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Yungdrung.
Yungdrung comes from the Bon Po religion and means freedom from the constraints of birth and death, and is linked to the lifespan, so we could translate it either as “eternity” or, considering the emphasis on lifespan, “immortality”.
According to Bön sources, the tradition came to Tibet from Taksik (which appears to roughly refer to the area of Persia). Shenrap, the founder of Bön, brought the religion from Taksik to the kingdom of Shangshung (which was probably an area in western Tibet with Mount Kailash at its center).
Early Bön texts are said to have been written in a language called the language of Shangshung which appears to be an archaic Tibetan dialect.
https://www.nepalpowerplaces.com/nepal/bon-religion/
Situated high up in the Himalayas, Tibet has long been isolated due to its unique geological barriers. Throughout its unique historical evolution, its indigenous people were able to develop a unique form of religion known as "Bonism". Usually, it's called for short "Bon."
Bon originated from the "Gandes Mountains" and " Manasarovar Lake" areas, where belong to the ancient Xiangxiong Kingdom. That mysterious Kingdom has a long and splendid history and culture, which is listed as World Cultural Heritage now. From the perspective of Tibetan history, "Xiangxiong" is almost synonymous with the entire western part of ancient Tibet. The ancient Xiangxiong civilization is the origin of Tibetan civilization. It's no exaggeration to say, to understand Tibetan civilization, we must first understand the Xiangxiong civilization; to study Tibetan Buddhism, we must first study this Bon religion.
The well-known Mt. Kailash kora, circumambulating holy Lakes, kowtow, scattering Longda, hanging prayer flags, mani stones, butter sculptures, vajra knots, Tibetan writing, Gzi Beads, Tibetan Guozhuang dance, Thangka paintings, etc. are all derived from the ancient Xiangxiong culture. The ancient Xiangxiong had a tremendous impact on later generations in culture and religion. So now, you can still find traces of Xiangxiong from the culture, arts, religion, and other fields around the world, and it's also where Bon is from.
https://www.greattibettour.com/tibetan-culture/bon-religion.html
The exact nature of original Bon is difficult to determine, since all early descriptions of it are from the Buddhist perspective and intended to discredit it. After the first diffusion of Buddhism into Tibet in the 7th century, Bon was persecuted under Buddhist rulers, but it survived and became more organized at the time of the second diffusion of Buddhism in the 11th century.
https://www.mysterioustibet.com/category/tibet-guide/tibet-religions/bon-religion
Yungdrung Chakshing.
Yungdrung Chakshing is a symbol of continuity and willpower in the Bon religion which its followers say was the pre-Buddhist faith of the Tibetan people. It's interesting to note that the swastika here is widdershins which is unlike the Hindu one....Widdershins is a term meaning to go counter-clockwise, or to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left.
The Swastika (also known as the gammadion cross, cross cramponnée, or wanzi) (as a character: 卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious symbol that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross, with its four legs bent at 90 degrees. It is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon and Jainism.
It has been used as a decorative element in various cultures since at least the Neolithic. It is known most widely as an important symbol long used in Indian religions, denoting "auspiciousness....The name swastika comes from the Sanskrit word svastika (Devanāgarī: स्वस्तिक), meaning "lucky or auspicious object".
The word finds its origin in Vedic Sanskrit. As noted by Monier-Williams in his Sanskrit-English dictionary, according to Alexander Cunningham, its shape represents a monogram formed by interlacing of the letters of the auspicious words su-astí (svasti) written in Ashokan characters.
http://balkhandshambhala.blogspot.com/2016/03/yungdrung-chakshing.html
The swastika, old symbol of good luck, is very present in Bön and represents eternity, mostly in its anti-clockwise version......The flag has five horizontal stripes (blue, white, red, green, yellow). In the middle of the flag there is a golden yungdrung chakshing (g.yung-drung phyag-shing in Wylie transliteration), which is a bönpo scepter and symbol of immortality. On each end of the yungdrung there is a square with a swastika. The squares are shown with a blue swastika on yellow field in one instance, and with several colours between the arms of the yellow swastika in the other (blue to the left, red on top, green on the right, and white on the bottom), all on a red field within yellow border.
Sources: http://blog.amdotibet.cn/tibetmonk/archives/103962.aspx
Drenpa Namkha.
