The Growth of Indian Buddhist Influence in Tibet

In the eighth century, one of the later rulers, while hearing of the biography of Srong-tsan-gam-po, also developed an interest in the Teaching of the Buddha. He invited Shantarakshita, a famous Buddhist scholar, to Tibet. Shantarakshita was then the abbot of the great monastic university of Nalanda in India. He travelled to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where he taught the Dharma for several months.

There were, however, many powerful people at the Tibetan court who were opposed to Buddhism and they put pressure on the king to expel Shantarakshita. The king discussed the matter with Shantarakshita and they decided that it was better for him to go to Nepal for the time being. Meanwhile, Shantarakshita suggested to the king that Padmasambhava, a famous master of meditation, be invited from India. Padmasambhava was able to remove all opposition to Buddhism in Tibet. Soon, Shantarakshita also returned. Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita together helped to establish the teachings of the Mahayana and Vajrayana firmly in Tibet. Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava respectively represented the best of the Buddhist scholarship and meditative practices of India at that time. Their teachings, therefore, had a great impact on Tibet. Although Padmasambhava did not remain for long in Tibet, the Tibetans remember him as the “Precious Master” without whom Buddhism might not have been established in Tibet. Shantarakshita continued to teach in Tibet until his death.

During the time of these two great masters, great monasteries were built and the first Tibetans were ordained. Many of the first Tibetan monks achieved outstanding meditative powers. In the course of the next fifty years, many more translations of Buddhist texts were made and the earlier translations revised. A catalogue of the translations was also prepared. Teams of Indian and Tibetan monks working together accomplished all this. By now India had become the primary source of Buddhist culture for the Tibetans.

The Later Transmission of Buddhist Teaching from India

In the ninth century, there was a short-lived persecution of Buddhism in Tibet and many Tibetans felt that the purity of the Buddhist teachings originally brought from India was lost. As a result, many Tibetans again travelled to India to study and efforts were made to invite Indian scholars to Tibet. The eleventh century saw a great increase in contacts between Tibet and India and a corresponding growth in Buddhist activity in Tibet. Of the many outstanding persons who contributed to the revival of Buddhism in Tibet, two may be mentioned. They are the famous Indian scholar, Atisha, and the great Tibetan meditator and poet, Milarepa.

Atisha, who came from the cast of India, was very learned. Before becoming an abbot of one of the great monastic universities of India, he had spent more than ten years in Srivijaya, one of the notable Buddhist centres of Southeast Asia. He came to Tibet in the later part of the eleventh century and remained there until his death thirteen years later. He had considerable influence on the later development of Tibetan Buddhism. Many of his teachings were included in the various Buddhist traditions of Tibet.

Milarepa, who lived in the eleventh century, was of a humble background. He studied diligently under one of the noted Tibetan teachers and translators who had returned from India. Soon, Milarepa came to be recognised as an outstanding meditator who had gained extraordinary insight into the nature of things. He put his meditative experiences into songs, which are remarkable both for their beauty and for the depth of their wisdom.

Over the course of several centuries, not only did many outstanding Indian masters visit Tibet, but also many Tibetans made the difficult journey over the Himalayas to study the Dharma in India. They brought back with them the Buddhist philosophy of India and also the knowledge of Music, Medicine, Logic and Art. Within a relatively short period, Tibetan society had been transformed. What had once been a primitive nation was changed into one noted for its learning and wisdom.

Virtually the entire collection of Buddhist literature from India was translated into Tibetan. Hundreds of monasteries were established and numerous Tibetan works on Buddhism were written. By the thirteenth century, when Buddhism in India began to decline, Tibet was ready not only to preserve Buddhism, but also to transmit it to other lands.

The Later Development of Tibetan Buddhism

In the fourteenth century, yet another teacher influenced the development of Buddhism in Tibet. He was Tson-kha-pa who was born in the northeast of Tibet. Tson-kha-pa was noted for his careful adherence to the code of monastic discipline and for the quality of his numerous writings. He soon attracted many followers and in the years after his death, his sect gradually gained a very large following in Tibet.

Buddhism continued to flourish in Tibet from the fourteenth century right through to the present century. Learned scholars continued to teach the Dharma and write commentaries. They also wrote original works on Buddhism. Monks and lay followers continued to achieve extraordinary levels of meditation.

In the middle of the twentieth century, when Tibet came under the rule of the People’s Republic of China, Buddhism was repressed. Many Tibetans fled to India and to the West to preserve their religion. In this way, through the Tibetan refugees, many people throughout the world came into contact with Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Today, there are Tibetan Buddhist centres teaching the Dharma in many lands. Recently, a liberalisation in the policy of the government towards religion in China has permitted a revival of Buddhism within Tibet also.

Introduction of Buddhism to Mongolia

The thirteenth century saw the rise of Mongolian power in Central Asia. Under Genghis Khan, an ambitious and brilliant
chieftain, the Mongols soon made their influence felt throughout the region. By the middle of the century, links had been established between the Mongol court and Tibetan Buddhist masters.

At that time, an army under a Mongol prince threatened Tibet. Sakya Pandita, the most outstanding Tibetan religious teacher of the time, was asked to negotiate with the Mongols. Although Sakya Pandita hesitated to go because of his advanced age, he eventually agreed.

Sakya Pandita succeeded in converting the Mongol prince and his court to Buddhism. He began the work of translating the Buddhist scriptures into Mongolian and taught the Dharma to the Mongols until his death.

Later Sakya Pandita’s nephew, Cho-gyal-phag-pa, was invited by the famous Kublai Khan to visit the Mongol court in China. When Cho-gyal-phag-pa reached the imperial court in China, he became the personal religious teacher of the Khan. He stepped up the work of translating the Buddhist scriptures which had been started by Sakya Pandita. During the reign of Kublai Khan, the Mongol court came increasingly under the influence of Tibetan culture. Thereafter, a succession of Mongol Khans continued to look to Tibet for religious inspiration.