Sakya Monastery

The Sakya Monastery located at the foot of Benbo Mountain in the Tibet Autonomous Region, is the ancestral temple of Sakyapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built in 1073 by Khon Konchog Gyalpo, the founder of Sakyapa sect of Lamaism. Sakya, means "Grey Soil" in Tibetan because the soil surrounding it is gray. In the Yuan Dynasty, the fifth Sakya Throne Holder, Drogon Chogyal Phakpa was appointed as the National Priest by Yuan Emperor Shizu. He took charge of the Buddhist and executive affairs of Tibet and initiated the history of monk's reign in Tibet. Sakya Monastery became the political center of Tibet at that time. The Zhongqu River divides Sakya Monastery into the southern and the northern part. The northern temple has been mostly deserted while the southern temple still remains.

The northern temple looks like a castle with walls as high as 13 meters surrounding it. Outside the castle is a lower earthen castle and outside further is the deep trench. Walls, watchtowers, turrets; earthen castle and trench form the defensive system of the castle, which was almost formidable at that time. With red wall in white and grey strips which represent Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani respectively, the Sakya Monastery is also called Colored Temple and Colored School. The main architectures inside the castle are the Dajing Hall where the Sakya archbishop lived. The Dajing Hall preserved the style of Yuan architecture is in the center of the temple and occupies an area of 5,700 square meters.

On the western, northern and southern sides are fresco corridors while on the eastern side is the hall where Sakyapa Masters are enshrined. To the north of Dajing Hall is the hall for Sakyapa archbishop, with monks' dorms on its north and back.. On the shelves of the Dajing Hall and the Buddhism Hall are displayed various hand-written Buddhist scriptures and books of Ming and Qing dynasties. It has the largest number of books among all the temples in Tibet. These scriptures and books are precious materials for research into the Tibetan history. Here are some guide information for your tour to Sakya Monastery.

Address: Sakya County, 180 Km south from the Shigatse.
Admission Fee: CNY45
Contact Number: 86-892-85968802

HISTORY OF SAKYA MONASTERY AND SAKYAPA ORDER

Sakya played an essential role in Tibetan history. It was once the center of political life in Tibet. During the Mongol Empire rule, Sakya Lamas allied with Mongol Khan. Due to the alliance, the Mongol Empire was converted to Tibetan Buddhism.

During the rule of Mongolian Kublai Khan in the 13th century, Sakya abbot became the ruler of Tibet. For the first time in the history of Tibet, the religious leader became the head of the government. Subsequently, Sakya town served as the capital of Tibet from 1268 to 1354.

Kön Könchog Gyelpo (1034-1102) founded Sakya monastery in 1073. The first building was the Gorum Temple on the Northside on the hillside. Sakya in Tibetan means “pale soil” and the monastery received its name because of the surrounding rocky mountains.

WHAT TO SEE IN SAKYA

The majestic monastery built in a defensive manner is in the valley or south side of the complex. The Northern hillside of the complex is undergoing restoration.

Sakya monastery houses many important artifacts.

The Main Assembly Hall Lhakhang Chenmo (founded in 1268) is an impressive structure with 16 meters high walls, and the only ancient building not destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Thick walls (3.5 meters thick) support the building, along with huge sacred pillars. Along the walls of the hall, you will see large statues of Buddhas. These statues contain relics of Sakya abbots. The Buddha in the center contains relics of the founder of the monastery.

THE GREATEST LIBRARY IN TIBET

From the Assembly hall, you can access the Sakya library containing the largest collection of scriptures in Tibet. The library collection was discovered in 2003 in one of the monastery walls. There are 84,000 scrolls, most of them are Buddhist scriptures. Some are elaborately decorated with gold letters and images of Buddhas.

The two primary Buddhist texts Kangyur and Tengyur (or Kanjur and Tanjur) are written in gold ink.

LARGE PILLARS SUPPORTING THE CEILING

There are forty pillars in the Main Assembly Hall. Four of which are over one meter in diameter. Each of these 4 pillars has its own name, corresponding to its history: the yellow pillar, the tiger pillar, the wild yak pillar, and the black blood dripping pillar.

ANCIENT THANGKAS AND MURALS

You will see many ancient murals on the walls of Sakya, many dating back to 13-14th centuries.

Among the most prominent are murals of mandalas, murals depicting the Abbots of Sakya, scenes of building the monastery and scenes from Bardo, the state after death.

Look for the newly painted murals in the corner of Lhakang Chenmo. They depict Sakya town’s historical appearance, before the distractions of the Cultural Revolution.

CHORTENS OR STUPAS

The chapel on the north of the courtyard contains 11 silver chörtens (stupas). The chortens contain relics of Sakya abbots. In the chapel, you can also see sand mandala.

SAKYA MONASTERY COMPLEX

There are several colleges where a few hundred monks from all over Tibet study. Due to all the student monks, there are over 300 monks in Sakya.