The Imperial Spread of Buddhism

Khri Srong lde brtsan used this literary trope of royal tradition in order to ensure the future prosperity of religion in Tibet. His proclamatory inscription and explanatory edict in support of the Buddhist samgha at bSam yas Monastery draw on past tradition as precedent. Specifically, they cite the previous btsan pos' support for Buddhism and construction of state-sposored temples. The sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa emphasises the importance of ministers and generals to the administration of the Buddhist institutions in Tibet. They even exercise control over the translation of Buddhist texts. The late/post-imperial Old Tibetan Chronicle depicts Khri Srong lde brtsan as both a powerful imperial force and a learned propagator of compassionate Buddhism, like his ancestors.

The bSam yas inscription stresses the imperial family's continued patronage of Buddhism. It was carved into a stone pillar a little to the south of the main entrance to the monastery (gtsug lag khang) at Brag dmar. It contains a declaration, rather than the historical records of the Annals or Zhol inscription. It proclaims Khri Srong lde brtsan’s establishment of the Buddha’s religion (chos) as a state-supported practice of Tibet: The shrines (lit. “supports”) of the Three Jewels established at the monasteries, etc. of Ra sa and Brag dmar, and this practice of the Buddha’s religion, shall never be caused to be abandoned or destroyed. And, the articles provided [to the shrines], also, shall not be reduced or diminished from that [amount outlined elsewhere].

Hereafter, for generation after generation, the btsan pos, fathers and sons, shall make a vow in this way. In order that no violations of the oath shall be perpetrated or caused to come about, the supra-mundane and mundane gods and the spirits (mi ma yin) are all invoked as witnesses. The btsan pos, father and son, and all [their] lords and ministers have sworn and avowed it [respectively].

A detailed text of the proclamation exists in a different place.

The ascendancy of the empire allows the btsan po to confer high status, patronage and support on the samgha. It also enables him to proclaim that such patronage ‘shall never be abandoned or destroyed,' as well as provide the wealth that makes the ‘provision of the necessary accoutrements' possible. The donee is not a specific person or clan (as in the Zhol inscription), but rather monastic followers of Buddhism. The bSam yas

inscription draws on certain rhetorical devices used in earlier secular proclamations, for instance the Zhol inscription, in order to evoke both imperial expansion and stability. It uses these tropes to lend authority to Buddhism. In return, this newly established state religion centralised the empire around the two “capitals,” Ra sa and Brag dmar. Certainly, as other Tibetologists point out, the mandala symbolism inherent in the design

of bSam yas Monastery can also depict an ideal kingdom, at the centre of which sits the king who controls the whole circle. Thus the public promise by Khri Srong lde brtsan to support Buddhism also constitutes a self-presentation of his power over the empire.

In his “explanatory edict” (bKa' mchid) to the bSam yas inscription, Khri Srong lde brtsan claims that his patronage of Buddhism is in accord with the practice of his ancestors. As the name suggests, this edict contains a narrative explanation of the inscription's declaration. It records the construction of Ra sa 'Phrul snang monastery and the temple at Kwa chu in Brag dmar as setting the precedent for Khri Srong lde brtsan's construction of bSam yas. It implicitly claims that erecting temples constitutes one of the traditional responsibilities of Buddhist btsan pos. It explicitly states that this practice faced strong opposition in Tibet during Khri Srong lde brtsan's reign:

From the time when the religion of the Buddha was first practiced with the building of the vihara (monastery) of Ra sa in the reign of the fourth ancestor Khri Srong brtsan down to the practice of the religion of the Buddha with the building of the temple at Kwa chu in Brag dmar in the reign of the father, Khri Lde gtsug brtsan, five generations passed.

After the btsan po the father [of Khri Srong lde brtsan] went to heaven, some of the “uncle-ministers” had thoughts of rebellion and destroyed the practice of the religion of the Buddha that had been continuous from the time of [his] forefather. They objected (snyad) that it was not right to practice [according to] the southern gods and religion. Furthermore, they wrote a law forbidding its future practice.

