2. Royal Patronage and the Teachings

While Buddhism found its initial footing in Tibet during the reign of Srongtsan Gampo, it grew and became established during the reign of the thirty-eighth king,Trisrong Deutsan [Tib:Khri srong lde'u btsan] 742-797 CE^[1], and the forty-second king, Tri Ralpachan [Tib:Khri ral pa can] 801-841 CE^[2]. Despite the obstructions from the Bon ministers and priests, Buddhism grew under royal patronage and seeped into Tibetan society. During his reign, the Indian saint, Abbot Shantarakshita, was invited to Tibet to teach Buddhism. When Abbot Shantarakshita found the power of local Bon deities too strong to proceed, he suggested that Guru Padmasambhava be invited from the land of Orgyan^[3] to pacify the local guardian spirits and to expedite the smooth establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. Guru Padmasambhava agreed to the invitation. He conquered the local guardian sprits and oath-bound them to protect the Buddhist teachings. Together,Guru Padmasambhava and Abbot Shantarakshita started the Buddhist discourse in the royal court of King Trisrong Deutsan and opened the Tibetan gate to Buddhist teachings from India. The first seven Tibetan monks graduated with excellent results and thereafter many Indian saints visited Tibet. A large number of Sanskrit Buddhist texts were translated into the Tibetan language with great fervor under royal patronage. Furthermore, under the guidance of Shantarakshita, the great Samye Monastery was built in Tibet. It was based on the revered Odantapuri Monastery in Magadha and its design was based on the Buddhist concept of the universe.

At this time, the first Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary, Mahavyupatti, was published to ensure authenticity and to achieve uniformity in the translation of Buddhist texts. To remember the great contribution made by the king and the two masters in establishing Buddhist faith in Tibet, Tibetans immortalized them in Thangka paintings as mKhan sLop Chos sum, meaning the Abbot, the Teacher and the Dharma King.

King Tri Ralpachan was an ardent follower of the teachings. Out of respect for the teachings, he had the priests, flanked on both his sides, sit on a long scarf extended from his crown. Monks were so highly respected that a royal decree was passed assigning seven households to maintain the welfare of just one monk. Monasteries and monks were exempted from all forms of taxes. Thus monasteries and monks began to play a major role in the royal court and in civilian households throughout Tibet.

But the period ranging from Srongtsan Gampo to Tri Ralpachan was also the time when the Tibetan military power was at its zenith. Victorious wars that Tibet fought with neighboring countries like China, Mongol and Nepal made Tibet known throughout Central Asia as a strong military state. Death in the battlefield was coveted; families took pride in having one of its members in the army. A long flag was hoisted in front of a house to proclaim that one of its family members was in the national army. All this gradually began to change; the belligerent Tibetans were pacified by the spread of the Buddhism. Buddhist teachings assumed the guiding force behind the royal decision and became the public approach to ethics and moral values. Governance relied on religion, power was submitted to the monks, and^[4] religious rule [Tib:chos khrims] took over state rule [rGyal khrims].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

1) Dung dkar tshig mdzod, p-404, 2) 'Bri 'gung skyabs mgon, p-403

[2]:

'Bri gung skyab mgon, p-467, Ralpachan's original name was Khri gtsug lde btsan

[3]:

This land of Orgyan is believed to Swat of present day Pakisthan, there is another version saying it is Odisha in India.

[4]:

"Chab srid chos dang bstun, dbang dge 'dun la phul" sBa bzhed zhab btag ma, p-67