Sakya pandita biography of rory

Other works [ edit ]. Translations [ 36 ] [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. New York: Oxford University Press. Appendix B, p. ISBN OCLC Retrieved September 26, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. Rome, Vol. II, p. PhD Thesis, Indiana University, p. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. Reprint: Penguin Booksp. This is not clear from more detailed studies which indicate that the new script was developed much later, in the s.

Jackson, David P. According to the legendary account in Das, Sarat Chandra Contributions on the religion and history of Tibet. New Delhi: Manjusri, p. Stanford University Press. XX No. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. New Delhi: Manjushri Publishing House, pp. LI Freedom from Extremesp. As his own lama had prophesied, Sakya Pandita became the supreme ornament in China after his arrival there.

Through his unparallelled actions of body, speech and mind, he spread the teaching throughout numerous uncivillized lands. He delivered Prince Godan from his illness and the Prince developed great faith in him. However, one day when he was teaching the "Suvarnaparabha sutra" and had reached the line 'the tortoise has no hair', the Prince and his ministers decided to test him.

To this end, the Prince requested a Chinese magician to create a magic temple at the side of a lake and then invited Sakya Pandita to meet him there. In a state of profound meditation, Sakya Pandita blessed the temple by throwing flowers. The magician was consequently powerless to destroy the illusion. The Prince and his retinue were then filled with faith and named the temple 'magical temple of the North' Byang-phyogs sPrul-pa'i Lha-khang.

It can be seen in China to this day in the vicinity of mountain of Manjushri Wu-ta'i Shan. When, after some time, Sakya Pandita's Tibetan students begged him to return, he composed the treatise entitled "Elucidating The Thought of The Sage" Thub-pa'i dGongs-gsal and sent it to them. In this manner, Sakya Pandita caused the teachings of the Buddha to flourish throughout time and space.

In the female Iron Pig year at the age of 70, he passed away into the spiritual land of Joy whilst residing at the 'magical temple' monastery, having traversed the five paths and the ten bodhisattva bhumis. He became the Buddha Vimala Shri as had been prophesied by deities and gurus. While he was there, in the middle autumn month of the wood female snake year, and again in the last autumn month of the iron male dog year, he declared that he would depart for another realm in the iron pig year.

Some of his close disciples heard and recorded this, and it later occurred just as he had predicted. When composed primarily to benefit others, the words and meaning of his texts are flawless, logical, clear, in harmony with the sutras and tantras, and beyond criticism, even by the most learned. Indeed, all of his writing is amazingly beautiful.

Some of his works were composed primarily to demonstrate elegance in composition, such as Homage to the Sugatas, Beseeching the Compassion of the Enlightened Ones, and Elegant Speech. All of these works are beautifully composed, the words and meaning are in balance, and the metaphors do not contradict the meaning behind them. Clear distinctions are made between the types of prose, heavy and light accents, and long and short sounds.

The words and punctuation beautify and ornament the compositions. Although they are elegantly written, their meaning is clear, and the poetry is easy to recite and pleasant to hear. All of his writings are as works of pure gold, ornamented by jeweled tassels. It could also be said that they are sakya pandita biography of rory a garden of perfect pearls, extremely beautiful and elegantly composed.

When his compositions are read or heard by others, they delight the learned, are suitable for quotation by the intelligent, and are the object of admiration by the wise. His words were beyond criticism, and therefore, the courage of every challenger quailed. He defeated many Tibetan masters who were known as great scholars, and outshone many Buddhist panditas of India.

He also defeated masters of other religions. For instance, Harinanda was famous throughout India for his learning. When he heard of the fame of Sakya Pandita, he came to Tibet to challenge him to debate, together with six other learned Hindu masters. Sakya Pandita thoroughly defeated all of them with his wisdom, and placed them in the right view.

Until the age of 63, he engaged in study, contemplation, meditation, teaching, composition, and debate in Tibet. Through this, he served the doctrine of the Buddha, like the rising of the morning sun, and his fame pervaded the world. In the year of the male wood dragon, at the age of 63, Sakya Pandita embarked for Chinawith two nephews. On his journey, many famous learned masters and other fortunate disciples requested empowerments, blessings, explanations of the tantra, and pith instructions.

