The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
The Ganden Tripa, also spelled Gaden Tripa, is the title of the spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, the school that controlled central Tibet from the mid-17th century until the 1950s. The 103rd Ganden Tripa, Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin, died in office on 21 April 2017. Currently, Jangtse Choejey Kyabje Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Palsangpo is the 104th Ganden Tripa.
Ven. Paltul Rinpoche is a Baram Kagyü lineage holder, one of the four major sub-schools of the Kagyü Order in Tibetan Buddhism. There are four major orders in Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. The present Paltul Rinpoche is the fifth lineage holder of the previous four masters of Tibetan Healing Arts and Meditation. He also is the teacher and head of Demo Monastery, located in the Nangchen region of Kham, Eastern Tibet. His Demo Monastery also incorporates a Traditional Institute of Medicine and Tibetan Astrology, as well as a hospital for the local nomadic population.
Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche is a lama in Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Kalimpong, India and the daughter of the late Mindrolling Trichen, Khandro Rinpoche was recognized by Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa at the age of two as the reincarnation of the Great Dakini of Tsurphu Monastery, Urgyen Tsomo, who was one of the most well-known female masters of her time. Khandro Urgyen Tsomo was the consort to Khakyab Dorje, 15th Karmapa Lama (1871–1922) and recognised in this Buddhist tradition as an incarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal. Her name is in fact her title, Khandro being Tibetan for dakini and rinpoche an honorific usually reserved for tulkus that means "precious one."
Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje was known simply as Dudjom Rinpoche. He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from an important Tulku lineage of Terton Dudul Dorje (1615-1672), and was recognized as the incarnation of Terton Dudjom Lingpa (1835-1904), a renowned treasure revealer. He was a direct incarnation of both Padmasambhava and Dudjom Lingpa. He was a Nyingma Householder, a yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his secretary Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal and many others, he was revered as "His Holiness" (Kyabje) and as a "Master of Masters".
Sonam Tsemo, an important Tibetan sprititual leader and Buddhist scholar, was the second of the so-called Five Venerable Supreme Sakya Masters of Tibet, the founding fathers of the Sakya tradition.
Sakya Monastery, also known as Pel Sakya, is a Buddhist monastery situated in Sa'gya Town (ས་སྐྱ་), Sa'gya County, about 127 kilometres (79 mi) west of Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery is considered as the seat of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Sakya Trizin is the traditional title of the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is a bhikṣuṇī in the Drukpa lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is best known for being one of the very few Western yoginis trained in the East, having spent twelve years living in a remote cave in the Himalayas, three of those years in strict meditation retreat.
Pema Dönyö Nyinje is the 12th Tai Situpa, a tulku in Tibetan Buddhism, and one of the leading figures of the Karma Kagyu school. He is the head of Palpung Monastery.
The Khamtrul tulku lineage is part of the Dongyud Palden section of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Jetsun or Jetsunma is a Tibetan title meaning "venerable" or "reverend." It is a specific term applied to revered teachers and practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism. The title is applied to adepts and learned lamas such as Jetsun Milarepa. "Je" refers to those of high rank, including kings and nobles; "tsun" refers to 1) those of noble rank, 2) those who are monastics, or 3) those who combine the three characteristics of being learned, noble, and good. The two together emphasize the honorific while "tsun" applies the term specifically to ecclesiastics.
Jigdal Dagchen Sakya Rinpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher educated in the Sakya sect. He was educated to be the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the successor to the throne of Sakya, the third most important political position in Tibet in early times. Dagchen Rinpoche was in the twenty-sixth generation of the Sakya-Khön lineage descended from Khön Könchok Gyalpo and was regarded as an embodiment of Manjushri as well as the rebirth of a Sakya Lama from the Ngor sub-school, Ewam Luding Khenchen Gyase Chökyi Nyima.
The Second Beru Khyentse, born Thupten Sherap is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and the third reincarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892).
Ngor is a sub-sect of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The main monastery of the Ngor sect is the Ngor monastery of Evam Choden about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Xigazê.
Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who served as the 42nd Sakya Trizin from 2017 to 2022, considered one of the highest qualified lineage masters of both the esoteric and exoteric traditions of Buddhist philosophy and meditation. He is a descendant of the famous Khon family in Tibet, which holds an unbroken lineage of great and famous masters for over a thousand years. He is the eldest son of the 41st Sakya Trizin Ngawang Kunga. He teaches Buddhism and travels extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Ratna Vajra was enthroned as the head of the Sakya school on 9 March 2017. On 16 March 2022, the throne of the Sakya school was passed by Ratna Vajra to his younger brother Gyana Vajra, who became the 43rd Sakya Trizin.
Jetsun Pema Trinle (1874-1950) was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, and was one of only a few women authorized to teach the general and esoteric presentation of the Path and Result in the Sakya tradition, known as Lamdre Tsokshe and Lobshe respectively. As a child she received teachings from her paternal great-aunt Jetsunma Tamdrin Wangmo, her elder brother, her father Kunga Nyingpo Sampel Norbu, and the abbot of Ngor, Ngawang Lodro Nyingpo. She rarely gave public teachings. She did tour eastern Tibet to give and receive teachings, and her main teacher there was Tenpai Wangchuk, who himself was a disciple of her great-aunt Tamdrin Wangmo. She also received Lamdre teachings from Jamyang Loter Wangpo, and gave teachings to the 3rd Dezhung Rinpoche.
The Tibet Center, also known as Kunkhyab Thardo Ling, is a dharma center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Venerable Khyongla Rato Rinpoche in 1975, it is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist centers in New York City. The current director is Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland, the abbot of Rato Dratsang monastery. Philip Glass assisted with the founding of The Tibet Center. Since 1991 TTC has invited and hosted the 14th Dalai Lama for teaching events in New York in partnership with the Gere Foundation.
Although there were many householder-yogis in Tibet, monasticism was the foundation of Buddhism in Tibet. There were over 6,000 monasteries in Tibet. However, nearly all of these were ransacked and destroyed by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Most of the major monasteries have been at least partially re-established, while many others remain in ruins.
Sakya Trizin Ngawang Kunga served as the 41st Sakya Trizin, the throne holder of the Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, from his appointment in 1952 until his retirement in 2017. His religious name is Ngawang Kunga Tegchen Palbar Trinley Samphel Wangyi Gyalpo. After passing the throne of the Sakya lineage to his elder son Ratna Vajra Rinpoche who became the 42nd Sakya Trizin on 9 March 2017, he is now known as Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche.
