Bon Monastery Yung Drung Kundaak Ling

...At Kewing Bazaar the road passes a small monastery which is unique in Sikkim: the Bon Monastery Yung Drung Kundaak Ling. It has been in existence since 1984 and houses a very small number of monks.
The monks in this monastery are very broad-minded and hospitable. They offer butter tea or sweet Indian tea and pastries to the visitors.
We are allowed to visit their library and participate in the ceremonies in the temple...
...Until Buddhism found its way from India in the 7th century, the Bon religion was the religion of Tibet. The belief in an Almighty God and in gods, spirits and demons living in nature belongs to the ancient elements of it. The priests carried out shamanistic practices. By means of an intellectual reform, Bon was able to continue to exist alongside Buddhism. The writings in Tibetan script show strong elements of Buddhism as well as of Hinduism and Manichaeism. The spirits and demons of the Bon religion were integrated into Buddhism as guardian deities. During the religious festivals the monks put on the masks of the old Gods of terror and enact the fight of good against evil in mystery plays: the enemies of the religion are crushed and the clouds of ignorance dispersed with the sword.
As in Buddhism and Hinduism, a mountain is seen as a centre of the world. The Kailash in western Tibet is regarded as Meru (the world mountain) in all three religions. There is a religion founder, Tonpa Shenrab who, similar to Buddha, had a predecessor and will have a successor...