Then, when the [[[Wikipedia:present|present]]] btsan po attained the age of twenty, at first there were bad prognostications and evil omens (ltas shig ngan). Whatever rituals were supposed to be practiced, the bad prognostications and evil omens [continued] for many months. So [[[Khri Srong lde brtsan]]] abandoned as illegitimate the law forbidding the practice of the religion of the Buddha. When [the Tibetans] acted according to the worship of the Three Jewels, immediately there was a change for the good. Then, accompanied by a spiritual friend (dge ba'i gshes gnyen), [the btsan po] heard the Dharma. After [this bKa' mchid?] document was written in his presence, it was boxed (sgroms) so that the religion of the Buddha would be promulgated and practiced.

The bKa' mchid claims that Buddhism is not a new threat to the empire's stability. It is rather a state- sponsored religion “that had been continuous from the time of [Khri srong lde brtsan's] forefather.” The text then states that Khri Srong lde brtsan simply returned to the Buddhism of his predecessors. He did so, it claims, after sensibly heeding the bad omens that followed the abandonment of the Buddha's religion in Tibet. Here augurs form part of both court life and the resources afforded to btsan pos when making important decisions. Imperial Buddhism appears to coexist with the divination of the dice edicts, which helps the mundane administration of the empire.

Further, the bKa' mchid depicts Khri Srong lde brtsan's conversion as practical rather than philosophical. It records that the augurs' omens caused the btsan po to return to Buddhism and seek an Indian abbot's structured explanation of the Dharma. The Buddhist term “spiritual friend” (kalyanamitra) is in the imperial period connected to high status religious figures like the abbot of bSam yas and Ra sa 'Phrul snang, Santaraksita, rather than to diviners, etc. Thus Khri Srong lde brtsan's rather pragmatic decision precedes what modern westerners may consider the classic circumstances of conversion, explication of Buddhist scripture by a learned spiritual friend.

This explanatory edict is supposed to reflect the perspective of Khri Srong lde brtsan. It represents him as a practical but also genuinely Buddhist Tibetan emperor (like his ancestors). This “self-presentation” of Khri Srong lde brtsan portrays him as a btsan po seeking to explain rather than impose his version of Buddhism—through the propagation of this document around his realm.

However, this act of disseminating his edict throughout the empire forces us to question these ostensive motives. It suggests instead a hegemonic claim to the authoritative view of religion that should be accepted wherever the btsan po holds power. A religious conversion is never merely personal when the convert is also an emperor. Further evidence for Khri Srong lde brtsan's political intentions is found elsewhere in the bKa’ mchid. It records that the btsan po established a counsel of ministers and petty rulers, not only monks, in order to codify the Dharma:

By inviting the minor princes under his dominion, the Lord of 'A zha and so on, and the ministers of the exterior and the interior, [[[Khri Srong lde brtsan]]] held a counsel and they considered in brief these things together: first, that trust should be placed in the commandment of the Buddha; second, that the example of the ancestors should be followed; and third, that help should be given by the power of spiritual friends.

The spread of Buddhism is as much a political as a religious act here. The text suggests that hieratic Buddhism was gradually becoming entwined with the court hierarchy. The court already sent the Annals, dice edicts and tax collectors out to the furthest reaches of the empire. Now it began to send edicts in favour of Buddhism. Khri Srong lde brtsan apparently offered this organ of proclamatory power willingly in order to promulgate the practice of the Buddha's religion. In return, these edicts naturally portray him positively, as patronising and promulgating Buddhism in accordance with his ancestors and the pre-existing traditions of Tibet.

