In the 8th century, the lama Padmasambhava foresaw an upcoming “Age of Dissolution” in which the Buddhist teachings (dharma) would be endangered. To avert the danger, he created a series of treasure texts (terma) that would be rediscovered when the danger had passed, starting in the 11th century. The school of Buddhist practice that grew up around Padmasambhava and teachings attributed to him is the Nyingma, or the Ancient Ones.