PL
DZOGCHEN AND BÖN IN POLANDThe article presents the beginnings of the research on the Tibetan sciences of Dzogchen and Bön in Poland. The author emphasises the relativity of the divisions between the various kinds of Tibetan religious sciences: Bön, Buddhism and Dzogchen. The above relativity is confirmed by: referring to each Tibetan spiritual path as Chos, the assimilation of the older traditions by the more recent ones, similarity of categories and divisions between them, the presence of Dzogchen sciences both in Bön and in Buddhism, recognition of the Bön tradition as an integral part of Buddhism by some Buddhist representatives, identifying both Bön and Buddhism as fundamentally Tibetan, mutual tolerance revealing itself e.g. in the practice of both Bön and Buddhism by individuals associated primarily with Dzogchen.Subsequently the author goes on to present the first Polish communities practising Dzogchen and Bön. The history of the interest in Dzogchen sciences in Poland goes back 15 years. The first Dzogchen meditation training in Poland, conducted by a licensed Dzogchen teacher, took place in 1989, while the first visit of Namkhai Norbu, the head of the Dzogchen communities in the world, was effected in 1992. In turn, the beginnings of the Bön communities in Poland can be traced to the year 1995 when Poland was visited for the first time by Tenzin Wangyal. Apart from the visits of the masters of the two traditions, the other forms of their activity include, among others: book publications, the production of audio and video cassettes as well as the organization of meetings and sessions whose aim is to popularise Tibetan culture; the latter seems to be a particular speciality of the Bön community.