Khri Srong lde brtsan evidently played a lead role in deciding the character of Buddhism in Tibet. In the sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa, he even seeks to control the words of the Buddha by systematising the translation of Buddhism in Tibet. And he not only worked in an executive capacity, through edicts. Certain early Buddhist works attribute their authorship to Khri Srong lde brtsan. One such text, the bKa' yang dag pa'i tshad ma (“Logic according to the genuine discourses”) may genuinely have emanated from the court of Khri Srong lde brtsan. Although analysis of this commentary would make a worthwhile thesis topic in itself, I have chosen to mention it only briefly here since it does not contain a direct depiction of Khri Srong lde brtsan. However, the above texts show that Khri Srong lde brtsan placed himself at the centre of Buddhism’s explication and propagation. For his efforts on behalf of Buddhism, he was depicted as a bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva of Tibet

Khri Srong lde brtsan began to be portrayed as a bodhisattva, someone at least on the path to enlightenment, before the fall of the empire. In the religiously oriented inscription on a bell at bSam yas Monastery, one of the queens of Khri Srong lde brtsan praises his construction of bSam yas and prays for his enlightenment:

Queen rGyal mo brtsan, mother and son, made this bell in order to worship the Three Jewels of the ten directions. And [they] pray that, by the power of that merit, lHa btsan po Khri Srong lde brtsan, father and son, husband and wife, may be endowed with the harmony of the sixty melodious sounds, and attain supreme enlightenment.

The inscription resembles an aspirational prayer more than it does an historical account. Most of it inhabits an aspirational future (ending in smond to) more commonly found in donor inscriptions and later aspirational prayers (smon lam). It depicts Khri Srong lde brtsan as on his way towards enlightenment (byang chub), but he is not yet a bodhisattva (byang chub sems dpa').

At his death, or just afterwards, his epitaph calls him “Mahabodhi(sattva?)” (byang chub chen po). This memorial is now known as the 'Phyongs rgyas inscription, which dates to c.800 CE. Richardson found it prominently displayed to the south of a small bridge leading to the tombs of the btsan pos. As such it constitutes a very public tribute to Khri Srong lde brtsan. Richardson speculates that this inscription may have been written before the death of Khri Srong lde brtsan. It is therefore no surprise to find that it praises the btsan po, specifically for acting beneficently and within the tradition of his ancestors. However, Khri Srong lde brtsan also appears to excel his forefathers as a Buddhist king (chos rgyal). The text reads:

The lha btsan pos, the ancestors, came as rulers of gods and men and their traditions (chos) [and] learning (gtsug lag) [became] good through their customs; and their authority (lit. “secure helmet”) was great in power.

lHa bTsan po Khri Srong lde brtsan, in accordance with the customs of the ancestors, did not injure the learning of the lha but acted in harmony with the way (chos) of heaven and earth. The document that comprehensively praises his virtues has been written for all time on a long stone. A detailed text exists elsewhere of the account of what the great religious king (chos rgyal) did as deeds, how the power of his authority increased the realm, and so on.

'Phrul gyi lha bTsan po Khri Srong lde brtsan, being unlike the other kings of the four borders, through his great, powerful profundity and his authority, upwards as a far as the frontier of the Ta zhig and downwards all the way to the chain of passes of Long shan, they came together under his sway; and south, north, east and west his government was great beyond limit (lit. “borders”). In that way, through the power of the realm's greatness, all Tibet grew to be great in territory and wealthy throughout; even internally it always dwelt in peace and happiness. Because he possessed in his mind a great abundance (lit. “flood”) of acts of enlightenment/a bodhi(sattva?) (byang chub spyod pa), he adopted the good, supra-mundane religion, then bestowed it as a favour (bka' drin) upon all. In this way, his great favour embraces both people and animals, both now and in the future; and all people call him by the name 'Phrul gyi lha Byang chub chen po.

The text once again emphasises the continuity of tradition. It forges a link between Khri Srong lde brtsan and his ancestors through the parallel construction of the first two “paragraphs.” Both use the positive royal attributes chos, gtsug lag and dbu rmog brtsan po'i byin, the first paragraph gives the ancestors these attributes, the second endows Khri Srong lde brtsan with them. It is difficult to tell what these difficult terms really mean in this context. The term gtsug lag could be an eighth-century neoligism written back into the past. Or this parallel construction may grant new Buddhist meaning to Old Tibetan terms like chos. Nevertheless, the overall effect is to emphasise that Khri Srong lde brtsan understood the importance of appearing to maintain the traditions of the previous btsan pos in his royal line.

