Sakya Pandita

“Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen stands as one of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist scholars of all time. Not only was he peerless in his erudition and debating skills, but he was also an extraordinarily prolific writer and accomplished Sanskrit translator. His writings made an indelible mark on Tibetan philosophical thinking, and they continue to be just as relevant today as they were during his lifetime. Among his remarkable achievements was the key role that he played in establishing the Indian system of the five major and five minor sciences in Tibet. As we delve into the life of Sakya Pandita, we cannot but become imbued with the profound richness of his wisdom. Under his guidance, we embark on a journey of discovery of the nature of reality, and how we should best conduct ourselves along our spiritual path.–His Holiness the Forty-Second Sakya Trizin, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche

Drogon Chogyal Phakpa (Lodro Gyaltsen) (1235-1280) was the seventh Sakya Trizin and fifth of the five founding masters of the Sakya order. Although his religious name is Lodro Gyaltsen, he is better known by his title, Drogon Chogyal Phakpa. Chogyal Phakpa was Sakya Pandita’s primary disciple, religious heir, and paternal nephew. He accompanied Sakya Pandita on his travels to the Mongol Court and participated in his activities there. He was at Sakya Pandita’s side to witness the miraculous nature of the great master’s passing into parinirvana, described in vivid detail in his biography. Shortly thereafter, at the age of only nineteen, Chogyal Phakpa so impressed Emperor Kublai Khan that the khan designated him his personal religious master with the title of tishri, and gave him religious and secular authority over the three provinces of Tibet.

Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429-1489) was a great Sakyapa scholar, philosopher, and prolific author. He wrote an impressive number of important commentaries on both sutra and tantra, including the Middle Way, the Perfection of Wisdom, logic, Abhidharma, and the Vinaya. His explications of the Sakyapa view and rebuttals of its challengers still form the core of philosophical studies in Sakyapa and other monastic colleges today. The biography of Sakya Pandita translated here appears in the introductory matter he wrote as a preface to his famous work Classification of the Three Vows.

Jamgon Ameshab (Ngawang Kunga Sonam) (1597-1659) was the twenty-seventh Sakya Trizin. Although his religious name is Ngawang Kunga Sonam, he is better known by the respectful epithet Jamgon Ameshab due to his calm and dignified manner. Intensively trained in religious studies from childhood, he became throne holder of the Sakya order at the age of twenty-four. A prolific author of over thirty-five volumes of religious texts, he also played an important role as a peacekeeper and mediator between the various warring states and factions of his time.

His Holiness the Sakya Trichen is the revered forty-first throne holder of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, which dates back to 1073. He is a member of the Khon family, who have been important teachers of Buddhism in Tibet since the eighth century. A brilliant master, he manifests profound wisdom and compassion, and his command of English renders his teachings particularly beneficial to students in the West. He was born in 1945 in Sakya, Tibet, and in 1959 escaped with tens of thousands of Tibetan people to India, where he continues to live and work tirelessly to rebuild the Sakya tradition. He has guided the establishment of over thirty monasteries in India and Nepal and has helped found Sakya centers around the world. His seat in North America is Tsechen Kunchab Ling in Walden, New York.