Protests and uprisings in Tibet since 1950 The minor kingdoms and tribal states of the region were first united under Songtsen Gampo to form the Tibetan Empire in the seventh century CE Under the influence of his Chinese bride and first Nepali wife Bhrikuti, the Emperor converted to Buddhism and established it as the religion of Tibet. An influx of Chinese culture, the Indian alphabet, and Buddhist monks followed, combining with the native customs and animistic religion Bön to give birth to what has become today's ethnic Tibetan people and Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Lamaism, After the break-up of the Tibetan Empire in the mid-9th century,
Won Buddhism a form of Buddhism. The name "Won Buddhism" comes from the Korean words 원/圓 "won" ("circle") and 불교/佛敎 "bulgyo" ("Buddhism"), literally meaning "Round Buddhism" or "Consummate Buddhism." By "consummate," Won Buddhists mean that they incorporate several different schools of Buddhist thought into their doctrine; that is, where some schools focus only on practicing meditation ("samādhi"), some schools devote themselves fully to studying scriptures ("prajñā"), and still others practice only their school's precepts ("śīla"), Won Buddhism believes in incorporating all three into daily practice. According to Won Buddhist sources, Bak Jungbin (, , 1891–1943, aka Sotaesan) attained bodhi in 1916 and