Mani was a Babylonian by birth. His father was Patak, a Persian from Hamadan, by religion Mandaean. His mother Mar Maryam was of Persian royal blood. Some Muslim writers say he was flayed alive in 276. Greek & Latin sources have him beheaded. He wrote in Persian, Syriac and Aramaic.
The initial suspicion that Manichaeism had an influence on Tibetan Buddhism was based on nothing more profound than Tibetan use of the Mani mantra and the name of the Ma ni bka' 'bum. However, in recent decades, in the studies of G. Uray and R.A. Stein, we can find new reasons to think there were early contacts with Manichaeism. The impact of this contact is still an open question. There is a tremendous and scattered literature, but I've selected those items I consider of more relevance to the question of Manichaean connections with Tibet. I think that the Uighurs, whose king adopted Manichaeism in 762 CE, are for Tibetans the most likely point of contact.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, entry for Manichaeism, says the following: In A.D. 1000 the Arab historian Al-Beruni wrote: "The majority of the Eastern Turks, the inhabitants of China and Tibet, and a number in India belong to the religion of Mani." Al-Biruni was obviously not well informed, yet his false statement has been quite influential. It continues spreading its influence like a virus (nowadays with the assistance of internet technology), much as Manichaeism itself is thought to have spread. It is a similar case with some of the statements of Albert Grünwedel.
Tsui Chi, Mo Ni Chiao Hsia Pu Tsan, The Lower (Second?) Section of the Manichaean Hymns, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 11, no. 1 (1943), pp. 174-219. Includes hymns to Jesus the Buddha, as well as a number of hymns by Mani.
James Houston Edgar, A Suspected Manichaean Stratum in Lamaism, Journal of the West China Border Research Society, vol. 6 (1933-1934), pp. 252-257.
James Houston Edgar, Did Manichaeism Influence Lamaism? Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 60 (1935) pp. 127 ff. Also in: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 60 (1929), pp. 115-119.
James Houston Edgar, Moni (Mani), Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 7 (1935), pp. 127-8.
G. Haloun & W.B. Henning, The Compendium of the Doctrines and Styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light, Asia Major, n.s. vol. 3 (1952), pp. 184-212.
Siegbert Hummel, Manichäisches in der tibetischen Bon-Religion, Manichaean Studies Newsletter (Leuven 1990), pp. 21-32.
H. Klimkeit, Jesus' Entry into Parinirvana: Manichaean Identity in Buddhist Central Asia, Numen, vol. 33 (1987), pp. 225-240.
Samuel N.C. Lieu, From Parthian into Chinese: The Transmission of Manichaean Texts in Central Asia, Orientalische Literaturzeitung, vol. 90, no. 3 (May 1995), pp. 357-372.
Dan Martin, review of E. Steinkellner & H. Tauscher, eds., Contributions on Tibetan Language, History and Culture, Motilal Banarsidass (Delhi 1995), contained in: Acta Orientalia, vol. 52 (1996), pp. 259-262. Argues that the 'ba' 'ji ba mentioned in Lha Bla ma Ye shes 'od's ca. 1000 CE polemic means a follower of 'Ba' 'ji, which is a Tibetan borrowing of the Chinese version of the name Mani.
Karl H. Menges, Manichaeismus, Christentum und Buddhismus in Zentralasien und ihr gegenseitiges Verhältnis, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 35, nos. 1-2 (1991), pp. 81-95.
"There were sporadic survivals of its followers stil lingering in other parts of Asia, such as eastern China and Tibet, Persia and Mesopotamia, and even on the Malabar coast of India. Jal Dastur C. Pavry, Manichaeism: A Rival of Zoroastrianism and Christianity, Journal of Religion, vol. 17, no. 2 (April 1937), pp. 161-169, at p. 166.
Julien Reis, translated from French by Sara Boin-Webb under the title Buddhism and Manichaeism: The Stages of an Inquiry, Buddhist Studies Review, vol. 3 (1986), pp. 108-124.
David Scott, Buddhist Responses to Manichaeism: Mahāyāna Reaffirmation of the Middle Path? History of Religions, vol. 35, no. 2 (November 1995), pp. 148-162.
David Scott, Manichaean Views of Buddhism, History of Religions, vol. 25, no. 2 (1985), pp. 99-115.
R.A. Stein, Une mention du Manicheisme dans le choix du buddhisme comme religion d'état par le roi tibétain Khri-sroṅ lde-bcan, contained in: Indianisme et bouddhisme, mélanges offerts à Mgr. Étienne Lamotte (Louvain 1980), pp. 329-337.
Nahal Tajadod, Mani, le Bouddha de Lumière, Editions du Cerf (Paris 1990).
Géza Uray, Tibet's Connections with Nestorianism and Manicheism in the 8th-10th Centuries, contained in: E. Steinkellner & H. Tauscher, eds., Contributions on Tibetan Language, History and Culture, Motilal Banarsidass (Delhi 1995), pp. 399-429.
Géza Uray, Zu den Spuren des Nestorianismus und des Manichäismus im alten Tibet (8.-10. Jahrhundert), contained in: W. Heissig & H.-J. Klimkeit, eds., Synkretismus in den Religionen Zentralasiens, Otto Harrassowitz (Wiesbaden 1987), pp. 197-205.
