Ti/Jet Takes to Buddhi$m

THE Tibetan chronicles, which one would naturally consult in seeking information about the introduction and spread of Buddhism in Tibet, are unfortunately full of exaggerated facts and pure legend. However, the es�ential facts can be gleaned from these chronicles which date from the eleventh century onwards and are corroborated from other sources such as Chinese, Nepali, Mongolian and Khotanese

records. The Tibetan accounts of the rise of Buddhism

in Tibet, though full of legends and incon­sisten t reports, do agree that Buddhism was introduced during the reign of King Sron tsen Gam-po (617-50 A.C.). Buddhism does not seem to have gained any footing as to deserve anv mention before his time, though we cannot ov�r-rule the possibility of stray missionaries entering Tibet prior to his rule. According to a Khotanese document, the 'red faces' (Tibetans) destroyed the temples and shrines earlier but an ardent protector of the Good Religion was found in Sron tsen Gam-po.

Conversion of a King

The conversion of Sron tsen Gam-po is said to have been effected by his two wives, the Chinese princess Wencheng given over to him

in marriage about 64 I A.C., perhaps for political reasons, by her father who was unable to resist the Tibetan attacks on the Chinese borderland, and the Nepali princess Bhrkuti, daughter of king Amsuvarman. A Tibetan work called the Rgyal-rabs selwai me-Ion records that Sron tsen Gam-po sued for the hand of the Nepali princess as follows:

" ), the king of barbarous Tibet, do not practise the ten virtUes, but should you be pleased to bestow on me your daughter, I shall

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RATNA HANDURUKANDE

practise the ten virtues, I shall build five thousand temples, ..... " etc. Whether he carried out his promises earnestly and on 5uch a lavish scale is uncertain. In fact, the glimpse got of him in Chinese hi5tory shows him actively engaged in numerous wars with neighbouring states, which must have left him lirtle time f or Buddhist activities.

Culture

However, it seems reasonably certain that the fmt Buddhist temples were erected in central Tibet during his reign parti�ularly 10 enshrine the image, received as doW!)' from Ntpal and China. There is also evidence to show that he sent messengers to India, Nepal and Chin a for Buddhist books and teachers.

Thon-mi Sambhota, one such emissary sent to India, de5erves special mention as the founder of the Tibetan alphabet (which appears to be an adaptation of the Sanskrit alphabet) and as the writer of a Tibetan grammar and the translator of several texts stili preserved in the: Tengyur collection of the Tibetan scriptures. The service� of Sron tsen Gam-po as the first patron of the Law and learning have been justly recognised by the Tibetan Buddhists who canonized him as the incarnatlOn of Avalokitesvara, the most popular bodhi�attva in Tibet. The two queens, Bhrkuti and Wen­cheng were called the white and green Tal as, the consorts of Avalokitesvara.

That little or no effort had been made by Sro;l. tsen Gam-po for the consolidation of the Buddhist doctrine among the masses is clear from the course of events that took place immediatelv after his death. From the second half ot the �eventh centurv, lillie official interest was shown in Buddhism.

· Religion became

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The Fint Sermoll �ymboliJfd on the roof oj Jokhang monflSl.ery, Tibet.

involved in domestic politics, and if a king supported Buddhism, his relatives and the ministers usuall" opp05ed it. The welcome given to the refugee monks ftom Khotan, Gilgit and India bv king Me-ak-tsom (704-55 .-\.C.) and the events leading to their eventual expulsion, may ,,·ell b� linked with the murder oj" the king himselr. It is reported that a t this time an order was enacted forbidding the practice of the do�trine.

Re-Vivification and PadDlasarnbhava

.-\ revival of Buddhism took place again during the reign of Tri Song-den-tsen (755-804 ."-.C.), the son of the murdered king. The inscriptional evidence of hi3 enthusiasnl for the doctllne and the promulgation of Buddhist literary

activity explain why he was recognised as an incarnation ot the bodhisattva Manjusri. The most remarkable event that Occurred during his reign was the arrival of the Buddhist monk Padmasambhava, whom the Tibetans referred to as Guru R.in -po-che, the Precious Teacher. He was the founder of the Lamaist (priestly) Order in Tibet. Padmasambbava appears to have been a member of the tantric Yogacarya school, a resident at 0ialanda when the Indian sage Sangharakshita summoned him at the request of the Tibetan king. Uddivana, Padmasambhava's native land, was famed lor the prcficiency of its priests in sorcery, exorcism and magic, as we under stand Crom Hieun Tsang's accounts.

It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature

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pf the creed taught by Padmasambhava, for the works attributed to him are said to have been composed by his disciples several centuries later. But, considering the background he came f rom and the association of his name with lamaist sorceries, it is evident that his teaching was a magical type of Mahayana . Buddh.ism, very different frorr. early Buddhism.

At the time of the arrival of Padmasambhava, the indigenous beliefs of the .Tibetans, known as the Bon religion, with its worship of the wonder-working powers of nature, magic, soothsaying and oracles, was held in respect. Padmasambhava appears to have overcome whatever opposition he had from the Bon believers by coming to terms with their beliefs and incorporating them within the framework of the new religion. -

Padmasambhava was responsible for the establishment of the first Tibetan monastery, Sam-ya, where seven Tibetan monks took the monastic vows. These monks adhered to the Sarvastivada school of Buddh.ism, which explains why the scriptures of th.is school form an essential part of the Tibetan canon. Soon after founding the monastery and establishing the Buddhist church, Padmasam­bhava departed from Tibet leaving his disciples to carry on his work.

Translation Activity

The next important event in the history of Tibetan Buddhism was the translation of works of reputed authors like Vasubandhu and Kagarjuna, during the reign of Ral-pa-chen who ruled in the latter half of the ninth century. Ral-pa-chen's brother, Lan Dharma was irreligious. He was soon assassinated and the lamas became the regents during the period of

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the minority of his sons. From this time, the lamaist church grew in influence until its . culmination in the institution of priest-kings, the Dalai Lamas.

Atisa

The eleventh century is an important era in lama ism since it marks the beginning of the sectarian movement, which began \\lith ·the reformation started by the Indian monk Atlsa. At the time of Atisa's arrival in 1038 A.C, the lamas were a large and influential body,

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possessing a good amount of translations 01 the Mahayana canon which taught a Buddhism different from that practised in Tibet. Atisa, wh.ile adhering to Tantrism, began a reformation on the lines of purer Mahayana. He enforced celibacy and a high standard of morality whIe discouraging the practice of magic and

demonolatry. These reforms resulted in the formation of the sect called Khadampa, the sect' bound by the orders'. The lamas who, unreformed, adhered to the old practices were called nin-ma-pa, 'the old ones '. They wore red caps, while the lamas of the Kargyupa sect founded by Marpa 10 the

. latter half of the eleventh century wore white caps. The leading adherents of this white cap sect were Tilopa, Naropa, Maropa and Milarepa, the hermit saint of Ttbet. The

. Khadampa sect was re-organised at the beginning of the fifteenth century by Tsong kapa, who gave the title Gelugpa, 'the virtuous order,' to the re-organised sect. As the adherents of this sect wore yellow caps, it came to be called the Yellow Cap secl. fhls sect eclipsed all other sects and ohtained the pr;rst-kingship of Tibet which it continues.