A History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet: An Overview and some Reflections about Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s Trilogy

Abstract

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu proposes a new outlook on the nature of the Tibetan cultural identity, which for centuries has been conditioned by the perspective of the Buddhist orthodoxy. Such view has undermined the opinion that Tibetans nurtured about themselves concerning their written language and the overall value of their civilization, especially the Bon tradition. In his Trilogy Chögyal Namkhai Norbu takes us along a path that starts from the origin of the Zhang Zhung kingdom and ends with the central Tibetan monarchy and the advent of the Buddhadharma in Tibet, showing the profound and diversified dimensions of this endangered civilization.