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29-532: The name Sakya ("pale earth") derives from the unique grey landscape of the Ponpori Hills in southern Tibet near Shigatse , where Sakya Monastery , the first monastery of this tradition, and the seat of the Sakya School was built by Khon Konchog Gyalpo (1034–1102) in 1073. The Sakya tradition developed during the second period of translation of Buddhist scripture from Sanskrit into Tibetan in

58-455: A Nyingmapa monk of the powerful noble family of the Tsang , who became the first Sakya Trizin . The "southern monastery" was founded under the orders of Drogön Chögyal Phagpa in 1268, across a river from the earlier structures. 130,000 workers were reportedly drafted for its construction. Its powerful abbots governed Tibet during the 13th and the 14th centuries under the overlordship of

87-541: A consort in 1974 and had two sons who have since assumed and are currently assuming responsibility as the 42nd and 43rd Sakya Trizins , respectively. The Sakya Monastery, or Sakya Centre as it is most commonly known, currently has as its Director Ven. Sonam Chogyal and functions under the guidance of Kyabgon Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche and is generally overseen by the 42nd Sakya Trizin Ratna Vajra Rinpoche , who continues to work on improving and strengthening

116-634: A number of scrolls from the original Sakya Monastery in Tibet by smuggled them to India. The Sakya Trizin and his followers have established several institutions in and around the Dehradun area, including a charitable hospital, a monastic college, and a nunnery. Being an ancient hereditary lineage, the elder sons of the Sakya school typically married in order to maintain the family line. The 41st Sakya Trizin , now known as Kyabgon Sakya Gongma Trichen, had also taken

145-599: A position, then you do not have the correct view. In due course, two subsects emerged from the main Sakya lineage, There were three "mother" monasteries of the Sakya school: Sakya Monastery , founded in 1073, Ngor Evam Choden , founded in 1429, and Phanyul Nalendra in Phanyul, north of Lhasa, founded in 1435 by Kuntchen Rongten. Nalendra became the home of the 'whispered-lineage' of the Tsar school. The Bodongpa tradition , founded by Bodong Panchen Chögle Namgyel [1376 1451],

174-629: Is considered by some scholars to be a sub-sect of the Sakya tradition. The Mongol conquest of Tibet began after the foundation of the Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. In 1264, the feudal reign over Tibet was given to Drogön Chögyal Phagpa by Kublai Khan , founder of the Yuan dynasty . Sakya lamas, along with Sakya Imperial Preceptors and dpon-chens continued to serve as viceroys or administrators of Tibet on behalf of Yuan emperors for nearly 75 years after Phagpa’s death in 1280, until

203-594: Is a Buddhist monastery situated in Sa'gya Town (ས་སྐྱ་), Sa'gya County , about 127 kilometres (79 mi) west of Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region . The monastery is considered as the seat of the Sakya (or Sakyapa) school of Tibetan Buddhism . Sakya Monastery was founded in 1073, by Khön Könchok Gyalpo ( Tibetan : དཀོན་མཆོག་རྒྱལ་པོ། , Wylie : dkon mchog rgyal po ; 1034–1102), originally

232-457: Is split into two main lineages, "Explanation for the Assembly" ( Wylie : tshogs bshad ) and the "Explanation for Close Disciples" ( Wylie : slobs bshad ). The other major system of the Sakya school is the " Naropa Explanation For Disciples" ( Wylie : nā ro mkha spyod slob bshad ). Another important series of teachings is based on verses of Günga Nyingpo (1092–1158) called "separating from

261-485: Is the Lhakang Chempo or Sibgon Trulpa. Originally a cave in the mountainside, it was built in 1268 by dpon-chen Sakya Sangpo and restored in the 16th century. It contains some of the most magnificent surviving artwork in all of Tibet, which appears not to have been damaged in recent times. The Gompa grounds cover more than 18,000 square meters, while the huge main hall covers some 6,000 square meters. After

