P26: 'phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan/

Names order acc. to frequency
Full:
Title:
Descriptive:
Abbreviated:
Names
Sanskrit:
Chinese:
English:
Dates
General
  • 5th of the Five Great Founding Fathers of Sakya (sa skya'i gong ma rnam lnga) Ⓢ

  • 'phags pa’s standard title is chos kyi rgyal po ("King of Religion") Jackson 1997a (p. 45), bla ma dam pa chos kyi rgyal po ("Noble Guru, King of Religion") Jackson 1997a (pp. 45, 51)

  • first major patron of kāvya studies and translations in Tibet Jackson 1997a (pp. 42, 45)

  • under his patronage shong ston rdo rje rgyal mtshan largely introduced the study of Sanskrit grammar and poetics Jackson 1997a (p. 48)

Biographical data

h2. Teachers

h2. Students

Events (chronological)
  • 1244: ordained by sa skya paNDi ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan/ (1182–1251) at the jo khang / in lha sa/ Jackson 1987 (vol. 1, p. 28)
  • 1244: took dge tshul/ ordination en route to China in the presence of na-bza' 'phred gsol/ (also called zul phu ba/) and the 3rd skyor mo lung / throne-holder Sørensen & Hazod 2007 (p. 696 n. 5)
  • 1246: reached the court of Köden in Liang-zhou with his uncle Sakya Paṇḍita Petech 1990 (p. 8)
  • 1251: remained in Mongolia after the death of Sakya Paṇḍita Ⓢ
  • 1252 (18th year): 'phags pa, in Liang-zhou (ling chu rtsi) wrote letter to kalyāṇamitras in Tibet; see dbus gtsang gi dge ba'i bshes gnyen la II [2007]
  • late 1253 (19th year): in smar khams tsom mdo in Southern Amdo Petech 1990 (p. 14 n. 33)
  • 1253 (chu mo glang): 'phags pa bestowed empowerments on Qubilai acc. to 'ja' sa bod yig ma / 'bandhe gshed bskyed ma/ of 1254 (shing pho stag; rendered in sa skya'i gdung rabs chen mo [1986] (pp. 165-167) [edict does not explicitly the Hevajra empowerment], Musrepa mentions Hevajra empowerment and beginning of Vajrayāna Buddhism in Mongolia, sa skya'i gdung rabs mus srad pa [2017] (p. 38), also sa skya'i gdung rabs chen mo [1986] (pp. 151f.)
  • early 1254 (20th year): in mdo khams sgang Petech 1990 (p. 14 n. 33)
  • 1254: received by Qubilai Petech 1990 (p. 14); in Qubilai's encampment at Liu p'an shan (lu pa'i shang), southeast of Ku-yüan prefecture in Kansu province Nakano 1971 (p. 33)
  • May 1254: 'ja' sa bod yig ma issued by prince Qubilai in May 1254 Petech 1990 (p. 14 n. 33); see also sa skya'i gdung rabs chen mo [1986] (pp. 162-167), mentions devotion of Qubilai and wife cha bu to 'phags pa and his bestowal of empowerment in chu mo glang year (i.e. 1253), issued in shing stag year at rgya bod mtshams lung pa shar (i.e. Liu p'an shan)
  • 1255: consecrated tomb of Sakya Paṇḍita in Liang-zhou and returned to mdo khams Petech 1990 (p. 15)
  • joint Qubilai in his journey to North China
  • 22nd May 1255: received final ordination at the le as full monk Petech 1990 (p. 15)
  • 1255: full ordination under snye thang pa grags pa sengge/ (~13th cent.) in his twenty-first year ngor chos 'byung [1973] (p. 326.2)
  • full ordination under snye thang pa grags pa sengge/ (~13th cent.) Sopa 2009 (p. 174); see also Heimbel 2013 (p. 196 n. 60) on his monastic ordination
  • 9th month 1255: was in attendance to the prince Qubilai Petech 1990 (p. 15)
  • 1256 and summer 1257: resided at the Wu-t'ai shan [i.e. ri bo rtse lnga] Petech 1990 (p. 15)
  • 1258: 'phags pa began initiating Qubilai in Buddhist-Tibetan mysticism Petech 1990 (p. 15)
  • 1258 (24th year): took part in the 3rd Buddhist-Taoist debate Petech 1990 (p. 15); see also Nakano 1971 (p. 33)
  • 9th Jan. 1261: granted to 'phags pa the title of National Preceptor (kuo-shih) with an undefined authority as supreme head of the Buddhist clergy; [note that the Yüan-shih reads ti-shih here!], see also Nakano 1971 (p. 34)
