542 shen weirong
When Central Tibet was taken over by Mongol troops during the
reign of Möngke Khan (1209–1259), Tibet was divided into various
fiefs among the Mongol princes. In the meantime, each Mongol prince
had established the so-called yon mchod (lay ruler-donor and precep-
tor-officiant) relationship with a certain Tibetan Buddhist sect. For
instance, Möngke Khan was the patron of the ’Bri gun bKa’ brgyud pa
sect, while the then-prince Kubiai (1215–1294) became the yon bdag
of the Tshal pa bKa’ brgyud pa. In the same way, Prince Ariq-boke
(?–1266) became the patron of the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa, while his
younger brother Hülehü (1217–1265) was the patron of the Phag mo
gru bKa’ brgyud pa. Accordingly, the bKa’ brgyud pa was especially
favored by the Mongol Khan and his princes.^9 The second hierarch
of the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa sect, Karma Pakshi Chos kyi bla ma
(1204–1283), was the most popular Tibetan lama among the Mongols
and the powerful locus of esoteric power before the rise of the Sa skya
pa under Kubiai Khan.
The yon mchod relationship between Kubiai Khan and ’Phags pa bla
ma served as the classical example of the ideal relationship between a
lay ruler-donor and a preceptor-officiant in later periods. ’Phags pa
became the first imperial preceptor of the Mongol Yuan dynasty under
the rule of Kubiai Khan. Members of the ’khon family of the Sa skya
pa inherited the position of the imperial preceptor successively until
the end of the Yuan. They headed the Xuanzheng yuan , the
Bureau for Tibetan and Buddhist Affairs at the central government,
and thus took charge of Tibetan and Buddhist affairs of the entire
country.
Sa skya pa lamas played a significant role in spreading Tibetan
tantric Buddhism at the Mongol court.^10 The Mahākāla cult was essen-
tially introduced to the Mongols by Sa skya pa lamas, preeminently
through Dam pa bla ma, the state preceptor sGa A gnyan dam pa
Kun dga’ grags (1230–1303). According to Chinese sources, Dam pa
was able to help the Mongol armies during their military campaigns
by evoking the magical power of Mahākāla and by curing the life-
threatening diseases of Mongol nobles. For instance, through propi-
tiation of the deity, he helped bring about the eventual surrender of a
Song army during the decade-long Mongol conquest of South China.
(^9) Petech 1990, 6–31.
(^10) Petech 1990, 6–31.