The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet

The book is structured around the historical development of Buddhism from India to Tibet. It begins with the life of the Buddha according to the Lalita-vistara, focusing on the twelve acts of Śākyamuni and the traditional narrative of his awakening and teaching activity. It then turns to the Buddha’s attainment of nirvāṇa and the rehearsals of Buddhist scripture, including the formation and preservation of the Buddhist canon. Subsequent sections discuss the duration of the Buddhist doctrine, the period of its existence, calculations concerning the time since the Buddha, and prophecies about the future spread of Buddhism. The work then presents biographical accounts of major Indian Buddhist teachers and their literary contributions. The final section surveys Buddhism in Tibet, beginning with the early period of propagation under Tibetan kings, followed by the reigns of Srong-btsan-sgam-po, Khri-sroṅ-lde-btsan, and Ral-pa-can, the persecution under Glang-dar-ma, and the later revival through Indian paṇḍitas, Tibetan translators, monasteries, and canonical translation projects.