Editing Tibetan Buddhism (section)

===Era of fragmentation (9th–10th centuries)===
A reversal in Buddhist influence began under King [[Langdarma]] (r. 836–842), and his death was followed by the so-called ''[[Era of Fragmentation]]'', a period of disunity during the 9th and 10th centuries. During this era, the political centralization of the earlier Tibetan Empire collapsed and civil wars ensued.{{sfnp|Shakabpa|1967|pp=53, 173}}

In spite of this loss of state power and patronage however, Buddhism survived and thrived in Tibet. According to [[Geoffrey Samuel]] this was because "Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism came to provide the principal set of techniques by which Tibetans dealt with the dangerous powers of the spirit world [...] Buddhism, in the form of Vajrayana ritual, provided a critical set of techniques for dealing with everyday life. Tibetans came to see these techniques as vital for their survival and prosperity in this life."{{sfnp|Samuel|2012|p=10}} This includes dealing with the local gods and spirits (''sadak'' and ''shipdak),'' which became a specialty of some Tibetan Buddhist lamas and [[ngagpa]]s (''mantrikas'', mantra specialists).{{sfnp|Samuel|2012|pp=12–13,32}}