The Tibetan emperor (btsan po), Khri Srong lde brtsan (742–c.800), enacted state patronage of Buddhism in Tibet, not on his own, but in close collaboration with a host of his closest subjects. The role played by Spiritual Friends (dge ba’i bshes gnyen, kalyāṇamitra) is especially important to the spread and practice of Buddhism during the imperial period.The histories covered later in this
... [Show full abstract] contribution, for example Pelliot tibétain 149, increasingly emphasise the role of his Spiritual Friends. Gradually, Indian religious figures eclipse the Tibetan ruler as the primary agents who establish Buddhism in Tibet, and this forms part of a larger transformation of Khri Srong lde brtsan from divine emperor into disciple-king.