A gleaming and spirited statue of Drenpa Namkha, the venerated long-life deity of Bön. He is regarded as the Protector of the Dark Age, and believed to be the all-embodying manifestation of the three kayas of Buddhas in Tibetan tradition. As shown in this rare bronze Drenpa Namkha as a Mahasiddha, he is seated in royal ease on a lotus throne wearing only a tiger skin. On his youthful face at the ajna chakra, he has a third-eye that revealed his transcendent knowledge. For his power to transform delusion into perfect wisdom, his left hand is holding a white kapala (skull cup) filled with blood. To affirm the absolute truth and eternal teachings of the Bön, his right hand is raised with the yungdrung chakshing (swastika vajra emblem). Whereas the one eye on his foot indicated that he could visualizes five hundred past lives. Beautifully gilded in gold and ornamented with semi-precious stones, with a swastika on a double-thunderbolt embossed on the copper base plate, this immaculate statue emanated the presence of Drenpa Namkha in an unshakeable equipoise.
http://www.buddhamuseum.com/gilded-drenpa-namkha_93.html
On top of the head is a skull which is the origin of the 'Death's head' or 'Totenkopf' and symbolises the achievement of immortality and the negation of forgetfulness that comes with death and rebirth.
In Greek mythology, Lethe, also referred to as Lemosyne, was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos, the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified.
Tirich Mir.
Tirich Mir (also spelled Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas–Karakoram range, at 7708 m(25.289ft) above sea level. It is located in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The first recorded ascent of the mountain was on 21 July 1950 by a Norwegian expedition consisting of Arne Næss, P. Kvernberg, H. Berg, and Tony Streather. Tirich Mir overlooks the town of Chitral, and can be easily seen from the main bazaar. It is the closest mountain to Aconcagua which is higher than Aconcagua, and thus determines Aconcagua's topographic isolation.
The last village situated in Chitral District before the mountain begins is the village of Tirich. This valley begins at Soorwaht, where Tirich River meets Torkhow River from the west, up to Shagrom—the last permanent settlement of the valley. From that point onwards, there are summertime grazing pastures and shepherd huts leading up to the snout of the lower Tirich glacier, which goes further up to Tirich Concordia, where glaciers from seven sub-valleys slide down and join at the Concordia glacial confluence.
It is believed the origin of the name Tirich Mir is "King of Tirich" as Tirich is the name of a side valley of the Mulkhow valley of Chitral which leads up to Tirich Mir. An alternative etymology derives this name from the Wakhi language. In Wakhi, trich means shadow or darkness and mir means king, so Tirich Mir means king of darkness. It could have been given this name as it creates long shadows on the Wakhan side of its face.
Zhangzhung.
Zhangzhung (also Shangshung or Xiangxiong), is written according to the transliteration of the Tibetan word ཞང་ཞུང་. It is the kingdom and ancient culture of western and northwestern Tibet. It was founded in the Iron Age between 1500 BC and the first year of the AD and perished in the Tubo Dynasty in 645. Zhangzhung Empire was a tribal state that dominated the ancient Tibetan plateau before the Tubo kingdom. The capital city, Kyunglong, is located on the edge of Lake Tangra Yumcoin, in today’s Ali region. The ancient Zhangzhung Kingdom created extremely high civilizations. It not only formed its own unique Zhangzhung characters, but also the birthplace of the Yungdrung Bon religion. Yungdrung Bon culture is actually equivalent to Zhangzhung culture. Zhangzhung culture predates the Tibetan Buddhist culture in Tibet and is the source of all Tibetan culture.
Zhangzhung culture is the traditional culture of the Tibetan people and also known as the foundation culture of Tibet. The traces of ancient Zhangzhung culture run through all aspects of Tibet, from industries to lives and from folk customs to beliefs. Religious activities such as offering sacrifices to mountain gods and holy mountains kora all originated from Zhangzhung culture. Tibetan script originated from the Zhangzhung script. Ancient Zhangzhung Buddha dharma is the oldest native Buddha dharma in Tibet and the essence of Zhangzhung culture. The prince of Zhangzhung, Shenrap Miwo, in order to save sentient beings, compassionately preached Yungdrung Bon. The Buddha's koan is represented with 卍, which is called "Yungdrung" in Tibetan. "Yung" is a symbol of harmony and eternity, which is the true meaning of the Buddha drama. "Drung" means carnal deathlessness. Long before Indian Buddhism was introduced into Tibet, the ancient Zhangzhung Buddha dharma - Yungdrung Bon religion had been widely spread in the snowy plateau, and it was the most important spiritual belief of the Tibetan people. “Great Perfection” is not only the core of the ancient Buddha dharma but also the essence of all spiritual civilization and traditional culture in Tibet. It is also the wisdom and essence of civilization accumulated by the people who live on the mysterious land of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.
https://www.greattibettour.com/tibetan-culture/zhangzhung.html
ANCIENT MUMMIES OF THE TARIM BASIN.
