditation deity Walchen Gekhod, "the slayer of demons," also known in his specialized warrior aspect in golden armour as Zhang-zhung Meri. This tempestuous mountain god of Mt. Kailas, having descended thereupon in the form of a gigantic flaming yak, was the patron deity of the Zhang-zhung kingdom and its ruling dynasty. However, according to the Bonpo tradition, this illustrious figure was not just a worldly deity, but an manifestation of Buddha enlightenment in wrathful form emanated by Atimuwer in order to combat the scourge of demons and evil spirits inflicted upon humanity and the planet earth. Under the guidance of Lopon Tenzing Namdak, the foremost living expert on Bonpo Dzogchen and its traditions, this volume contains a study and translations of a number of texts associated with this ancient deity of Zhang-zhung from Tibetan sources.

Cult and the Practice of the Bonpo Deity Walchen Gekhod, also known as Zhang-Zhung Meri; John Myrdhin Reynolds; Vajra Publications; Paperback; 566 pp; $35.00

John Myrdhin Reynolds (Vajranatha) is a translator of Tibetan, a scholar in the fields of Tibetan Studies, Buddhist Philosophy, and Comparative Religion, who has taught at a number of universities in the West. He was ordained as a Ngagpa Lama in the Nyingmapa tradition by HH Dudjom Rinpoche, and for more than ten years he has worked closely with Lopon Tenzin Namdak on the translation of early Bonpo Dzogchen and Tantra texts. His earlier works, The Golden Letters and Self-Liberation, published by Snow Lion, dealt with the origin of Dzogchen in the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition coming from India and Central Asia.

CONTENTS: The Cult and the Practice of the Bonpo Deity Walchen Gekhod
First Preface		xiii
Second Preface		xvii
PART ONE The Cult and Practice of Gekhod Meri
1.	Buddhism, Bon, and Shamanism	3
2.	The Cult of the Mountain Gods in Tibet	11
3.	Yungdrung Bon--The Primordial Tradition	21
4.	Zhang-zhung and Mount Kailas	29
5.	Gekhod and Meri	37
6.	Bonpo Tantras and Lineages for Gekhod Meri	45
PART TWO Sadhana and Iconography of Zhang-zhung Meri
1.	General Introduction to Tantric Sadhana Practice	71
2.	Introduction to the Intermediate Sadhana Text	87
3.	Translation of the Intermediate Sadhana Text for Meri	105
4.	Translation of the Meri Nyingthik Text	123
5.	Mantra Sadhana	133
6.	The Iconography of Meri and His Mandala	143
7.	The Iconography of Gekhod and His Mandala	169
PART THREE Commentaries on the Generation Process for Meri
1.	Introduction to the Translations of the Commentaries	197
2.	The Condensed Clear Understanding of the Generation Process for Meri	217
3.	The Clear Understanding of the Generation and Perfection Processes for Meri	335
4.	The Clear Understanding of the Mandala of Meri	257
5.	Topical Outline of the Commentaries	311
PART FOUR Purification Rites for Gekhod
1.	The Origin Myth of Gekhod	343
2.	Introduction to the Purification Rites associated with Gekhod	359
3.	Purification with the Red Medicinal Waters	373
4.	Purification with the White Medicinal Waters	385
5.	Fumigation Rite for Cleansing of the Pollutions Incurred by Gekhod	391
PART FIVE The Guru Sadhana Practice for Gekhod Meri
1.	Introduction to the Translation	407
2.	The Practice of the Inseparability of the Gurus and the Lord Protectors	421
Conclusion: Tantra and Dzogchen		465
Appendix 1: Classification of the Bonpo Tantras		471
Appendix 2: Interlinear Translations with Tibetan Pronunciation		497
Bibliography		535
Glossary of Tibetan and Zhang-zhung Terms		549
Index		561