Sakya Tridzin Wangdu Nyingpo - New Images

Additional images have been added to the Wangdu Nyingpo main page. He was the 29th Sakya Tridzin and considered the second Padmasambhava of this Age. He was considered to be a rebirth of Ngor Khenchen Palden Chokyong and others. Most of his profound teachings were received from his father Kunga Lodro, the previous Sakya Tridzin. Wangdu Nyingpo constructed a new Vajrabhairava temple in Sakya with a bigger than life size central image along with the twelve wrathful retinue figures slightly larger than the size of a man. Along with that he constructed a new protector chapel with very large sculpture. Renowned as a 'treasure Revealer' (terton) his books are still available and read today.

Wangdu Nyinpo is sometimes employed as a guruyoga practice based on a text that he wrote himself. He is depicted in a wrathful form with either a black hat topped with a raven or a standard Sakya hat with lappets draped across the top.

The 69th Abbot of Ngor Evam Choden Monastery, Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso (1902-1963), was believed by some to be an incarnation of Wangdu Nyingpo, as is the current Sakya Tridzin, Ngagwang Kunga (born 1941).

The Pillars of Lhakang Chenmo, Sakya Town

The temple of Lhakang Chenmo in Sakya Town, Tibet, is famous for it very large and massive pillars. There are four principal pillars in the main temple of Lhakang Chenmo. Each of the pillars are named and have a special story relating their symbolic meaning and how they came to be in the main temple of Sakya.

- Yellow Pillar

- Tiger Pillar

- Wild Yak Pillar

- Black Blood Dripping Pillar

Manjushri Lhakang, Sakya Town

The Manjushri Lhakang (temple) of Sakya Town in Tibet, is located in a small room above the building known as the Drolma Lhakang located a short distance from the main Lhakang Chenmo temple complex of Sakya. The Drolma Lhakang has three separate temple rooms. The first, on the ground floor, is called the Drolma or Tara temple although there is little inside that is specifically dedicated to Tara. To the right side of the main entrance, accessed through a separate door, is the Tangtong Gyalpo Lhakang. In June of 2007 this temple was under going extensive renovations. From an upper floor window murals of repetitive images of Tangtong Gyalpo could be seen on the walls. (See a map of the Tsang region of Tibet).

The Manjushri Lhakang is located on the 2nd floor of the two storied Drolma Lhakang building. The room has a single pillar in the middle and a couple of small windows. There is no shrine or furniture in the empty room. The four walls are painted with murals, floor to ceiling, depicting every form of Manjushri, peaceful and wrathful. The more important, or common, of the forms are painted large scale with the minor, or more obscure forms, smaller in size. Each iconographic form is accompanied with a name inscription. Some of the Manjushri forms have retinue deities which can be seen clearly in image #46875. The iconography of the paintings represent the many forms of Manjushri found in the Kriya, Charya and Yoga Tantras of Tantric Buddhism. One wall has sustained damage and the paintings have been effaced with cracks patched and filled. The general format and stylistic elements of the murals and comparing them with the more datable murals of Jonang Monastery, Tagten Damcho Ling, not far away would suggest a date of 17th century the creation of the murals. (The photos were taken in June of 2007).

Sakya Town, Cityscape Murals

These murals depict the town of Sakya prior to 1959. They are located in one of the corner towers of Lhakang Chenmo Monastery. Although recently painted they offer a glimpse into the Sakya of old. Most of the architectural representations and areas of the cityscape are accompanied by inscriptions. (SRG Archive 2007).

Protector Chapel, Lhakang Chenmo, Sakya

These are images of the main Protector Chapel in Lhakang Chenmo Monastery, Sakya, Tibet. There are of course many smaller protector chapels in other buildings but this is the main free standing Protector Chapel. It primarily contains masks of the different deities and a selection of Bamo masks. The large standing central image of Panjarnata carved in sandalwood was a gift of the elder Drolma Podrang Dungse Rinpoche.

Manjushri Cave, Sakya Town

The Manjushri Cave is located on the North side of Sakya slightly West of the large patch of white earth (sakya). The cave was made famous by Sachen Kunga Nyingpo when he was twelve years old and had entered into a strict six month retreat on the practice of Arapachana Manjushri. Early on there were obstacles but they were removed using the practice of Nila Achala, wrathful, blue in colour, in a kneeling posture. Towards the end of the retreat Arya Manjushri appeared to the young Kunga Nyingpo and spoke the four lines of the Separation of the Four Attachments (see below).

"With attachment to this life - there is no Dharma practitioner;
Attachment to samsara - no renunciation;
Attachment to self-purpose - no Enlightenment Thought;
If grasping arises - there is no view."

The image on the left is a 2007 photograph of the cave entrance and the shrine inside. A building has also been constructed around the cave to help preserve it from the elements. Almost all of the buildings on the North side of the river are reconstructions from the 1980s to the present.

The Stupa of Bari Lotsawa

This Ushnishavijaya Stupa which is believed to have survived the destruction of the North Monastery was discovered under the rubble of the roof and walls. It is the stupa in which the mortal remains of Bari Lotsawa were placed after his death and considered one of the four precious and sacred sights of Sakya Town.

Sakya Monastery & Town

The Sakya Monastery & Town Page on the Himalayan Art Resources website has been updated with 600 images from the SRG Archive. Not all of the images have been divided into their subject or location themes. This will happen over the next couple of weeks. The Manjushri Cave has been added. This is the location where Sachen Kunga Nyingpo had direct communication with Arya Manjushri during a six month retreat. The Ushnishavijaya Stupa has been added. This is the final resting place for the body of Bari Lotsawa Dharma Drag. Both of these sacred sights are located in the same building on the North side of Sakya to the left of the white patch of earth. The protector chapel of Lhakang Chenmo, the main South Monastery, has also been added.

Kau Drag Dzong

Kau Drag Dzong is the most famous retreat center of Sakya. It is located just south of the Lhakang Chenmo temple and up a steep river gorge half way to the village of Kau - famous for its hot water and healing springs. Kau Drag Dzong was the hermitage of Lama Nam Ka'upa the student of Nyen Lotsawa. Sachen Kunga Nyingpo studied at this location with Lama Nam Kau'pa. These teachers are all well known for the practices of Chaturmukha Mahakala and the creation of the public, or generic, form of Chaturmukha as Brahmanarupa Mahakala. (See the Kau Drag Dzong page on the Himalayan Art Resources website).

The Tibet Album and Sakya Photos

"The Tibet Album presents more than 6000 photographs spanning 30 years of Tibet's history. These extraordinary photographs are a unique record of people long gone and places changed beyond all recognition." (Publisher).

There are some interesting old photos of Sakya worth looking at especially in light of the extensive renovations that have been done at Sakya Monastery (Lhakang Chenmo) in the last few years.