The Spread of Buddhism

the buddhist way into tibet 313

as the alphabet is concerned, Li-byin and gSam-po-ra transformed the

Indian script into the Tibetan script.^15

The tenth century dBa’-bzhed already mirrors the Buddhist view: most
important was the collection of sacred Buddhist texts. The real inten-
tion of Srong-btsan-sgam-po to provide the Tibetan language with a
script will probably for ever be shrouded in uncertainty, but it is prob-
able that he intended the use of a script for more mundane purposes.
Chinese sources suggest that writing was in use in Tibet as early as
648,^16 the Dunhuang Annals af rm the date 655 as the year where a set
of laws was written down.^17 The new script was apparently  rst used
for legal purposes.
At this early stage in the transmission of the dharma to Tibet there
were probably only a few Buddhist masters from India and Nepal pres-
ent at the royal court. Alongside the indigenous religious rituals Buddhist
rituals were practiced for (but seemingly not by) the king. The old and
the newly arrived religion existed side by side, a fact which is also clearly
stressed by the old inscriptions. The Tibetan rulers are here described as
patrons of the new faith, at the same time being worshipped as divine
leaders and protectors of the indigenous religious tradition.

5.1. Early Buddhist Temples

Although Srong-btsan-sgam-po cannot be called a Buddhist himself, at
least not in the way that he abandoned his traditional religious beliefs
and practices in favour of the new religion, his temple founding activities
and his invitation of Indian Buddhist masters to the royal court allow
the conclusion that he supported Buddhism to a certain extent.
Perhaps the earliest temple to be built in Central Tibet was the
Jo-khang at Lhasa, which was  rst known under the name of ’Phrul-
snang of Ra-sa, the ancient name for the Tibetan capital. It was
allegedly built by Srong-btsan-sgam-po himself, to give a home to the
Jo-bo Rin-po-che, the image of the 12-year old kyamuni brought
to Tibet by his Chinese bride. The Ra-mo-che temple at Lhasa and
the impressive chapel of Khra-’brug in the Yar-lung valley are also

(^15) dBa’-bzhed, fol. 1v (lines 6f.), see Wangdu & Diemberger 2000, fol. 1v and pp.
26–27. 16
Uray 1955, p. 106.
(^17) Bacot 1940–1946, pp. 13, 31.