In order to understand Tibetan religious practices, it is necessary to begin with the Bon religion, for it is an indigenous religion of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau enriched with regional and cultural characteristics. As an orthodox religious culture in Tibetan areas before the spread of Buddhism, the Bon religion was an important component of Tibetan traditional culture.
Originating in remote antiquity, it underwent all the historical courses that ancient Tibetan society followed, and, consequently, advanced the civilization of Tibetan society in its early stages. At the same time, the Bon religion, claiming broad mass foundation, played an indispensable role in the later development of Tibetan Buddhism. For instance, Tibetan Buddhism absorbed many aspects of Bon, such as religious rituals and Buddhist guardian deities. Undeniably, the impact of Tibetan Buddhism on the Bon religion was powerful, even destructive. ¡°With Buddhism spreading into the Tibetan areas continuously, the high prestige the Bon religion had once held among Tibetans was challenged and declined gradually, and, in the end, its orthodox position was replaced by Buddhism. From then on, the Bon religion began to collapse and had to retreat to certain remote areas to preserve its minor influence. Therefore, throughout the Tibetan areas, except for a few remote districts, it is difficult to detect today the existence of the pure Bon religion.¡± However, as the oldest culture aspect on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Bon religion is still survives with great vitality.
The origination, formation and development of Tibetan Buddhism maintained innumerable ties with the historical process and culture evolution of Indian Buddhism. In a rather exaggerated way, Tibetan Buddhism is a ¡°production¡± of the religious culture transplanted to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from Indian Buddhism. Meanwhile, during its course of formation and development, Tibetan Buddhism was once influenced greatly by traditional Tibetan culture, especially the Bon religion. It was the theoretical structures and ideological modes of the Bon religion that Tibetan Buddhism once adopted in the process of receiving or digesting the Buddhist culture emanating from India. Therefore, Tibetan Buddhism distinguished itself from other Buddhist branches by its plateau characteristics, which lay in the similarities and differences between Buddhism and the Bon religion.
As a kind of social and culture phenomenon of human beings, Tibetan Buddhism has exerted extensive and profound influence on the Tibetan race, gradually infiltrating Tibet¡¯s politics, economy, culture and other fields. What¡¯s more, it has also made its way into many minority nationalities. Groups such as Mongolian, the Tu, Yugu, Naxi, Moinba and the Lhoba, are still pious Buddhist followers today. As a result, Tibetan Buddhism has proven to be one of the broad and influential religions in China as well as an important component of Chinese Buddhism.
Generally speaking, the role of Tibetan Buddhism was greatly weakened after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951,especially after 1959, when Tibet carried out democratic reform, along with popularization of science and culture in Tibetan
areas as well as abolishment of feudal serf system, which was characterized by the integration of politics and religion. But mup to now, Tibetan Buddhism still maintains its broad and profound influence. Not only is it a social and cultural phenomenon, but also a significant component of Tibetan traditional culture.
Besides Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion, relatively unknown to ordinary readers, there are still remnants of Islam and Catholicism in Tibet, both claiming a number of followers as well as sites of religious activities and active clergy.
