1. The Advent of Buddhism

The light of Buddhism first reached Tibet during the reign of Lhathothori nyantsan[Tib:Lha tho tho ri gnyan btsan], the twenty-eighth King of the Yarlung dynasty of Tibet. That is when Pandita Losemtso and Lotsaba Lithese delivered the Buddhist scriptures, mDo de span bkon phyag rgya pa and others^[1], to the Tibetan king. Shakabpa has noted the King's time at 173-293 CE^[2], and 'Bri gung skyab mgon puts the King between 373-452 CE^[3]. As nobody could read or decipher the texts at that time, they were kept safe for the future and named 'gNyan po gsang ba' [strict or sacred secret]. The king was said to have a dream in which it was revealed that the texts would be deciphered after five generations. He held the texts in respect and worshiped them; for this he was said to have lived for one hundred and twenty years.

The thirty third King of Tibet, Srongtsan Gampo, [Tib:Srong btsan sgam po] occupied an important place in Tibetan history. It was during his reign [581-650 CE] that Tibet emerged as a strong unified nation with proper diplomatic relationships with neighboring countries. The Tibetan army entered and subjugated the territories of China, Nepal, Burma, and other hegemonies^[4]. It was said that Thonmi Sambhota, a wise minister, was sent to India to study the Indian writing system, and upon his return he modified or invented the Tibetan script of thirty consonants and four vowels. Thereafter, a number of Buddhist scriptures, including the gNyan po gsang ba, were translated into the Tibetan language^[5].

The Tibetan king formed marriage alliances with Nepal, Zhangzhung, Minyag (Tangut) and China. The queens from these kingdoms played important roles in enriching the Tibetan culture and civilization. Queens from Nepal and China, Balsa and Gyasa respectively, each brought a sacred statue of Buddha with them. A temple for each Buddha statue was built, These two temples, Rasa Trulnang and Ramoche, are still revered highly in Tibet. Pilgrims across the country and from China come to seek the blessings from these Buddha statues. The other three Tibetan queens, Mong bza' khri lcam, Zhangzhung bza' Li thig sman, and Min nyag Ru yong bza‘, also built temples where the idols of their faiths were placed.

In 645 CE, the Tibetan king visited Waitushan, the five-peaked-mountain of China. He built one hundred and eight temples in this region^[6]. He built number of Temples in Tibet. Thus the Buddhist era was ushered into the land of Tibet. Later, it was said that the King was the emanation of Avaloketishvara, the Buddha of compassion, and the Nepalese and Chinese queens were Green and White Tara [Tib:sGrol ljang and sGrol dkar].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

1) Manikabum, p-396 ff, 2) 'Tshal pa kun dga' rdo rje's Deb dmar [Mi rig dpe skrun khang] p-34, 3) Ne'u Pandita, p-14 ff

[2]:

Shakabpa, p-24

[3]:

'Bri gung skyab mgon, p-139

[4]:

Shakabpa, p-26 ff

[5]:

'Bri gung skyab mgon, p-239

[6]:

Bu ston, translated by Obermiller, History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, p-185