274 CHAPTER ELEVENTibet's imperial power reached its peak during Trhisong Detsen's reign, as
China was in the throes of the An Lu-shan rebellion (see Section 8.5). Ti-
betan armies occupied the Chinese capital at Ch'ang-an in 763, and captured
Tun-huang, the great Buddhist translation center on the Silk Road, in 787,
after which scholars there turned to translating Chinese Buddhist texts into
Tibetan for their new overlords. Trhisong Detsen took advantage of this situa-
tion to send emissaries to India, China, and central Asia to obtain Buddhist
texts; to invite Buddhist scholars to the Tibetan court; and to submit lists of
questions concerning Buddhist doctrine to any renowned scholars who were
unable to make the trip. One such list has been found in the caves of Tun-
huang. It is a remarkable document revealing that Yogacara was the primary
school of Buddhist thought entering Tibet during this period, and that the
king had a sophisticated grasp of its teachings and controversial points. Later
Tibetans regard him, with good reason, as an emanation of Mafijusri (see Sec-
tion 5.4.2).
Two other significant events in the history of Tibetan Buddhism occurred
during King Trhisong's reign. The first was the building of the monastery at
Sam-ye (bSam-yas), southeast of Lhasa, a process that took a total of 12 years,
from 763 to 775 (Strong EB, sec. 7.1). The great Indian scholar Santarak~ita
was invited from Nalanda to preside over the founding of what was to be-
come Tibet's first native monastery, but a series of natural disasters, which the
anti-Buddhist faction at court attributed to his presence in the country, forced
him to return to India. Before leaving, however, he counseled the king to in-
vite to Tibet an Indian Tantric adept, Padmasambhava, who would tame the
local gods and demons, making them more amenable to the establishment of
Buddhism on~ Tibetan soil. The king followed his advice, and Padmasambhava
accepted the invitation. Tibetan traditions report that Padmasambhava was a
fabulous wonder-worker, subduing a vast number of demonic forces and forc-
ing pledges from them to protect Tibetan Buddhism.
Construction was then resumed on the monastery at Sam-ye. Santarak~ita
was invited to its consecration, and the king swore in an edict, still extant, that
Tibet would dedicate itself in perpetuity to the support of the Triple Gem. At
the same time, seven hand-picked members of the Tibet nobility, called the
Seven Elect, were ordained to form the first native Tibetan Sangha. The
Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya was chosen as the guide for monastic discipline. This
is one of the few Hinayana texts to be translated into Tibetan and has formed
the disciplinary code for all Tibeta.n monastic orders ever since. It is important
to note, however, that the monastic form introduced into Tibet had little in
common with the original Buddhist pattern of small, loosely organized com-
munities of alms-goers. Rather, life at Sam-ye was patterned on that of the
great Buddhist universities in India: large, organized communities dependent
on landed grants for their continued existence. This was one of the factors
that eventually led Tibetan monasticism to become thoroughly politicized.
Historical records have little more to say about Padmasambhava after the
consecration of the monastery at Sam-ye, but Tibetan legends credit him with
spending decades in Tibet, subduing gods and demons throughout the land.