Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PRIESTS & PATRONS: THE REIGN OF THE SAKYAPAS
The 11th century was a dynamic period in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Renewed con-
tact with Indian Buddhists brought about a flowering of new orders and schools. During
this time, the Kagyupa order was founded by Marpa and his disciple Milarepa, and in
Sakya the Khon family established a school that came to be called the Sakyapa. One in-
teresting distinction between this school and others is that the abbotship was hereditary,
restricted to the sons of the aristocratic Khon family.
By the early 13th century, the Tsang town of Sakya had emerged as an important
centre of scholastic study. The most famous local scholar was the fourth Khon descend-
ent and Sakya abbot, Kunga Gyaltsen (1182-1251), who came to be known as Sakya Pan-
dita, literally 'scholar from Sakya'.
Such was Sakya Pandita's scholastic and spiritual eminence that when the Mongols
threatened to invade Tibet in the mid-13th century he represented the Tibetan people to
the Mongol prince Godan (descendent of Genghis Khan). Sakya Pandita made a three-
year journey to Prince Godan's camp, in modern-day Gānsù, arriving in 1247. Sakya Pan-
dita set about instructing Godan in Buddhist philosophy and respect for human lives. Im-
pressed by his wisdom (and the fact that he cured him of an illness), Godan made Sakya
Pandita Viceroy of Tibet.
After Sakya Pandita's death, in 1251, power was transferred to his nephew Phagpa, who
became a close advisor to Kublai Khan and even met Marco Polo in Běijīng. Phagpa's
greatest legacy was a special script used by Kublai as the official alphabet of the Mongol
court. Phagpa was named Imperial Preceptor (the highest religious title in the Mongol
empire) and, thus, de facto leader of Tibet. The role of spiritual and temporal head of
state became an important precedent for the Tibetan government and had far-reaching
effects on the religious life of Mongolia. However, the association between Tibetan lamas
and Mongol masters also set a precedent of outside rule over Tibet that the Chinese have
used to justify current claims over the high plateau.
As it was, Mongol overlordship and Sakya supremacy were relatively short-lived. Mon-
gol corruption and rivalry between the Sakyapa and Kagyupa orders led to the fall of
Sakya in 1354, when power fell into the hands of the Kagyupa and the seat of government
moved to Nedong, in Ü.
Sakya was to remain a powerful municipality and, like Shigatse, enjoyed a high degree
of autonomy from successive central governments. Even today you can see homes