290-550: The 10 March 1959 Lhasa uprising to protect the 14th Dalai Lama from the Communist Chinese People's Liberation Army , the majority of Sakya Monastery's monks were forced to leave. As Namkhai Norbu states in his book, "previously there were about five hundred monks in the Great Sakya Monastery, but by the end of 1959 only 36 aged monks remained." The northern monastery was destroyed during

319-569: The Cultural Revolution , while the southern half escaped from destruction. The monastery was renovated and rebuilt in 2002. Das Sharat Chandra writes: As to the great library of Sakya, it is on shelves along the walls of the great hall of the Lhakhang chen-po. There are preserved here many volumes written in gold letters; the pages are six feet long by eighteen inches in breadth. In the margin of each page are illuminations, and

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348-617: The mahasiddha Virūpa based upon the Hevajra Tantra. Mal Lotsawa introduced to Sakya the esoteric Vajrayogini lineage known as "Naro Khachoma." From Bari Lotsawa came innumerable tantric practices, foremost of which was the cycle of practices known as the One Hundred Sadhanas . Other key transmissions that form part of the Sakya spiritual curriculum include the cycles of Vajrakilaya , Mahākāla and Guhyasamāja tantras . The fourth Sakya patriarch, Sakya Pandita ,

377-581: The Mongol Yuan dynasty after the downfall of the Tibetan Empire , until they were eclipsed by the rise of the new Kagyu and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Most of the southern monastery was burned down in the 16th century. It was only restored to its previous size in 1948. Its architecture is quite different from that of temples in Lhasa and Yarlung . The only surviving ancient building

406-628: The Sakya throne"), is always drawn from the male line of the Khön family. The present Sakya Trizin, Gyana Vajra is the forty-third to hold that office. 41st Sakya Trizin is thought to be the reincarnation of two great Tibetan masters: a Nyingmapa lama known as Apong Terton (Orgyen Thrinley Lingpa), who is famous for his Red Tara cycle, and his grandfather, the 39th Kyabgon Sakya Trizin Dhagtshul Thrinley Rinchen (1871–1936). Traditionally, hereditary succession has alternated between

435-750: The Sakyapa, went into exile in India in 1959 following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He has lived in Dehra Dun , in the foothills of the Western Himalayas, where the Sakya Monastery was reestablished. He has been there with a number of senior monks and scholars, who also escaped from Tibet, joining the new Monastery and providing continuity to Sakya traditions. These monks and scholars saved

464-657: The Yuan dynasty was greatly weakened by the Red Turban Rebellion in the 1350s, a decade before the Ming dynasty founded by the Han people overthrew the Yuan dynasty. The leaders of the Sakya regime were as follows. New branches: Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : The head of the Sakya school, known as Sakya Trizin ("holder of

493-594: The corners of Tibet's cultural life, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül compiled together the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma , including many near-extinct teachings. Without Khyentse and Kongtrul's collecting and printing of rare works, the suppression of Buddhism by the Communists would have been much more final. Ponpori Hills The Ponpori hills are a range of hills with grey soil, southwest of Shigatse , in southwestern Tibet . The Drum River runs through them. They are best known as

522-516: The first Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in the United States. Dagchen Sakya's father was the previous Sakya Trizin, Trichen Ngawang Thutop Wangchuk, throne holder of Sakya, and his mother Dechen Drolma. Dagchen Sakya was married to Dagmo Jamyang Kusho Sakya; they have five sons, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Having seen how the Gelug institutions pushed the other traditions into

551-587: The first four volumes have in them pictures of the thousand Buddhas. These books are bound in iron. They were prepared under orders of the Emperor Kublai Khan , and presented to the Phagpa lama on his second visit to Beijing. There is also preserved in this temple a conch shell with whorls turning from left to right [in Tibetan, Ya chyü dungkar ], a present from Kublai to Phagpa. It is only blown by

580-426: The four attachments" which is the subject of commentaries by numerous Sakya masters like Drakpa Gyeltsen, Sakya Pandita, Ngorchen Günga Sangpo, and Gorampa Sönam Senggé. The verses are: If you cling to this life, then you are not a dharma practitioner. If you cling to existence, then you do not have renunciation. If you are attached to your own interests, then you do not have the mind of awakening. If you hold to

