Within the Bon tradition, the field of veneration extends from primordial enlightened principles to very immediate, worldly spirits. At the highest level stand primordial and wisdom deities such as Kuntu Zangpo, understood as an all-good, Buddha-like source of enlightened qualities, and Sherab Chamma or Satrig Ersang, revered as a central female embodiment of wisdom and compassion. Closely related to these are deities like Shenlha Okar, described as a white, compassionate figure, and Sangpo Bumtri, remembered as a creator god. These beings form a kind of luminous backdrop, expressing Bon’s vision of an original, timeless enlightenment that underlies all experience.

Alongside these primordial figures stands Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche, honored as the founding teacher of Bon and a central focus of devotion. Lineage masters and realized adepts are also venerated, not merely as historical personalities but as living sources of blessing and guidance. Some of these figures function as meditation deities, comparable to yidam in Buddhist contexts, such as Zhang Zhung Meri and Walse Ngampa, who are invoked for realization, protection, and the deepening of contemplative practice. Through such deities, Bon practitioners engage a structured path that links visionary experience with an unbroken human lineage.

A powerful stratum of the Bon pantheon consists of protective and wrathful deities. Sipé (Sidpa) Gyalmo is regarded as a principal protectress of the tradition, a fierce manifestation of wisdom that safeguards teachings and practitioners. Yeshe Walmo is similarly revered as a fierce wisdom protectress, especially associated with the preservation of scriptures. Other protectors such as Gekhö and warlike guardians akin to dharmapālas are invoked to defend sacred places, ritual spaces, and the integrity of the doctrine. In this way, the protective deities embody the energetic, sometimes fearsome, side of compassion.

Equally important are the many spirits associated with land, elements, and ancestry, which reveal Bon’s deep roots in indigenous Tibetan religiosity. Water and underworld spirits such as the lu or naga, earth lords like sa bdag or sadak, and mountain and valley spirits such as yul lha, nyen, and tsen are all propitiated to maintain harmony between humans and their environment. There are also household, clan, and village protectors, as well as paternal and maternal ancestral spirits (pho lha and mo lha), and personal power spirits such as drala. Spirits of the dead and intermediate-state beings are addressed in ritual to support their passage and to heal relations between the living and the departed. Taken together, these layers of deities and spirits show a vision in which ultimate enlightenment, protective power, and the living landscape are woven into a single, continuous sacred cosmos.