Page "Mount Kailash" Paragraph 16

It is said that Milarepa ( c. 1052-c. 1135 CE ), champion of Tantric Buddhism, arrived in Tibet to challenge Naro Bön-chung, champion of the Bön religion of Tibet.

The two magicians engaged in a terrifying sorcerers ' battle, but neither was able to gain a decisive advantage.

Finally, it was agreed that whoever could reach the summit of Kailash most rapidly would be the victor.

While Naro Bön-chung sat on a magic drum and soared up the slope, Milarepa's followers were dumbfounded to see him sitting still and meditating.

Yet when Naro Bön-chung was nearly at the top, Milarepa suddenly moved into action and overtook him by riding on the rays of the sun, thus winning the contest.

He did, however, fling a handful of snow on to the top of a nearby mountain, since known as Bönri, bequeathing it to the Bönpo and thereby ensuring continued Bönpo connections with the region.