In 1939 a remarkable discovery was done by the Swedish archaeologist Bergman Folke. A set of tombs were found in the Xinjiang Province known as the Xiaohe Tombs. However, for the 60 years to follow the tombs were forgotten until 2000 when a researcher, head of the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute found the tombs again. It wasn’t until 2005 that the excavations were complete.
The size of the area is unprecedented. So far there have been 330 tombs found in multiple different layers. The tombs include adults and children as well as 15 intact mummies. About half of the tombs were looted by grave robbers. It is the first time anywhere on Earth that so many mummies have been found. The coffins were made of wood and shaped like boats, buried upside down, which is similar to the Egyptian concept of the boat to take the Pharaohs to the land of the ‘Gods’
Point to note: It is also used by the Norse people!
The clothes and jewellery were also buried with the dead in small baskets. The corpses were wrapped in wool garments and cowhide was used to wrap the coffins in such a perfect way that not a single grain of sand was inside. The straw used for the baskets still looked fresh even if they are thousands of years old.
One of those mummies has become famous because of its excellent preservation and its beauty and it is known as the Beauty of Xiaohe. It is a white person with round eyes, perfect eye lashes, and long hair and has features that are more similar of a European person than a Chinese person. Dating of the area has shown that it goes back to approximately 2,000 BC and they appear to be of Caucasoid origin. However DNA analysis of the bodies have shown that it is a mixture of population from East and West. The males were found to have chromosomes usually found in Northern and Eastern Europe and DNA found in Siberia.
Now there are a few strange facts with the discovery of the Xiaohe tombs. Archaeologists have searched for hundreds of kilometres around the tomb complex and they couldn’t find any single evidence that could relate to the Xiaohe people and their life style, which looks as if they were carried there from very far away.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/mystery-xiaohe-mummies-china-00578
The Pāratas & King Yolamira,
The Pāratas, an Iranian people and ruling dynasty from what is now western Pakistan, are known essentially through their coinage, which typically exhibit the bust of a particular monarch on the obverse ( having long hair within a headband), and a swastika within a circular legend on the reverse in Kharoshthi (usually copper coins) and sometimes in Brahmi (usually silver coins). Coins depicting Pārata monarchs have been found in and around the district of Loralai, Balochistan, western Pakistan. This may have been their capital.
The Pāratas in Classical & Historical sources.....Herodotus in c. 440 BC describes the Paraitakenoi as a tribe ruled by Deiokes, an Iranic monarch who ruled on eastern-most region of the Iranian plateau. (History I.101)......Arrian describes how Alexander the Great encountered the Pareitakai in Bactria and Sogdiana, and had them conquered by Craterus (Anabasis Alexandrou IV)......The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) describes the territory of the Paradon beyond the Ommanitic region, on the coast of Balochistan.
Coin shown above:
Yolamira, silver drachm, early type.....c. 125-150 AD......Diademed bust right, dotted border /Swastika right, Brahmi legend ..... Yolamirasa Bagarevaputasa Pāratarāja ......(Of Yolamira, son of Bagareva, Pārata King).....The names Yolamira and Bagareva betray the Iranian origin of this dynasty. The suffix Mira refers to the Iranian deity Mithra. Yolamira means "Warrior Mithra." Bagareva means "rich God.
The Vajra or Dorjee.
The term vajra is a Sanskrit word that is usually defined as "diamond" or "thunderbolt." It also defines a kind of battle club that achieved its name through its reputation for hardness and invincibility. The vajra has special significance in Tibetan Buddhism, and the word is adopted as a label for the Vajrayana branch of Buddhism, one of the three major forms of Buddhism. The visual icon of the vajra club, along with the bell (ghanta), form a principal symbol of the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet.
A diamond is spotlessly pure and indestructible. The Sanskrit word means "unbreakable or impregnable, being durable and eternal". As such, the word vajra sometimes signifies the lighting-bolt power of enlightenment and the absolute, indestructible reality of shunyata, "emptiness."
https://www.learnreligions.com/vajra-or-dorje-449881
The God Zeus with a 'thunderbolt' or 'Vajra'.
The swastika is a symbol that is hated by many today, not because it was used by Hitler, but because it bears witness to a time before the great disaster and to a people who built the immense buildings that are still around today and who shaped the planet into a beautiful place. The Vajra is the weapon that can only be wielded by Gods and the lightning bolt is symbolised by the 'Sowilo' rune which means 'Sun'; but not the one we see in the sky!
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