Each year at Pal Shenten Menri Monastery and Ratna Menling Nunnery on the 14th and 15th lunar days of the 4th month, the enlightened teachings of Lord Buddha Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché are read out loud. In 2026, these dates coincide with May 30th and 31st on the Western calendar. During the ceremony, the sacred volumes containing these teachings are carried by both the ordained and laypeople as they circumambulate the temple complex. As a sign of respect for the sacredness of the scriptures, they are carried above the waist. Most often, they are carried on the shoulder. After completing the circumambulation, they are brought into the temples and distributed to the ordained monks and nuns for two full days of recitation. Reading the scriptures aloud is considered one of the thirteen activities for a meaningful human life. (See previous article: Thirteen Activities for a Meaningful Life).
The canon of sacred Yungdrung Bön scriptures is divided into two categories. The first category of texts consist of the teachings of the primordial enlightened ones and Lord Buddha Tönpa Shenrap. This category is known as Ka [Tibetan: bka’] meaning enlightened words or speech. These texts are further divided into four primary categories: (1) Dō [Tibetan: mdo], Sutra contains teachings regarding monastic rules, cosmology, medicine, hagiographies, and invocations, (2) Bum [Tibetan: ‘bum], the wisdom texts of The Hundred Thousand also known as The Prajnaparamita, (3) Gyü [Tibetan: rgyud], Tantra, and (4) Dzö [Tibetan: mdzod] The Treasury of the highest teachings known as dzogchen. In some catalogues, there can also be a fifth category of miscellaneous texts. Although each Yungdrung Bön temple in Tibet had a significant collection of Ka scriptures, the collections were not necessarily complete. This was especially due to repeated persecution throughout history of the Yungdrung Bön tradition which necessitated the hiding of texts. It is thought that only one complete collection survived. According to a catalogue of the Ka done by the 23rd abbot of Menri there are a total of 175 volumes. This number can vary according to various collections due to the availability of texts that could be copied, whether only main titles were counted as a volume, and so on.
The second category of canonical texts is known as the Ka Ten [Tibetan: bka’ brten], Relying upon the Words. Thus, the Bön canon is referred to as the Ka and the Ka Ten. (This differs from the Buddhist canon which is referred to as the Kangyur and the Tengyur.) The Ka Ten includes commentaries, practices, rituals, and so on that rely upon the scriptures of the Ka as their root text. In order for a text to be included in the Ka Ten, it must undergo a rigorous and methodical analysis. Although there are over 300 volumes included within the Ka Ten, some catalogues do not include texts after the 14th century which are thought to be mainly texts of the New Bön tradition. Other catalogues do include these texts as well as the collective writings of other Bön sages such as Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen of the 19th Century CE. Additionally, many texts are incredibly rare and are guarded from outsiders. Therefore, few if any copies of these texts exist. Some texts are considered valid to be included in the Ka Ten by some, while being considered invalid and thus excluded by others. Titles can be included within unrelated volumes or counted individually, and so on. Even so, it is generally accepted that there are over 300 volumes of Ka Ten scriptures. These volumes include commentaries, scriptures of philosophy and logic, biographies, historical accounts, compositions of sacred songs, poetry, advice for disciples, collections of liturgical texts, and so on.
It is said that reading The Heartdrop of Jamma from the beginning until the end is the same as reading the entire 118 volumes of the Ka, the words of Buddha Tönpa Shenrap. This beautiful text, where the practitioner transforms their physical body into the sacred mandala of the limitless emanations of Sherap Jamma, has been translated by Raven Cypress Wood and published by Nine Ways. It is available in both print and eBook. For those who would like to listen to a meditative reading of the English translation of this text, it is available on the Nine Ways Youtube channel.
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