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Bhutan Arrival of Buddhism
The introduction of Buddhism occurred in the seventh
century
A.D., when Tibetan king Srongtsen Gampo (reigned A.D.
627-49), a
convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two
Buddhist
temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu in
the Paro
Valley
(see
fig. 13). Buddhism replaced but did not
eliminate the
Bon religious practices that had also been prevalent in
Tibet until
the late sixth century. Instead, Buddhism absorbed Bon and
its
believers. As the country developed in its many fertile
valleys,
Buddhism matured and became a unifying element. It was
Buddhist
literature and chronicles that began the recorded history
of
Bhutan.
In A.D. 747, a Buddhist saint, Padmasambhava (known in
Bhutan
as Guru Rimpoche and sometimes referred to as the Second
Buddha),
came to Bhutan from India at the invitation of one of the
numerous
local kings. After reportedly subduing eight classes of
demons and
converting the king, Guru Rimpoche moved on to Tibet. Upon
his
return from Tibet, he oversaw the construction of new
monasteries
in the Paro Valley and set up his headquarters in
Bumthang.
According to tradition, he founded the Nyingmapa
sect--also known
as the "old sect" or Red Hat sect--of Mahayana Buddhism,
which
became for a time the dominant religion of Bhutan. Guru
Rimpoche
plays a great historical and religious role as the
national patron
saint who revealed the tantras--manuals describing forms
of
devotion to natural energy--to Bhutan. Following the
guru's
sojourn, Indian influence played a temporary role until
increasing
Tibetan migrations brought new cultural and religious
contributions.
There was no central government during this period.
Instead,
small independent monarchies began to develop by the early
ninth
century. Each was ruled by a deb (king), some of
whom
claimed divine origins. The kingdom of Bumthang was the
most
prominent among these small entities. At the same time,
Tibetan
Buddhist monks (lam in Dzongkha, Bhutan's official
national
language) had firmly rooted their religion and culture in
Bhutan,
and members of joint Tibetan-Mongol military expeditions
settled in
fertile valleys. By the eleventh century, all of Bhutan
was
occupied by Tibetan-Mongol military forces.
Data as of September 1991
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