Bon and Tibetan Buddhism stand in a relationship of deep mutual influence, yet they define themselves through distinct origins, founders, and sacred histories. Bon traces its lineage to Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche and to a sacred land often named Olmo Lung-ring or Olmolungring, presenting itself as an indigenous revelation that predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhism, by contrast, looks back to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni in India and to the transmission of his teachings into Tibet from roughly the seventh century onward. In this sense, Bonpos regard their tradition as a complete and independent path, not simply a variant of Buddhism, even though the two now share many external forms.

This difference in origin is mirrored in their scriptural and institutional worlds. Bon possesses its own canon, commonly referred to as the Bon Kanjur and Bon Tenjur, which parallels the structure of the Buddhist Kanjur and Tenjur but preserves distinct narratives, revelations, and mythic geographies. Its lineages, monasteries, and ordination systems are transmitted separately from those of the Buddhist schools, even though the monastic model and curriculum show clear signs of cross-fertilization. Tibetan Buddhism, for its part, organizes itself around Indian sutras, tantras, and commentaries, and around its own family of schools such as Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.

On the level of cosmology and ritual life, the contrasts become especially vivid. Bon maintains a pantheon centered on Tonpa Shenrab and on primordial Bon deities, alongside a rich array of local gods, mountain spirits, and elemental beings that are integrated into its ritual cycles. Tibetan Buddhism also incorporates local spirits, but its primary focus rests on Buddhas and Bodhisattvas such as Shakyamuni and Avalokiteśvara, and on tantric deities of Indian origin. Bon ritual practice gives strong emphasis to healing, exorcism, funerary rites, prosperity, and protection from spirits, often involving specific mantras, spirit‑appeasement rites, and even the counterclockwise circumambulation of sacred sites, whereas Tibetan Buddhist rites, though sometimes outwardly similar, are more explicitly framed in terms of the four noble truths, karma, rebirth, and liberation.

Philosophically and symbolically, the two traditions again run on parallel yet distinct tracks. Both articulate graded paths that include sutra, tantra, and teachings akin to Dzogchen, and both speak of karma, rebirth, and primordial awareness, but Bon grounds these in its own textual sources, lineages, and technical vocabulary, often associated with regions such as Zhang Zhung. Its mantras and seed syllables differ—placing special emphasis, for example, on syllables and formulas not central in Buddhist practice—and its primary symbol, the yungdrung or swastika, is typically depicted in a direction opposite to that most common in Buddhist art. Tibetan Buddhism, meanwhile, employs its own standard mantras and iconography, with the familiar wheel of dharma and other auspicious signs at the forefront. Over centuries of dialogue and tension, each has come to recognize the other, yet Bon continues to preserve and systematize an indigenous Tibetan religious heritage alongside forms that closely resemble those of its Buddhist counterpart.