SANTIRAKSITA

flourished 8th century Indian Buddhist teacher and saint who was instrumental in the development of Tibetan Buddhism. Invited to Tibet by King Thi-srong-detsan (ruled 740786), Santiraksita was forced to flee to Nepal after adherents of the nativistic Bon religion blamed him for the outbreak of an epidemic. After his return to Tibet, according to late 14th-century accounts, he urged the King to invite the Indian Buddhist teacher Padmasambhava to help him. Santiraksita became the first abbot of the monastery at Samye (Bsam-yas), which he headed for 13 years and where he and Padmasambhava taught the doctrines of the Buddhist Yogacara sect and Tantric philosophy. He ordained the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks and is credited with incorporating several elements of Bon, including its pantheon, into the lowest level of Tantric Buddhism and with instituting symbolic worship to take the place of Bon animal sacrifices.