tive polemics against what he saw as unwarranted Ti-
betan innovations.
Precocious as a youth, Sa skya Pandita was identi-
fied early to follow in the footsteps of his ’Khon clan
predecessors. His great-grandfather, ’Khon Dkon-
mchog rgyal po (Khön Könchok gyelpo, 1034–1102)
had founded Sa skya Monastery in 1073 C.E., and the
edifice had increased in fame and fortune under suc-
ceeding teachers. Sa skya Pandita’s uncle, Grags pa
rgyal mtshan (Drakpa Gyeltsen, 1147–1216), directed
much of his early education and was concerned mostly
with the tantric system. In distinction, his nephew’s in-
terest clearly moved toward the scholastic texts that
had gained much currency and authority in Tibet
throughout the twelfth century. Accordingly, Sa skya
Pandita was sent to Central Tibet in 1200 C.E. to study
with Tibetan teachers who emphasized the texts of YO-
GACARA SCHOOLidealism, the philosophical works of
the MADHYAMAKA SCHOOL, and the works onLOGIC
and epistemology of DHARMAKIRTI(ca. 650 C.E.) and
his followers. The greatest influence, though, on Sa
skya Pandita was destined to come through his meet-
ing with the Kashmiri master S ́akyas ́rbhadra
(1140s–1225) and his retinue of Indian and Kashmiri
teachers fleeing the Muslim persecution of Buddhism
taking place in India at the time.
Together with the other scholars, S ́akyas ́rbhadra
instructed Sa skya Pandita in the Sanskrit curriculum
employed in the great Indian monasteries of the pe-
riod. The topics emphasized the scholastic syllabus
(ABHIDHARMA, VINAYA, PRAJN
APARAMITALITERATURE,
Madhyamaka, logic and epistemology, etc.), as well as
a well-rounded education in the literature and, espe-
cially, poetics current in India. Scholastic pedagogy
emphasized the memorization of texts and the debate
of their contents, so that the learned were expected to
become expert in the defense of specific propositions.
In the more than one hundred compositions of his
received œuvre, Sa skya Pandita demonstrated his com-
mitment to Indian scholastic Buddhism. David Jackson
in his 1987 book The Entrance Gate for the Wise(vol.
1, pp. 39–48) identifies five works of special influence:
1.Mkhas pa rnams ’jug pa’i sgo(Entrance Gate for
the Wise) is a pedagogical text that instructs the
student in the primary skills—composition, ex-
position, and debate—of late Indian monasteries.
2.Legs par bshad pa rin pa che’i gter(Treasury of
Aphoristic Jewels) is a delightful collection of
homilies and remains Sa skya Pandita’s bestknown work; it is still memorized by Tibetans
and establishes a common discourse for much of
Tibetan culture.
3.Tshad ma rigs gter(Treasury of Epistemology),
with its autocommentary, is Sa skya Pandita’s
major statement on epistemology; it is dedicated
to the refutation of the innovations of Tibetan
scholars, especially Phywa pa Chos kyi seng ge
(Chapa Chökyi Sengé, 1109–1169).
4.Thub pa’i dgongs gsal(Clarifying the Sage’s In-
tention) is dedicated to the bodhisattva path as
understood in late Mahayana scholasticism.
5.Sdom gsum rab dbye(Clear Differentiation of the
Three Codes) is a synthetic work on the vows of
the monk, the bodhisattva, and the tantric prac-
titioner.Through these and other works, Sa skya Pandita chal-
lenged what he perceived as non-Indian innovations,
especially those he identified as coming from Chinese
influence or indigenous Tibetan sources.
Sa skya Pandita’s reputation for learning and sanc-
tity eventually drew Mongol interest, and he was or-
dered by Göden Khan to the Mongol camp in 1244
C.E. He spent his last days in Mongol hands, instruct-
ing his nephew, ’Phags pa (Pakpa, 1235–1280), who
was destined to become the first monk ruler of Tibet
and the fifth of the five great Sa skya teachers.See also:TibetBibliography
Bosson, James E. A Treasury of Aphoristic Jewels: The Subha-
sitaratnanidhi of Sa Skya Pandita in Tibetan and Mongolian.
Bloomington: Indiana University Publications, 1969.
Jackson, David P. The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III):
Sa-skya Pandita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of
Pramana and Philosophical Debate,2 vols. Vienna: Arbeit-
skreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, 1987.
Jackson, David P. Enlightenment by a Single Means: Tibetan Con-
troversies on the “Self-Sufficient White Remedy.”Vienna: Der
Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1994.
Kuijp, Leonard W. J. van der. Contributions to the Development
of Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology from the Eleventh to the
Thirteenth Century.Wiesbaden, Germany: Franz Steiner
Verlag, 1983.
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen. A Clear Differentiation of the
Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Lib-
eration, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems,tr. Jared Douglas
Rhoton. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.SA SKYAPANDITA(SAKYAPANDITA)