609-400: The grandson of Khonchog Gyalpo, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo , who became known as Sachen, or "Great Sakyapa": Buton Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) was an important scholar and writer and one of Tibet's most celebrated historians. Other notable scholars of the Sakya tradition are the so-called "Six Ornaments of Tibet:" The leadership of the Sakya School is passed down through a hereditary system between

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638-709: The heaviest in the world. The collection also includes many volumes of palm-leaf manuscripts , which are well-preserved due to the region's arid climate. In 2003, the library was examined by the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences . The monastery started to digitize the library in 2011. As of 2022 , all books have been indexed, and more than 20% have been fully digitized. Monks now maintain a digital library for all scanned books and documents. More than 3,000 murals in Sakya Monastery depict religious, historical and cultural themes, including valuable records of historical scenes such as Phagpa 's meeting with Kublai Khan and

667-521: The lamas when the request is accompanied by a present of seven ounces of silver; but to blow it, or have it blown, is held to be an act of great merit." Sakya Monastery houses a huge library of as many as 84,000 books on traditional stacks 60 metres (200 ft) long and 10 metres (33 ft) high. Most of them are Buddhist scriptures, although they also include works of literature, history, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, agriculture, and art. One scripture weighs more than 500 kilograms (1,100 lb),

696-464: The late 11th century. It was founded by Drogmi , a famous scholar and translator who had studied at the Vikramashila directly under Naropa , Ratnākaraśānti , Vagishvakirti and other great panditas from India for twelve years. Khon Konchog Gyalpo became Drogmi's disciple on the advice of his elder brother. The tradition was established by the "Five Venerable Supreme Masters" starting with

725-597: The location of the central monastery of the Sakya, one of the four great traditions of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism . Sakya (Tibetan: sa skya , grey or whitish soil) is named after a patch of white earth in the shape of a lion's face on the mountainside. This Tibet location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sakya Monastery Samding Dorje Phagmo Sakya Monastery ( Tibetan : ས་སྐྱ་དགོན་པ། , Wylie : sa skya dgon pa ), also known as Pel Sakya ( Tibetan : དཔལ་ས་སྐྱ། , Wylie : dpal sa skya ; "White Earth" or "Pale Earth"),

754-476: The male members of the Sakya branch of the Khon family. Samding Dorje Phagmo Sachen, the first of the five supreme masters, inherited a wealth of tantric doctrines from numerous Tibetan translators or " lotsawas " who had visited India : most importantly Drokmi Lotsawa , Bari Lotsawa and Mal Lotsawa . From Drokmi comes the supreme teaching of Sakya, the system of Lamdre "Path and its Fruit" deriving from

783-479: The monastery's founding. The main library hall contains a 66-meter-long mural showing the life of Gautama Buddha . There are also more than 1,100 pieces of porcelain in the hall, dating from the Yuan dynasty to early 14th century. Claims that the library contains records dating back 10,000 years have circulated on the Internet, but are untrue. The 41st Sakya Trizin , Ngawang Kunga , the then-throne-holder of

812-615: The two Sakya palaces, since Khon Könchok Gyelpo's (1034–1102) reign. The Ducho sub-dynasty of Sakya survives split into two palaces, the Dolma Phodrang and Phuntsok Phodrang. Sakya Trizin is head of the Dolma Phodrang. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya (1929–2016) was the head of the Phuntsok Phodrang, and lived in Seattle, Washington, where he co-founded Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism with Dezhung Rinpoche III , and constructed

841-625: Was notable for his exceptional scholarship and composed many important and influential texts on sutra and tantra, including "Means of Valid Cognition: A Treasury of Reasoning" ( Wylie : tshad ma rigs gter ), "Clarifying the Sage's Intent" ( Wylie : thub pa dgongs gsal ) and "Discriminating the Three Vows" ( Wylie : sdom gsum rab dbye ). The main Dharma system of the Sakya school is the "Path with its Result" ( Wylie : lam dang 'bras bu bcas ), which

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