Statue of Padmasambhava at Thiksay Monastery in Leh, India. Padmasambhava (lit. Lotus-Born), also known as Guru Rinpoche, is a literary character of terma,[1] an emanation of AmitÄbha that is said to appear to tertöns in visionary encounters and a focus of Tibetan Buddhist practice, particulary in the Nyingma school.