The Five Sakya Patriarchs

When the Five Sakya Patriarchs are mentioned， no one will neglect to mention the Sakya Sect， one of the four greatest sects in Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya Sect， later than the Nyingma Sect， has dominated Tibet for nearly a hundred years during the Yuan Dynasty. The Five Sakya Patriarchs are milestones in the history of the sect. That’s why the five figures often appear as one portrait or as a group of sculptures （and as such have carried on until today）. I have seen the Five Sakya Patriarchs on the fresco in the Sutra Chanting Hall of the Gongkar Monastery in Lhoka. Therefore， it is sure that such images could be found in some other Tibetan Sakya monasteries.

Usually， the Five Sakya Patriarchs are divided into two groups： first， the lay Buddhists（addressed as the Three White Patriarchs）； second， the monks， addressed as the Two Red Patriarchs. The Three White Patriarchs are Sachen Gongkar Nyinpo， Sonam Tsemo and Drakpa Gyatso. The Two Red Patriarchs are： Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen， and Drolkun Chogyal Phagpa （i.e. Phagpa）.

Sachen Gongkar Nyinpo （1092A. D.-1158A.D.） was the first one who actually helped the Sakya Sect develop into a complete system and exert a greater influence in Tibet. So， generally， he is respected as“Sachen”.

Sonam Tsemo （1142A.D.-1182A. D.） was the second son of Sachen Gongkar Nyinpo. He succeeded in his father’s post and became Master of the Sakya Monastery. Later， people revered him as No. 2 among the Three White Patriarchs.

Drakpa Gyatso （1147A.D.-1216A.D.）， the third son of Sachen Gongkar Nyinpo， succeeded his second elder brother’s （Sonam Tsemo’s） post and became the third among the Three White Patriarchs.

Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen （1182A. D.-1251A.D） was the first son of Bechen Wopu， the forth son of Sachen Gongkar Nyinpo. He became a monk when he was a child. When he grew up， Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen succeeded his uncle， Drakpa Gyatso’s post and became the Master of the Sakya Monastery. Since he was a monk， the later generations consider him one of the Two Red Patriarchs， thus the first one of the Two Sakya Red Patriarchs. In Tibetan history， Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen is someone of importance. He was proficient in Tibetan rig-gnas-che-ba-lnga and rig-gnas-chung-ba-lnga. He was also the first one who acquired the title of Pandit in Tibetan history， respected as Sakya Pandit， i.e.“Sapan” in short. His contributions to the exchanges and innovations of Tibetan culture are significant as milestones. He was the first one who built a relationship with the Yuan Court. In the letter he addressed to all Tibetan officials and common people， Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen has persuaded powers in different areas of Tibet to pay allegiance to Mongolia. On behalf of different regimes in Tibet， he has come to Liangzhou（Nowadays Wuwei County of Gansu Province） in person and negotiated with Mongolia about the affair of submission.

Drolkun Chogyal Phagpa （1235A. D.-1280A.D.） was called Phagpa in Chinese historical books. Also a monk， Phagpa is listed in the Red Sakya Patriarchs， the second one of the Two Red Patriarchs， also the last one of the Five Sakya Patriarchs. When he was young， Phagpa followed his uncle to Liangzhou to meet Kuoduan， grandson of Genghis Khan. Chakna Dorje， Phagpa’s younger brother， was with them then. In 1251 A.D.， Kuoduan and Sapan Kunga Gyaltsen died in Liangzhou. Phagpa inherited Sapan’s status and became a hierarch of the Sakya Sect. In 1260 A.D.， Kublai came to the throne of the Mongolian Khan and Phagpa was assigned Master of State. In 1268 A.D.， Phagpa created new Mongolian characters and Kublai appointed him Imperial Tutor. In 1280 A.D.， Phagpa passed away in the Sakya Monastery. During his life， Phagpa further consolidated the relationship between Tibet and the central national government， pushing forward cultural exchanges among the nationalities of Mongolian， Tibetan and Han Chinese.

As one of the Five Sakya Patriarchs， Phagpa has held grand religious activities in the area of Chumik and became the second great Tibetan Dharmachakra after the Ngari Dharmachakra in Tibetan history. Afterwards， Master Tsongkhapa held the Great Prayer Sermon in Lhasa. In Tibetan history， the three Dharmacakras constitute the famous Three Dharmachakra Activities.