RNYING-MA-PA

also spelled Nyingmapa (Tibetan: The Old Order), second largest Buddhist sect in Tibet; it claims to transmit the original teachings of the celebrated Indian Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) master Padmasambhava, who visited Tibet in the 8th century and, with Santiraksita (another Indian teacher), founded at Samye the country's first monastery about 775. The sect emphasizes the mystical aspects of the Vajrayana tradition and makes wide use of shamanistic practices and local divinities borrowed from the indigenous, pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Monks of the sect are not, as a rule, required to observe celibacy.