He fulfilled the requests of each of them according to their needs, and turned the wheel of Dharma in many places of Tibet. Traveling thus, the journey to China took three years. Therefore, desiring to benefit beings, I have embarked. There is no logical evidence other than this that I am certain I can be of benefit. Generally, if it is of benefit to other beings, I have not the slightest resistance to giving up everything, even my body and life, which is all that I have.

Sakya pandita biography of rory

The emperor returned to Lingchu in the beginning of the next year, the year of the sheep, and had an audience with Sakya Pandita in the palace. The Khan was delighted to meet Sakya Pandita and they had a relaxed discussion of Dharma and ordinary affairs. Before Sakya Pandita arrived in Lingchu, there sakya pandita biography of rory already some Tibetan monks at the palace.

Because of this, at gatherings in the palace to perform aspirations and prayers, the Mongolian folk practitioner Erkawun, and the Mongolian oracles were seated at the head of the assembly and led the chanting of aspiration prayers. When the Khan could not understand various important points, scholars and practitioners from Yunnan assisted him.

Through this, the Khan came to have a good understand of the meaning of the Dharma, and he was delighted to receive teachings from Sakya Pandita. Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen,sa skya pan di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan, is counted as the fourth of the Five Patriarchs of Sakya sa skya rje btsun gong ma lnga. He was the son of Palchen Opo dpal chen 'od po,who was the son of Sachen Kunga Nyinpo sa chen kun dga' snying po,and the nephew of Sonam Tsemo bsod names rtse mo, and Drakpa Gyaltsen grags pa rgyal mtshan, Sa-pan's mother was probably Machig Nyitri Cham ma gcig nyi thri cham.

Sa-pan was the principal disciple of his uncle, the great master Drakpa Gyaltsen. His early teachers also included Shuton Dorje Kyab shu ston rdo rje kyabs, d. In addition to training in the Sakya Lamdre and the Kadam traditions, he also studied Dzogchen, Shije, and other systems. Starting inat the monastery Chumig Ringmo chu mig ring moSapan became a close disciple of the Kashmiri teacher Shakya Shri Badhra Sakyasribhadra, and also studied under the Indian masters Samghashri, Danashila, and Sugatashri.

Sa-pan took full ordination with Shakya Shri Bhadra inwho trained him in the entire span of monastic education then current in the great monasteries of India, including Abhidharma, Vinaya, Prajnaparamita, Madhyamaka, logic and epistemology, grammar and poetics. Based on this education Pa-pan was instrumental in transmitting the Indian system of ten major and ten minor sciences to Tibet Sakya Pandita was known as a formidable philosophical debater in both formal public arenas and in writing.

In he traveled to Kyirong skyid grong where he famously debated and defeated the Indian scholar Harinanda. His compositions refuting doctrinal positions of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions continue to exert considerable influence. He authored more than one hundred texts and was also a prolific translator from Sanskrit. His major works include the Treasury of Epistemology tshad ma rigs pa'i gterClear Differentiation of the Three Vows sdom gsum rab dbyeClarifying the Sage's Intentions Thub pa dgongs pa rab gsalTreasury of Aphoristic Jewels Legs par bshad pa rin pa che'i gterand Entrance Gate for the Wise Mkhas pa rnam 'jug pa'i sgo.

His writings are among the most widely influential in Tibetan literature and prompted commentaries by countless subsequent authors. He taught widely and became renowned across Tibet for his scholarship and skill in teaching. In Sakya Pandita received an invitation to the court of the Koden Khan, the son of the supreme Mongolian leader Ogodei and the Khan in charge of the regions of the Mongolian Empire that bordered on Tibet.

According to some accounts, it was a Drigung lama who, declining the invitation to go to Mongolia, suggested Koden invite Sakya Pandita instead. Mongolian contact with Tibetan lamas had most likely begun with Chinggis Khan's conquest of Tangut kingdom of Xixia inand deepened with his successors' invasions of Sichuan and Yunnan regions. In Koden had sent a reconnaissance mission to Tibet to locate authorities who could submit on behalf of Tibet.

Finding only large monasteries and family estates headed by charismatic lamas ordained or notthe Mongolians logically established relations with lamas. Although these relations were almost certainly political in nature, Tibetan histories, which foreground the religious motivations of the Mongolians in inviting lamas to their courts cannot be entirely discounted, as many members of the ruling families were apparently quite devout.

Sa-pan, then aged 63, made the journey to meet Koden at Liangzhou, in the Kokonor region.