SPIRITUAL LINEAGE
The Sakya tradition is one of the four major religious traditions that existed in Tibet. It rose to play a significant role in the development and spread of the new Tantras that came to Tibet in the eleventh century. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the holders of the Sakya tradition were also the principal political powers that ruled over Tibet. Although its political stature gradually declined over the centuries, emphasis on its unique religious tradition strengthened and flourished and produced many great and distinguished practioners, saints, and scholars.
The origins of the Sakya tradition are closely connected with the ancestral lineage of the Khon family, a family which itself originated from celestial beings. Beginning with Khon Konchok Gyalpo (1034-1102) who was the founder of the Sakya traditon, the lineage continues unbroken to this day. Five of the foremost luminaries of the Sakya tradition were the renowned Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), Loppon Sonam Tsemo(1142-1182), Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147-1216), Sakya Pandita (1182-1251) and Dogon Chogyal Phagpa (1235-1280). Together, they are regarded as The Five Patriarchs of the Sakya Tradition.
Following the Five Patriarchs were the Six Ornaments of Tibet, who were also renowned spiritual masters of the Sakya tradition. The Six Ornaments of Tibet comprised Yakton Sengey Phel and Rongton Sheja Kunrig, who were reputed for their authority on the teachings on the Sutras; Ngarchen Kunga Zangpo and Zangpo Kunga Namgyal, who were highly learned in the tantras; and Gorampa Sonam Sengey and Shakya Chogden, who were highly learned in both Sutras and Tantras. It was Gorampa Sonam Sengey who also introduced the formal study of logic in the Sakya tradition.
Not unlike the other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, a number of sub-traditions gradually emerged within the main Sakya tradition. The lineages of teachings within the discipline instituted by Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1457) and the successful masters of this discipline, namely Konchok Lundrup, Thartse Namkha Palsang and Drubkhang Palden Drubup, have come to be known as the Ngor lineage. The lineage of Tharchen Losal Gyatso (1502-1556), known as the Whispered lineage of Tsar, includes the secret doctrines of the greater and lesser Mahakala, Vajrayogini, Dzambala and others, and is known as the Tsar tradition. Another important sub-tradition that arose was the Dzongpa tradition founded by Dzongpa Kunga Namgyal (1432-1496). To use a simple illustration, the
The teaching and practice that is the essence of the Sakya tradition is called: “Lamdre" (Lam’bras), or “The Path and its Fruit”. Fundamentally, the philosophical viewpoint expressed in ” The Path and its Fruit” is the “Non-differentiation of Samsara and Nirvana". When the mind is obscured it takes the form of Samsara, and when the mind is freed of obscurations it takes the form of Nirvana. The ultimate reality is that a person must strive to realize this fundamental inseparability through meditation.
This practice ultimately leads to a practitioner to the state of the Hevajra deity, one of the principal deities of the Sakya tradition. The profound teaching itself originated from the Indian teachers Virupa, Avadhuti, Gayadhara and Shakyamitra, and was first brought to Tibet by Drogmi Lotsawa, who also rendered it into Tibetan. During the time of Muchen Sempa Chenpa Konchok Gyaltsen, a disciple of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1457), the transmission of “The Path and its Fruit” developed into two sub- traditions: “The Explanation for Assemblies" (Tshogbshad), and the uncommon Lamdre teachings (Lobshe). Since the Lamdre teaching was first brought into Tibet, it has been continuously passed down to this day through an unbroken lineage of masters up to His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, the present throne holder of the Sakya tradition.
The Ratnavali of Nagarjuna says: “Every action arising from desire, aversion and ignorance produces suffering; but every action arising from the absence of desire, aversion and ignorance produces happiness” .