Tibet, IOTL, is often seen as the world's main cultural "hub" of Buddhism and Buddhist monasticism. What people tend to forget, however, is that, before around the 12th century, Tibet was a very plural country that practiced a range of religions also including (but not limited to) Islam, Manichaeism and the traditional Tibetan Bon religion. One particular present faith that caught my attention was Christianity, mainly in its Nestorian strain -- it was already steadily popular in Central Asia for a few centuries, and there are records from the 9th century confirming that the Nestorian Patriarchs appointed bishops to preach to the Tibetans. Not to mention that Catholic missionaries from Europe sometimes crossed into Tibet from the 16th century on in when traveling across Asia.
So, my question is: how can we oversee a scenario in which Christianity becomes sufficiently entrenched in Tibet as to warrant conversions from the local elites? Perhaps one of the splinter states following the breakup of the Tufan Empire in the 10th century adopts Nestorianism, and manages to conquer the remaining states?
So, my question is: how can we oversee a scenario in which Christianity becomes sufficiently entrenched in Tibet as to warrant conversions from the local elites? Perhaps one of the splinter states following the breakup of the Tufan Empire in the 10th century adopts Nestorianism, and manages to conquer the remaining states?