However, he is also a religious king (chos rgyal). The 'Phyongs rgyas inscription's use of this term, which is unprecedented in imperial documents, perhaps marks the arrival of a new conception of Khri Srong lde brtsan. It places him on a par with Buddhist kings in surrounding states. The last line connects a royal and religious epithet in one title. It states that the people called Khri Srong lde brtsan 'Phrul gyi lha Byang chub chen po. 'Phrul gyi lha appears to constitute an imperial title, which the inscription uses three times to denote btsan pos. Byang chub chen po literally means “great enlightenment” but may refer to the name of a Buddha or bodhisattva (i.e. “great bodhi(sattva)” ). If it does not indicate the apotheosis of Khri Srong lde brtsan, this epithet at least denotes his status as a Buddhist rather than as a btsan po. One of the Buddhist texts attributed to Khri Srong lde brtsan gives its author's name as Byang chub rdzu 'phrul. His epitaph thus apparently sums up his royal and religious achievements, not in two names but in a single title 'Phrul gyi lha Byang chub chen po.

After his death, Khri Srong lde brtsan continues to be remembered as a Buddhist and btsan po. The sKar cung inscription, for intance, describes him as setting the precedent for Khri lDe srong brtsan's construction of monasteries. Just like Khri Srong lde brtsan's inscriptions, these references draw on the example of previous btsan pos, this time to justify Khri lDe srong brtsan's actions on behalf of Buddhism. The sKar cung inscription refers to Khri Srong lde brtsan as ’Phrul gyi lha bTsan po and bestows the same epithet on Khi lDe srong brtsan in line one. The title 'Phrul gyi lha, like bTsan po, sets the rulers apart from the rest of humanity.

Khri Srong lde brtsan is definitely remembered as a bodhisattva in the provinces, in the as yet undated Brag lha mo inscription A. The Brag lha mo rock, on the eastern border of the Tibetan empire, bears two inscriptions. Inscription B contains a largely effaced religious text. Inscription A is partially illegible, but proclaims:

During the reign of the btsan po, the bodhisattva, Khri Srong lde btsan, [his] merit was great. After that authority (literally, “secure helmet”) spread to the borders in the ten directions, [[[Khri Srong lde brtsan]]] was inspired and codified many Mahayana sutra scriptures. Over a thousand [[[people]]], including Me nyags---rgyal, entered the path of liberation. [He?] extensively built the --- monastery, and the subjects and --¬offered support. The sacred teachings --- [He?] accepted the Mahayana and firmly maintained [it].

Brag lha mo A’s representation of Khri Srong lde brtsan is difficult to date accurately. Heller notes that the epigraphy reflects the writing style of Dunhuang documents but the orthography resembles that of other imperial inscriptions. She asserts that the inscription dates to the later years of Khri Srong lde brtsan’s reign or the interregnum that followed, despite Richardson’s note of caution. The inscription recounts the contemporary spread of religion throughout the realm, using the symbolism of the spread of empire. It depicts Khri Srong lde brtsan as a bodhisattva.

It begins with the familiar “During the reign of x, y was great” formula from central Tibetan sources such as the 'Phyongs rgyas inscription. It uses many of the same terms as the queen's bell inscription, for instance merit (bsod nams) and the ten directions. But it also records the names of local rulers and monasteries. This suggests that the text was a local creation rather than centrally created and then propagated to be written on a faraway rock. Khri Srong lde brtsan evidently spread Buddhism to the edges of his empire within his lifetime. Perhaps the ruler of the petty kingdom of Mi nyag, mentioned in the text, caused this inscription to be written. If so, he either believed that Khri Srong lde brtsan was a bodhisattva or uses this description because such praise was expedient to secure the continued patronage of the court. Furthermore it says that, by supporting and systematising the Mahayana, Khri Srong lde brtsan caused others to enter the path of enlightenement.