  • 1261-1263: little is known of 'phags pa's activities during the years following his appointment as kuo-shih. He remained at the court of the new emperor Petech 1990 (p. 16)
  • 1264 (30th year): 'phags pa was sent to Tibet with the 'ja' sa mu tig ma issued at 28th May 1264: from Śoṅ-t'o, the summer capital shang tu Petech 1990 (p. 17); see also sa skya'i gdung rabs chen mo [1986] (pp. 160-162), here byi ba'i lo, mentions bestowal of empowerments and granting the office of ku shih
  • 1264: left the court in spring 1264 Petech 1990 (p. 17)
  • 1264: was granted the authority of the Bureau of General Regulation (Tsung-chih yüan) to administer Tibet and to supervise government relations with the Buddhists Petech 1990 (p. 33), see also The Cambridge history of China (Cambridge University Press, 2008), vol. 6, p. 461
  • 20th May 1264 (?): arrived in snyi lung in rong po (Southern Amdo) Petech 1990 (p. 17 n. 46)
  • 24th Dec. 1264: present at ra mo che temple in Lhasa Petech 1990 (p. 18)
  • beginning of 1265 (31th year): 'phags pa arrived at sa skya dgon/ Petech 1990 (p. 18)
  • (31st year): visits sa skya dgon/ mang thos bstan rtsis [1987] (p. 165)
  • 2nd month 1265-2nd month 1267: stayed at sa skya dgon/ for at least 2 years acc. to the colophons of his tracts Petech 1990 (p. 20 n. 52)
  • together with shAkya bzang po sponsored also the revision of some earlier translations in the Kangyur Petech 1990 (p. 20)
  • 'phags pa recalled to Peking, left Sa skya towards Amdo
  • 23rd Oct.-13th Nov. 1267: stay at 'dam, met nam mkha' 'bum Petech 1990 (p. 20 n. 62)
  • 4th April 1267 (?): stayed at tsom mdo gnas gsar in smar khams (Southern Amdo)
  • 27th July 1268: arrived at cong du (Chung-tu, Peking) Petech 1990 (p. 22 n. 71)
  • 1968/1269: 'phags pa invented the so-called 'Phags pa alphabet that was declared to be the national script in 2nd month of 1269 Petech 1990 (p. 22); see also Nakano 1971 (p. 35 n. 42) stating that is difficult to ascertain the year in which the script was invented; the new script was promulgated by imperial decree in 1269 Nakano 1971 (pp. 35f.)
  • end 1269/beginning 1270: Qubilai granted him the title of the Imperial Preceptor (ti-shih) Petech 1990 (p. 22); see also sa skya'i gdung rabs chen mo [1986] (pp. 212), here in lcags pho rta (i.e. 1270) at the age of 36 after dbang; see also Nakano 1971 (p. 36), also received the title of ta-pao fa-wang, [note that the Yüan-shih doesn't mention the ti-shih title Nakano 1971 (p. 36 n. 45)]
  • 1271-1273: left for shing kun (Lin t'ao) where he took residence for three years Petech 1990 (p. 22)
  • 2nd month of 1274: returned to the court in Beijing and renounced his office of Imperial Preceptor Petech 1990 (pp. 22f.)
  • 1274 (40th year): departed to Tibet through South Amdo where he tarried for nearly two years at tre Petech 1990 (p. 23); see also Nakano 1971 (p. 36)
  • (41st year): returns to sa skya dgon/ mang thos bstan rtsis [1987] (p. 166)
  • Sep. and Oct. 1275: (sic!) delivered religious discourses to about 1500 monks at mtsho mdo gnas gsar headed by ston tshul Petech 1990 (p. 23)
  • 29th Feb. 1276 (42th year): 'phags pa was at thang skya in dbus and shortly later at Sakya Petech 1990 (p. 23); see also Nakano 1971 (p. 36)
  • 1277 (43th year): 'phags pa convened at chu mig a general conference of the ecclesiastical leaders of the country, chaired by mchims nam mkha' grags Petech 1990 (p. 24); see also Nakano 1971 (p. 36)
  • 15th Dec. 1280: 'phags pa died in the lha khang bla brang of sa skya dgon/ Petech 1990 (p. 23); see also Nakano 1971 (pp. 36f.)
Notes
  • lam 'bras bla brgyud/ position no. 15
sakya research centre 2011-2025 | Log in