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Sakya Monastery

Written by ivana Updated Jul. 9, 2021

Sakya Monastery is a "must " for visitors to Tibet. Sakya, meaning "Grey Soil" in Tibetan since the soil surrounding it is gray, its walls were painted in red, white, and grey stripes, which represent Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani respectively. Sakya Monastery reputed as the "Second Dunhuang", is the first Sakyapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism created by its initiator Khon Konchog Gyalpo in 1073 from which Sakyapa rose and once ruled Tibet, occupied 14,700 square km. It was shaped like a square, and the trove included “Beiye Sutra”, “Shouxing Picture” etc. Sakya Monastery not only records the history of the combination of religion and politics in Tibet but is also deemed as the sign that Tibet was brought into the Chinese domain officially.

Sakya Monastery has 900 years of history and the Sakya Sect ruled Tibet for more than 70 years. So the monastery has a colossal collection of highly valuable art pieces, including an abundance of handwriting sutra that is said that have been copied by all the Tibetan calligraphists organized by Basiba. Sakya's collection of treasures also contains 3,000 pieces of sutras that have thousands of years of history. The mural in Sakya Monastery is quite different from Dunhuang which has already become a relic. Here the mural is still passed on from generation to generation.

There are two ways to inherit power: its religious power is descended from paternal uncle to nephew while its political authority is from father to son. After Gongquejiemian passed away, his son Gongeningpu (1092-1158), who was very wise and also perfected the Sakya Sect, took charge of the Sakya Monastery. Gongeningpu was also reputed as “Saqin”(Sakya Master), the founder of this sect. The second son of Gongeningpu, Suonanfangmo became the second Sakya Throne Holder. The third son Zhabajianzan who had ruled the monastery for 57 years became the third Throne Holder. The first son of Gongquejiemian’s fourth son, Beiqinwopu, Sapangongejianzan(1182-1251), short for Sapan or Sakyapan Master, also a famous character in Sakya Sect, became the fourth Throne Holder.

At the beginning of the 13 century AD the Mongolia tribe with its leader Genghis Khan sprung up and unified Central China by force. In 1240 General Kuotuan in the Yuan Dynasty wanted to call in Sanpangongejianzan who enjoyed a high reputation among Tibetan sects before advancing to Tibet. In 1244 the nephew of Sanpangongejianzan, Basipa(1235-1280) went to Liangzhou(now Wuwei, Gansu) to meet Kuotuan in 1247 and wrote to Hierarchs and nobles in every Tibetan sect persuading them to accept the Yuan Dynasty’s condition, and then Tibet was brought into Chinese domain officially.

After Kublai khan unified the whole of China and founded the Yuan Dynasty central government, he assigned Basipa as “Emperor’s Master” and obliged “to rule all the Buddhism Sect ”jade seal, which meant that he managed the national Buddhism affairs and assisted the central government to rule 130,000 families in Tibet. Basipa took Kublai khan’ s order. He checked registered permanent residence and legislated law. In 1268 Sakya set up a local regime in the same structure as the other provinces in China. Basipa was assigned as the Administration Officer of Tibet and subjected to the Central Government. Sakya Sect reached the height of power and splendor. In the late 14th century, along with the perdition of the Yuan Dynasty, the Geju sect replaced the power of Sakya, but it still survived.

The Sakya sect doesn’t forbid marriage, taking Taoguo as its main sutra. It plays an important role in the development of Tibetan culture. During its rule, Tibet ended the war situation lasting 400 years, thus the society developed and the culture and art became prosperous. At that time, some hierarchies of the Sakya sect had lots of translation works on literature and history, such as Sakya Proverb by Sapan, and Zhangruzhilun by Basipa. The character created by Basipa under Kublai Khan’s order, called Basipa Character, enjoyed an important position in Chinese character history.

Scenic Spots

Lakhang Chenmo Hall

Lakhang Chenmo, the Main Chanting Hall, is the central structure of Sakya's inner courtyard. The hall, measuring 5,700 square meters, has 40 huge pillars, four of which are 1.2 meters (4 feet) in diameter. Legend tells us that the four pillars were carried and presented by a Chinese Emperor, a tiger, the Nereus, and a wild yak. Wall murals in the hall depict the stories about the pillars. Besides statues of Buddhas, the hall houses the greatest religious library in Tibet, containing tens of thousands of sutras written in Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian, and Sanskrit. Among them, two sutras named Kanjur and Tanjur were written in ink produced from ground gold powder. In the chapel west of the hall, mandala-making techniques are taught. Ngudung Lakhang, or the North Chapel, houses 11 silver-wrapped stupas of former Sakyapa Throne Holders. Pukang, the Manjushri Chapel, contains a Jowo Sakyamuni, a Manjushri, and other statues.

Last year a seventy million Yuan (8.5 million US$) national fund had been allocated to renovate and rebuild Sakya Monastery. The reconstruction has begun although the Northern Monastery is still covered with rubble except for a newly built stupa, which keeps relics of the first Sakya Throne Holder.

Collecting Books

Sakya's collection of treasures also contains 3,000 pieces of sutras written in Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Sanskrit which cover a wide range of knowledge; other artifacts such as seals, crowns, robes, Buddhist vessels and statues bestowed by emperors of the Yuan Dynasty are also on display there. There are more than 40,000 books in the monastery. There is a wooden bookshelf, 57.2 meters long, 11meters high and 1.3 meters wide. There are 464 book storehouses with millions of sutra, among which over 2,800 are hand copies of Yuan and Ming Dynasties, originating from old India with thousands of years of history. This Beiye Sutra is rare in the world.

Pudejiamalong Sutra

Pudejiamalong Sutra is the most valuable Tibetan Sutra, written in gold powder. The size of 1.8 meters long, 1.3 meters wide and 0.67 thick makes it the biggest sutra book in the world. It has detailed descriptions of Tibetan religions, history, philosophy, literature and agriculture.

Big Chanting Sutra Hall

The Big Chanting Sutra Hall with 5,700 square kilometers is held by 40 red lacquers painted huge poles. The four cypress poles with 1.2 diameters in the middle are very special. It is said the Yuan Dynasty obliged them. Tibet is very far from the Yuan capital and also hard for people to deliver them. Basipa felt very disappointed, but at this time he found the poles appearing suddenly in a river. So these four poles all got their names, which have detailed records on the mural in the main hall.

Murals

Sakya has countless murals, mostly of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Among them, murals of mandalas and former Sakya Throne Holders are the most outstanding, among which the meeting of the former Sakya throne Holders and Kublai Khan, the Sakya Monastery building scene are the two most valuable murals.

How to Get There?

It can be reached by taking the bus at the Shigatse Bus Station to Sakya. The bus leaves at 7:00-8:00 and takes five hours at RMB 30 Yuan. There is a checkpoint before entering Sakya. Then walk along the road, you will see some white buildings on the left. After about 5 minutes you’ll arrive at Sakya Monastery.

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