The inscription's eulogising description of Khri Srong lde brtsan mixes royal and religious metaphors. His authority is secure (as in “royal” central-Tibetan texts); but spreads to the ten directions of the bell inscription rather than the four directions (and borders) of the Old Tibetan Annals, above. The whole phrase, “that authority spread to the borders in the ten directions,” both praises his military power or imperial authority and also identifies him as a bodhisattva at the centre of a Buddhist cosmology. This is a telling move in the transformation of Khri Srong lde brtsan's image in Tibet. It marks the shift in orientation of the central Tibetan universe, away from the wider Eurasian notion of the four compass points, towards an Indic Buddhist landscape surrounded by personifications of enlightenment.

The Emperor in Memoriam

Later texts increasingly emphasise his status as a Buddhist deity rather than as a btsan po. Several canonical texts, attributed to eighth-century masters but that cannot be dated with any certainty, continue to call Khri Srong lde brtsan a bodhisattva. A ninth-century prayer from Dunhuang, IOL Tib J 466/3, uses the same epithets as the ’Phyongs rgyas inscription to describe Khri Srong lde brtsan. This prayer is more explicit, though, in placing Khri Srong lde brtsan on a par with the previous, Indian Buddhist kings. One section reads:

We make offering to the spiritual friends of our own Tibet, the great Dharma kings (chos rgyal) such as the great King Khri Srong lde brtsan. I respectfully make the offering of homage to all those teachers who have gone to nirvana [after] propagating the teachings: 'Phrul rje (Lord) Khri Srong lde brtsan—who has mastered the royal methods of the Phyva and [[[Wikipedia:rules|rules]]] the kingdom with the weapon of the sky-gods— and Dharmasoka, Kaniska, Siladitya (Harsa) and so on.

IOL Tib J 466/3 praises Khri Srong lde brtsan as a spiritual friend himself. It also apotheosises him as a fully enlightened teacher. The bSam yas bell inscription records a prayer that he will attain enlightenment. IOL Tib J 466/3 states that, like his royal Indian predecessors, Khri Srong lde brtsan has now gone to nirvana. This prayer also gives Khri Srong lde brtsan the title 'Phrul rje, which is perhaps similar to the 'Phyongs rgyas and sKar cung inscriptions' 'Phrul gyi lha bTsan po. It uses terms like phyva (“royal ancestral gods”?) and gnam gyI lde (“sky-gods”) in unique descriptions of the btsan po. The text thus singles out Khri Srong lde brtsan as ruling both Tibet and its indigenous gods. IOL Tib J 466/3 transforms the Indian image of the mace (danda) of legitimised force into a divine weapon of the Tibetan kingdom. This Dunhuang prayer reserves such indigenous terms, implying divine status, solely for the btsan po.

The Old Tibetan Chronicle (Pelliot tibetain 1287) also eulogises both the Buddhist and military aspects of Khri Srong lde brtsan's reign. Once more, the appearance of continuity imbues this narrative. It reads:

During the reign of bTsan po Khri Srong lde brtsan, the traditions being good and [his] governance great, the king resided in the middle realm between heaven and earth. The learning (gtsug lag) that [enabled him] to act as the lord and leader of both people and animals was great; he served as a fitting exemplar for mankind. He joyously gave rewards for the good [and] pointedly punished the wicked. He created the insignia (lit. “emblems”) for the wise and the heroes. He nurtured the livelihood of the lower classes.

At that time, even the ministers concerned with government were cohesive in thought and united in counsel. . By the virtue of their great abundance of both intellect and guile, there were none who were insolent or bitter enemies.

[[[Khri Srong lde brtsan]]] adopted the unsurpassed religion of the Buddha and practised it, then built temples in the centre and on all the borders. After [he] established the religion, everyone entered into [a state of] compassion and by calling their minds to it was liberated from birth and death (samsara). [The religion] was taught in perpetuity.

Khri Srong lde brtsan is here a ‘fitting exemplar for mankind,' a representative of good governance, law, religious practice and teaching. The text does not mention rebellious ministers or people's distrust of the destabilising effect of Buddhism on the state. Instead, all ministers unite to serve the btsan po, and everyone is liberated from birth and death.

