Wooden Carving of vBrom-ston-pa,Ming Dynasty figural statue,14 cm high

vBrom-ston-pa(1005-1064)was not only the forefather of the bKav-gdam-pa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism,but also Atisa's last disciple in his later years and the successor of Buddhist doctrines advocated by Atisa.Born at sTod-lung in the Lhas Valley,he began to learn Buddhist doctrines in his youth under the direction of Sad-btsun.In 1045,he respectfully invited Atisa all the time and benefited a lot from his master,becoming the first successor of Atisa's doctrines.In 1054,Atisa passed away in the gNes-thang Monastery,vBrom-ston-pa held the mouning ceremony and built the brTan-ma Hall near the gNes-thang Monastery to enshrine statue of Tara worshiped by Atisa as a Yidam.In 1057,vBrom-ston-pa was invited to preach doctrines iRwa-sgreng and founded the Rwa-sgreng Monastery.Taking the Rwa-sgreng Monastery as the principal site for practice,he preached the doctrines taught by Atisa.Thus,the bKav-gdam-pa Sect came into being.vBrom-ston-pa did not become a monk,but he was a pious lay disciple.He seriously preached Buddhist doctrines and taught many disciples,becoming a very influential figure in the Later Period of Prosperity of Tibetan Buddhism.