Buddhism
was introduced into Tibet in the 7th century, during the reign of Tubo King
Songtsan Gambo, and gradually infiltrated Tibet's history, politics, economics,
culture, exchanges, and habits and customs to become the most extensively
worshipped religion of Tibetans.
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Vajra |
Tibetan
Buddhism (Lamaism) has exerted extensive and profound influence on the Tibetan
people. Prolonged ethnic cultural exchanges also enabled Tibetan Buddhism to
make its way into the Mongolian and other ethnic minority nationalities
throughout China. Buddhism has long been widely worshipped in Tibet, especially
in the traditional Kham and Amdo areas. It has also made its way into Bhutan,
Nepal, and Mongolia.
Formation of Tibetan Buddhism
The spread of Buddhism to Tibet is attributed to Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo,
who did his best to establish friendly ties with neighboring countries and learn
from the cultures of other countries.
His marriage with Princess Khridzun of Nepal and Princess Wencheng of China's
Tang
Dynasty (618-907) facilitated the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet. Each
princess journeyed to Tibet with statues of Buddha and Buddhism scriptures.
Artisans accompanying the princesses participated in the construction of the
Jokhang and Ramoche monasteries. Also, Buddhist monks from Nepal and China began
translating Buddhist scriptures. Buddhism thus was spread in Tibet.
Tibet went though a power struggle for more than half a century after the
death of Songtsan Gambo. Buddhism failed to flourish until Tride Zhotsan,
Songtsan Gambo's great grandson who took power in 710. He married Princess
Jincheng of the Tang Dynasty.
The new bride moved the statue of Buddha, which Princess Wencheng brought to
Tibet, to the Jokhang Monastery. Meanwhile, she arranged monks accompanying her
to the Tubo Kingdom (629-846) to take charge of the monastery and related
religious activities. She engaged in a painstaking effort and finally succeeding
in persuading the Tubo court to accept monks fleeing from western regions and
build seven monasteries to house them.
While the measures further boosted the development of Buddhism in Tibet, they
nonetheless sparked discontent among Bon-worshiping ministers. The ministers
left no stone unturned to obstruct the development of Buddhism, with the
situation lasting until Trisong Detsan, the son of Tride Zhotsan, came to power.
Trison Detsan relied on Buddhism to fight ministers who rallied behind the
Bon religion. As part of the effort, he invited Zhibatsho and Padmasambhava,
famous Indian monks, to build the Samye Monastery in 799. Seven noble children
were later tonsured (shaved, signifying acceptance) to the monastery, which
became the first monastery in Tibetan Buddhist history to tonsure monks.
Achievements
