nd introduced the rudiments of literature and art. But
after his death in 650 we hear little more of Buddhism for some
decades.

About 705 King Khri-gtsug-lde-btsan is said to have built monasteries,
caused translations to be made, and summoned monks from Khotan. His
efforts bore little fruit, for no Tibetans were willing to take the
vows, but the edict of 783 preserved in Lhasa mentions his zeal for
religion, and he prepared the way for Khri-sron-lde-btsan in whose
reign Padma-Sambhava, the real founder of Lamaism, arrived in
Tibet.[914]

This event is said to have occurred in 747 and the epoch is
noticeable for two reasons. Firstly Tibet, which had become an
important military power, was now brought into contact both in peace
and war with China and Central Asia. It was predominant in the Tarim
Basin and ruled over parts of Ssu-chuan and Yunnan. China was
obliged to pay tribute and when it was subsequently refused the
Tibetans sacked the capital, Chang-an. In 783 China made a treaty of
peace with Tibet. The king was the son of a Chinese princess and thus
blood as well as wide experience disposed him to open Tibet to foreign
ideas. But in 747 relations with China were bad, so he turned towards
India and invited to his Court a celebrated Pandit named
Santarakshita, who advised him to send for Padma-Sambhava.

Secondly this was the epoch when Amogha flourished in China and
introduced the Mantrayana system or Chen Yen. This was the same form
of corrupt Buddhism which was brought to Tibet and was obviously the
dominant sect in India in the eighth century. It was pliant and
amalgamated easily with local observances, in China with funeral
rites, in Tibet with demonolatry.

At this time Padma-Sambhava was one of the most celebrated exponents
of Tantric Buddhism, and in Tibet is often called simply the Teacher
(Guru or Mahacarya). His portraits represent him as a man of strongly
marked and rather angry features, totally unlike a conventional monk.
A popular account of his life[915] is still widely read and may
contain some grains of history, though the narrative as a whole is
fantastic. It describes him as born miraculously in Udyana but as
having studied at Bodhgaya and travelled in many regions with the
intention of converting all the world. According to his plan, the
conversion of his native land was to be his last labour, and when he
had finished his work in Tibet he vanished thither miraculously. Thus
Udyana is not r