The ’Khon clan continued to develop Sa skya
Monastery, with the help of such individuals as Ba ri lo
tsaba (1040–1112), who assembled many relics at Sa
skya. The great literary contributions, though, came
from the five Sa skya masters: Sa chen Kun dga’ snying
po (1092–1158), Bsod nams rtse mo (1142–1182),
Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216), SA SKYAPANDITA
(SAKYAPANDITA, 1182–1251), and Chos rgyal ’Phags
pa (1235–1280). Sa chen specialized in tantric scholar-
ship, writing the first summary of the tantric path in
Tibet and compiling eleven commentaries on the cen-
tral text of the esoteric Lam ’bras(Path and Fruit), at-
tributed to the Indian saint Virupa. Sa chen’s sons, Bsod
nams rtse mo and Grags pa rgyal mtshan, contributed
to the myth of the Buddha, established tantric exegesis,
commented on S ́antideva’s Bodhicaryavatara,and cod-
ified the Sa skya understanding of the tantric path. With
Sa skya Pandita, the Sa skya took to conservative philo-
sophical scholarship, and the Sa skya order came to be
known for its maintenance of the triple discipline and
its defense of Dharmakrti’s epistemological system.
However, many original Tibetan contributions to
Buddhism also came from this period. Among his
innovations, Phya pa Chos kyi seng ge (1109–1169)
developed philosophical definitions, doctrines of
universals, and methods of argumentation; many chal-
lenged Indian assumptions, especially those of Dhar-
makrti. In an entirely different direction, seminal BKA’
BRGYUD(KAGYU) representatives, like Sgam po pa bsod
nams rin chen (1079–1153), delineated the doctrines
of the self-sufficient white remedy (dkar po gcig thub).
These doctrines posited a soteriology of a single med-
itative method under the rubric of the Great Seal (ma-
hamudra). Another Bka’ brgyud pa, ’Bri gung ’Jig rten
mgon po (1143–1217), additionally proposed that all
the Buddha’s statements were of definitive meaning
(nltartha), so that they all had the same intention
(dgongs gcig). Also based on esoteric Buddhist ideals,
Dol bu pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan (1292–1361) repre-
sented the newly formed Jo nang school, a tradition
grounded in KALACAKRAexegesis. Dol bu pa’s reading
of S ́UNYATA(EMPTINESS) emphasized an emptying of
attributes from a ground of reality and became tech-
nically known as the “other emptiness” (gzhan stong).
This position stood in opposition to the “self empti-
ness” (rang stong) of orthodox MADHYAMAKA SCHOOL
philosophy. Like the ideology of the eighth-century
Chinese Heshang Moheyan and the more radical Rny-
ing ma doctrines, most of these Tibetan contributions
became refuted by the orthodox, who adhered to a nar-
row definition of acceptable statements based on con-
formity to Indian texts by specific authors.
The Sa skya were granted control over Tibet during
the Yuan dynasty, with the fifth of the great Sa skya
teachers, ’Phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan (1235–1280)
proclaimed Kublai Khan’s national preceptor in 1261.
Sa skya leaders supported Mongol policies, such as the
first census of Tibet, and some scholars became influ-
enced by Mongol and Chinese literature, with Chinese
imperial records translated into Tibetan. However,
about 1350, during the Yuan decline, the Bka’ brgyud
pa monk Ta’i si tu Byang chub rgyal mtshan (1302–
1364) challenged the Sa skya for control of Central
Tibet. He was successful in some measure, and his Phag
mo gru pa subtradition was the dominant political
force for most of the next century.
One result was the formalization of the Tibetan
canon under Ta’i si tu’s patronage, by BU STON(BU
TÖN) Rin chen grub (1290–1364). Bu ston catalogued
the tantric canon (rgyud ‘bum) section of the trans-
lated scriptures (Bka’ ’gyur) and compiled the trans-
lated authoritative treatises (Bstan ’gyur). In theTIBET
A statue of Padmasambhava, who played a crucial role in the es-
tablishment of Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century, at the Jo
khang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet. © Craig Lovell/Corbis. Reproduced
by permission.