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China / Tibet: Thanka / Thangka painting of Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche, 19th-20th century

China / Tibet: Thanka / Thangka painting of Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche, 19th-20th century

Padmasambhava, (Sanskrit Padmakara; Tibetan Pemajungné; Chinese Liánhuāshēng) or 'Lotus Born', was a guru from Oḍḍiyāna (modern Swat) who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century.

In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru') or Lopon Rinpoche, or, simply, Padum in Tibet, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha. His Pureland Paradise is Zangdok Palri (the Copper-coloured Mountain).

He is further considered an emanation of Buddha Amitabha and traditionally even venerated as a second Buddha. He was born into a Brahmin family of Northwest India.

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