Situating Bön and the Life of Shardza

The opening chapter locates Bön within a broader Tibetan cultural landscape, with a view to how historical developments have contributed to modern Bönpo identity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning with a general orientation to what it has meant to be an adherent of Bön, the chapter introduces key historical developments that have shaped Bön in ways significant to our understanding of Shardza’s life. These include complex and sometimes contentious relations with nascent Buddhist lineages in Tibet, internal divisions within Bön itself, and the climate of nonsectarianism that emerged in eastern Tibet in the nineteenth century. This presentation concludes with a look at some of the particular dynamics that fueled a dispute erupting late in Shardza’s career, in which his commitment to time-honored Bön tradition came to be questioned by critics from within the lineage.