Avaiokitesvara.  There  is also  a report  of some Khotanese
monks having  gone to Tibet.  It seems reasonable  to assume
that wondering  monks and yogis were not altogether  unknown
on Tibetan soil. Yet, at best these minor incidents, perhaps
only set the stage for the  more  official   introduction of
Buddhism in  the  late  8th and  9th century  A.D.  However,
 
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it is  logical  these  minor  incidents  developed among the
population   and,  more   importantly, among   the   various
chieftains, a base for Buddhism  to grow.  Although  Tibetan
history  prefers  to portray  the great  kings  of Tibet  as
enlightened  Bodhisattvas, who intrinsically  knew the value
of Buddhism  and were thus willing  to risk all in order  to
establish  it in Tibet, the reality  of such a portrayal  is
very different.
   The Kings  of Tibet most likely  saw in Buddhism  several
advantages.  The first and formost  was probably  the belief
that by adopting  it, the important  religious  base  of the
"Kings  right to rule," could be completely  under the kings
control.  Politically, this had further ramifications.  Some
of the more remote chieftains living in areas that boardered
Buddhist  countries  were already coming under the influence
of Buddhism. This allowed the kings in central Tibet to have
some critical alliances  in  their continuing problems  with
neighboring regions such as Zhan Zhung. Also, it allowed for
better relationships with the surrounding Buddhist countries
such as China  and Nepal.  Mention  must be made of the fact
that some Tibetans considered that Buddhist magic was by far
more powerful than their native shamanistic magic.  Finally,
the primitive  Tibetans  could  not but be impressed  by the
sophistication  of thought, religious  practices, and  other
cultural   dimensions,  such  as  education,  that  Buddhism
brought with it. Thus,it was to the kings every advantage to
foster Buddhism  and promote its wide diffusial.  The larger
the base of Buddhism in the country, the more secure was the
kings base of power.
   Given this  environment,  wondering monks were permitted,
religious  teachers were invited and the financing of Dharma
projects  of various  sorts  were undertaken.  We know  from
Chinese  sources  that China was very much aware of Tibetans
for many years before the 8th century A.D.  These encounters
were probably beneficial and some were reportedly military in
nature. The Tibetan have no source of comparable information.
Tibetans seem to have had only vague information about India
proper. There had been some contact with parts of India that
bordered Tibet such as Kashmire.(3)   Further, it is safe to
assume that Tibet had some knowledge of what is now Nepal.(4)
but accurate information of the Gangatic Plane and the heart-
land of Buddhism seems to have been lacking.   Therefore, it
was not at all suprising to find that
 
 
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the Tibetans first looked to China, including Khotan and Tun
Huang, for its importation of Buddhism.(5)
　　 The earliest translations made, the earliest training in
Buddhism undertaken  by Tibetans, and the largest contingent
of  masters  all  were  Chinese  in  origin.   Of  important
consideration was the Tibetan occupation of Tun Huang in 780
A.D.  At this famous site, many manuscripts  were translated
from the Chinese originals into Tibetan. Thanks to the large
find of such  preserved  material  made in the beginning  of
this century, we now have become aware of these manuscripts.
However, a detailed study of the translation system used for
translating  Chinese  into Tibetan  has not come to light so
far.  Be this as it may, the available information indicates
that at the earliest stages, the Tibetans were spending  far
more time in trying  to understand  and to transmit  Chinese
Buddhism  to  their  native  soil,  than  they  were  Indian