Books on the history of Tibetan Buddhism record the
following legend of how Buddhism spread to Tibet: On one
particular day in the 5th century, Lhathothori Nyantzan,
forefather of the Tubo Kingdom, was resting on the summit of
Yungbolhakang. He suddenly found several Buddhist treasures
falling from the sky. While the Tubo King had no idea what
they were for, a mysterious voice from the sky informed him
that the 6th Tsampo (king) of the Tubo Kingdom would know
the use of the objects.
According to historical
documents, these treasures were brought to Tibet by Indians
Buddhists. Upon seeing that Tibetans had no idea of their
significance, the Indian monks had no choice but to secret
them in a safe place and return to india. The fact remains
that Buddhism did spread into Tibet during the reign of Tubo
King Songtsan Gambo in the 7th
century.
Songtsan Gambo did his best to
establish friendly ties with neighboring countries in order
to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges and learn from
the advanced cultures of various races. In the process he
married with Princess Khridzun of Nepal and Princess
Wencheng of China's Tang Dynasty (618-907). Each princess
journeyed to Tibet with a statue of Buddha, and once there
set about building the Jokhang and Ramoge monasteries in
Lhasa. Artisans accompanying the princess were involved in
the construction of monasteries, and Buddhist monks in their
tourages began translating Buddhist scriptures. Buddhism
thus spread to Tibet from Nepal and Han
areas.
Tibet reeled under power struggle for
more than half a century following the death of Songtsan
Gambo. Buddhism failed to flourish until Tride Zhotsan,
great grandson of Songtsan Gambo, finally took power. In
710, Tride Zhotsan asked for the hand of and eventually
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 to take in 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
amongst ministers worshipping the Bon religion. The
ministers left no stone unturned to obstruct the development
of Buddhism, with to 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 to the monastery, which became the first monastery
in Tibetan Buddhist history to tonsure monks. The event thus
pioneered the tonsure system of Tibetan
Buddhism.
In addition to inviting Indian monks
to Tibet, Trisong Destan sent trusted emissaries to China's
hinterland to invite monks to lecture in Tibet. Mahayana
became one of the many Han monks who contributed to ensuring
that Han Buddhism flourished in Tibet. Mahayana remained in
Tibet for 11 years lecturing on Buddhism and completing nine
books on Buddhist tenets.
Tubo kings in ensuing
dynasties did their utmost to promote Buddhism by building
monasteries and commissioning the translation of Buddhist
sutras. At the same time, they granted monks royal incomes
and even encouraged them to become involved in government
affairs in order to undermine ministers who supported the
Bon religion. The policy spawned the deep hatred of said
ministers, who eventually arranged for the assassination of
Tritso Detsan in 842. The ministers threw their support
behind Darma, the brother of Tritso Detsan, to become the
new Tubo king. This was in turn followed by the large-scale
suppression of Buddhism in the region.
Shortly
after assuming power, Darma set out to suppress Buddhism,
but was soon assassinated by Tibetan Buddhists, and war
erupted between the different power factions. Slaves, who
were thrown into the abyss of misery, rose to revolt. Tibet
was torn apart by various forces. The "diffusion of
Buddhism'' was thus halted.
The early 10th
century witnessed the entry of a feudal society in tibet,
with each of the Tubo ministers occupying a part of the
kingdom and becoming feudal powers in their respective
localities. They proceeded to promote Buddhism in order to
strengthen their own rule. Buddhism was thus revived in
Tibet. In terms of form and content, however, Buddhism
rising in Tibet during tit particular period was worlds
apart from Tubo Buddhism. The 300-odd years of struggle
between Buddhism and the Bon religion resulted in each
absorbing the strong points of the other. Buddhism became
increasingly Tibetanized as the region entered the feudal
stage. Tibetan Buddhism emerged and entered a stage of rapid development.
|