Padmasambhava, meaning “the Lotus-Born,” was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan, Tibet and neighboring countries in the 8th century AD. In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche (“Precious Guru”) or Lopon Rinpoche{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn}}, or as Padum in Tibet{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn}}, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha. He is further considered an emanation of Buddha Amitabha.
