Bon

Bon
/bon/; Fr. /bawonn/, n.
Cape, a cape on the NE coast of Tunisia: surrender of the German African forces, May 12, 1943. Also called Ras Addar.
/bawn/, n.
an annual festival of the Japanese Buddhists, welcoming ancestral spirits to household altars. Also called Feast of Lanterns.
[ < Japn, orig. Urabon < Chin version of Skt ullambana lit., hanging upside down (a metaphor for the suffering brought on by physical desires)]

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I
Indigenous religion of Tibet.

It was originally concerned with magical propitiation of demonic forces, and its practices included blood sacrifices. It later developed a cult of divine kingship (with kings regarded as manifestations of the sky divinity), reformulated in Tibetan Buddhism as the reincarnation of lamas. Bon's order of oracular priests had their counterpart in Buddhist soothsayers, and its gods of air, earth, and underworld in the lesser Tibetan Buddhist deities. Though its religious supremacy ended in the 8th century, Bon survives in many aspects of Tibetan Buddhism and as a living religion on Tibet's northern and eastern frontiers.
II
Popular annual festival in Japan, usually observed July 13–15, in honor of the spirits of deceased family members and of all the dead.

As at the New Year festival, the dead are believed to return to their birthplaces. Memorial stones are cleaned, dances performed, and paper lanterns and fires are lit to welcome the dead and to bid them farewell when their visit ends.
III
(as used in expressions)
Le Bon Gustave
Cape Bon Peninsula

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▪ Japanese festival
also called  Bon Matsuri, or Urabon,  
 one of the most popular annual festivals in Japan, observed July 13–15 (August 13–15 in some places), honouring the spirits of deceased family ancestors and of the dead generally. It is, along with the New Year festival, one of the two main occasions during the year when the dead are believed to return to their birthplaces. Memorial stones are cleaned, community dances performed, and paper lanterns and fires are lit to welcome the dead and to bid them farewell at the end of their visit.

      The word Urabon was probably derived from the Sanskrit Avalambana (All Souls Day), a Buddhist ceremony based on the Avalambana-sūtra (Urabon-kyō in Japanese). The sutra relates the story of Maudgalyāyana, a disciple of the Buddha, who secured his mother's release from hell by having monks offer food, drink, and shelter to the spirits of his ancestors. Though observed as a Buddhist festival, Bon is not exclusively so and reflects the ancient theme of close continuity in Japanese religious life between the living and the dead.

▪ Tibetan religion
      indigenous religion of Tibet that, when absorbed by the Buddhist traditions introduced from India in the 8th century, gave Tibetan Buddhism much of its distinctive character.

      The original features of Bon seem to have been largely magic-related; they concerned the propitiation of demonic forces and included the practice of blood sacrifices. Later, there is evidence of a cult of divine kingship, the kings being regarded as manifestations of the sky divinity (reformulated in Buddhism as the reincarnation of lamas); an order of oracular priests (their counterpart, the Buddhist soothsayers); and a cult of the gods of the atmosphere, the earth, and subterranean regions (now lesser deities in the Buddhist pantheon).

      In the 8th and 9th centuries, struggles took place between the ruling house of Tibet, whose members sided with Buddhism, and the powerful noble families, who sided with Bon. Enabled by deliberate Buddhist concern for written works, Bon was developed into a systematized religion with specific doctrine and a sacred literature. Although any serious Bon claims to religious supremacy were ended by the late 8th-century persecution by King Khrisong Detsen, it was never completely destroyed and continues to survive both in the aspects of Tibetan Buddhism that are mentioned above and as a living religion on the northern and eastern frontiers of Tibet.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bon — Bon …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • bon — 1. s. m. 1°   Ce qui est bon. Il a préféré le bon à l utile. •   La France, où les connaissances ont été portées aussi loin que partout ailleurs ; seulement est il à craindre que l on n y prenne à la fin un bizarre mépris du bon devenu trop… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • bon — BON, Bonne. adj. Qui a en soy toutes les qualitez necessaires à sa nature. Bon vin. bonne eau. bon air. bon cheval. bonne terre. bon fruit. bonnes cerises. bonnes poires, &c. bon blé. bonne avoine. bon pain. bon or. bon argent. En ce sens il se… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Bön — [Although the Wylie transcription of the Tibetan spelling is just bon , the umlaut is conventionally added above the o to more nearly suggest the Tibetan pronunciation of the vowel.] (bo|t=བོན་|w=bon|l=pʰø̃̀(n)) is the oldest spiritual tradition… …   Wikipedia

  • Bon-po — Bön Le Bön (prononcer beun) est une religion tibétaine préexistant au bouddhisme. Ses adeptes sont les Bönpo (lignée Bön). De l’ensemble des pratiques animistes et chamanistes constituant le premier Bön (shes pa bcu gnyis) s’est dégagé au… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bon — BON, Bon, or bon can refer to:Places: * Cap Bon, a peninsula in Tunisia. * Flamingo International Airport, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. (IATA code BON )People: * Anna Bon, Russian/Italian composer and singer. * Bartolomeo Bon, Italian sculptor… …   Wikipedia

  • Bon — ist die älteste in Tibet praktizierte Religion, siehe Bön die Bezeichnung für einen Kassenbon eine venezianische Baumeisterfamilie, siehe Bartolomeo Bon ein alternativer Name für das japanische Obon Fest die Bezeichnung für einen Schokoriegel,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BON — ist die älteste in Tibet praktizierte Religion, siehe Bön die Bezeichnung für einen Kassenbon eine venezianische Baumeisterfamilie, siehe Bartolomeo Bon ein alternativer Name für das japanische Obon Fest Bon ist der Familienname folgender… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • bon — BON, bonuri, s.n. 1. Bilet provizoriu pe baza căruia se eliberează o marfă, un bun etc. 2. Hârtie de valoare emisă de stat sau de o instituţie financiară recunoscută de stat. ♢ Bon de tezaur = obligaţie emisă de stat pentru sumele împrumutate pe… …   Dicționar Român

  • bon — Bon, m. Se rapporte tantost aux moeurs et conditions de l homme, et selon ce on dit, Voila un bon homme, Eccum tibi virum probum, et tantost à la robusteté, vaillance et force du corps, selon ce on dit, Il est bon chevalier, bon homme d armes, c… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

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