Śāntarakṣita (725-788) was an Indian Buddhist monk, scholar, and author who played a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet. At the invitation of King Trisong Detsen, he traveled to Tibet and assisted in the foundation of Samyé Monastery, presided over the ordination of the first Tibetan monks, and established a system of scholastic education modelled on the great monastic universities of Nālandā and Vikramaśīla. His philosophical writings were among the most influential in late Indian Buddhism.