A comprehensive survey of Indian Buddhism and its subsequent establishment in Tibet, where it was transferred preceding its demise in India in the thirteenth century CE. It is especially informative on the tantric period of Buddhist practice from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries, but also deals with the earlier evolution of Buddhist doctrines, the 'Three Turnings of the Wheel', during the first thousand years. Thereafter, the author addresses the Buddhist conversion of Tibet, emphasizing the great importance played by the kingdoms of Central Asia in the gradual process of Tibetan conversion. Professor Snellgrove draws upon original sources to illustrate the cultural changes that came over Tibet as a result of its rule from the seventh to ninth centuries of an extensive Central Asian Empire, a period of their history largely forgotten by Tibetans themselves when they later embarked upon the wholesale absorption of Buddhism from its Indian source.
