| Sakya Monastery | |
|---|---|
 Sakya Monastery | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Sect | Sakya |
| Leadership | Sakya Trizin |
| Location | |
| Location | Shigatse Prefecture,Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
  Location within Tibet Autonomous Region | |
| Coordinates | 28°54′18″N88°1′5″E / 28.90500°N 88.01806°E /28.90500; 88.01806 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Khön Könchok Gyalpo |
| Established | 1071; 954 years ago (1071) |
| Part ofa series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
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Institutional roles |
History and overview |
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Sakya Monastery (Tibetan:ས་སྐྱ་དགོན་པ།,Wylie:sa skya dgon pa), also known asPel Sakya (Tibetan:དཔལ་ས་སྐྱ།,Wylie:dpal sa skya; "White Earth" or "Pale Earth"), is aBuddhistmonastery situated in Sa'gya Town (ས་སྐྱ་),Sa'gya County, about 127 kilometres (79 mi) west ofShigatse in theTibet Autonomous Region, China.[1] The monastery is considered as the seat of theSakya (or Sakyapa) school ofTibetan Buddhism.[2]
Sakya Monastery was founded in 1073, byKhön Könchok Gyalpo (Tibetan:དཀོན་མཆོག་རྒྱལ་པོ།,Wylie:dkon mchog rgyal po; 1034–1102), originally aNyingmapa monk of the powerful House of Khön ofTsang, who became the firstSakya Trizin.[3]
The "southern monastery" was founded under the orders ofDrogön Chögyal Phagpa in 1268, across a river from the earlier structures. 130,000 workers were reportedly drafted for its construction.[4] Its powerful abbots governedTibet during the 13th and the 14th centuries under theoverlordship of Yuan China after the downfall of theTibetan Empire, until they were eclipsed by the rise of the newKagyu andGelug 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.[4]
Its architecture is quite different from that of temples inLhasa and theYarlung Valley. The only surviving ancient building is the Lhakang Chempo or Sibgon Trulpa. Originally a cave in the mountainside, it was built in 1268 bydpon-chen Sakya Sangpo and restored in the 16th century. It contains some of Tibet's most magnificent surviving artwork, 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 6000 square meters.[5][6][7]
After the10 March 1959 Lhasa uprising to protect the14th Dalai Lama from theCommunist ChinesePeople's Liberation Army, the majority of Sakya Monastery's monks were forced to leave. AsNamkhai 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."[8] The northern monastery was destroyed during theCultural Revolution, while the southern half escaped from destruction. The monastery was renovated and rebuilt in 2002.[4]
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 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 EmperorKublai Khan, and presented to thePhagpa 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 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."[9]
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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.[10] One scripture weighs more than 500 kilograms (1,100 lb), the heaviest in the world. The collection also includes many volumes ofpalm-leaf manuscripts, which are well-preserved due to the region's arid climate.[4] In 2003, the library was examined by theTibet Academy of Social Sciences.[11] The monastery started to digitize the library in 2011. As of 2022[update], 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.[12]
More than 3,000 murals in Sakya Monastery depict religious, historical and cultural themes, including valuable records of historical scenes such asPhagpa's meeting withKublai Khan and the monastery's founding. The main library hall contains a 66-meter-long mural showing the life ofGautama Buddha. There are also more than 1,100 pieces of porcelain in the hall, dating from theYuan dynasty to early 14th century.[4]
Claims that the library contains records dating back 10,000 years have circulated on the Internet, but are untrue.[13]
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The 41stSakya Trizin,Ngawang Kunga, the then-throne-holder of the Sakyapa, went into exile inIndia in 1959 following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He has lived inDehra 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 a number of scrolls from the original Sakya Monastery in Tibet by smuggling 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 taken a consort in 1974 and had two sons who have since assumed 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 the monastery in terms of its physical infrastructure, religious activities, and educational programs.[14]
Media related toSakya Monastery at Wikimedia Commons