The Chronicle follows this idealised description with the details of Tibet's continued war on China. Here compassion and conquest co-exist without contradiction. It states that both the spiritual and the military greatness of Tibet owes a great debt to the wisdom of the btsan po: The lord(s) and ministers conferred; [then] Zhang Mchim Rgyal zigs [Shu theng] and others sacked the Chinese stronghold of King shI (the capital), and appointed as Lord of China Gwang bu Hwang te. As rewards for desired good [work], the small turquoise insignia were given in perpetuity (forever and always)..

The btsan po, by the abundance of his profundity and the power of his authority (lit. “firm helmet”), imposed a tax on the other neighboring kings, made the petty kings into his subjects and so on. On account of this, the realm grew on [all its] four borders. [[[Khri Srong lde brtsan]]] maintained the peace of the [[[Tibetan]]] interior impartially. He gave favour to whomever among the Tibetan subjects presented offerings (lit. “curd and meat”). No one earlier in [Khri Srong lde brtsan's] family line (gdung rabs) had made the realm as great as this btsan po. It then records that he conquered Khotan and quelled other areas' rebellions.

The Chronicle constitutes an attempt at a new genre—National History. Its summary of Khri Srong lde brtsan's greatest achievements represents a reappraisal of his life. As in the sKar cung and 'Phyongs rgyas inscriptions, and IOL Tib J 466/3, this reassessment is only possible after his death. It still contains only positive descriptions of his reign, but for the fist time narrativises it from the third-person perspective of a chronicler. In this way it differs from the bKa' mchid, written in the first person and from the partial perspective of a life not yet completed. Hindsight brings clarity of representation, but also further idealisation of the dead btsan po.

The Chronicle is a good example of the mimetic trend that transforms the image of the btsan po. Both this text and the 'Phyongs rgyas inscription draw on the same tradition of eulogies to dead btsan pos. Yet the Chronicle is a more creative precis of Khri Srong lde brtsan’s life than the 'Phyongs rgyas inscription. It uses an idealised depiction of Tibet, rather than the 'Phyongs rgyas inscriptions' royal epithets and stock-phrases, to glorify the reign of Khri Srong lde brtsan. As such, it represents the aspiration of some Tibetan historians in the late/post-imperial period to blend together the religious and imperial aspects of Khri Srong lde brtsan’s reign into Historical narratives.

To conclude, the Old Tibetan Annals and Zhol inscription portray Khri Srong lde brtsan as an idealised “emperor.” He lacks specific characteristics but retains the high status of earlier btsan pos and the authority to make pronouncements that his successors will also follow. The bSam yas inscription and bKa' mchid edict represent Khri Srong lde brtsan following in his fathers’ footsteps by patronising Buddhism. The Chronicle sees no inconsistency in praising both his religious and imperial achievements. It follows a description of his promotion of Buddhism to a state religion by saying that ‘no one earlier in [his] family line had made the realm as great as this btsan po.’ This tradition holds his abiding legacy to be his efforts to spread and secure in perpetuity both the Buddhism and the empire that he inherited from his ancestor.

The more religiously oriented bSam yas bell inscription records a prayer that Khri srong lde brtsan may ‘attain supreme enlightenment’ as a result of his accumulated merit. Later texts turn this enlightenment into an actual event in History. The ’Phyongs rgyas inscription transforms the btsan po into a bodhisattva who led the Tibetan population to enlightenment. It also calls him both an “emperor” (btsan po) and a religious king (chos rgyal). IOL Tib J 466/3 remembers only Khri Srong lde brtsan’s Buddhist achievements as a chos rgyal who has attained nirvana. These imperial documents demonstrate the gradual apotheosis of Khri Srong lde brtsan. Post-imperial histories build on these depictions to transform his Buddhist image further, leaving his imperial ‘self¬presentation’ to be forgotten and instead casting Khri Srong lde brtsan in the mould of idealised Indian Buddhist kings.

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