Monk Names in the Sakya Tradition: Lineage of the Khon Family
Explore monk names in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Learn about the distinctive naming patterns of this scholarly lineage connected to the great Sakya masters.
The Sakya Tradition: Grey Earth
The Sakya tradition (ས་སྐྱ་པ) takes its name from the grey earth (sa skya) of the region where its main monastery was established in 1073. The Sakya tradition is known for its scholarly emphasis, particularly in the fields of tantra, logic, and Buddhist philosophy. The tradition was founded by the great translator Drokmi Lotsawa and later flourished under the five great masters of Sakya — Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, Sonam Tsemo, Drakpa Gyaltsen, Sakya Pandita, and Chogyal Phagpa. Sakya monastic naming reflects this scholarly heritage and the family lineage of the Khon clan.
Unlike the other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Sakya tradition was historically headed by a hereditary lineage — the Khon family — rather than by tulkus. This has given Sakya naming a distinctive character, with many names passing down through family lines. The Sakya tradition also has strong connections with Mongolian Buddhism, and some Sakya names reflect Mongolian influences from the period when Sakya lamas served as imperial preceptors to the Yuan dynasty.
Key Elements in Sakya Monastic Names
"Kunga" (ཀུན་དགའ) means "All Joy" and is one of the most important elements in Sakya names. It appears in the name of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), the first of the five great Sakya masters, whose name means "Essence of All Joy." "Sonam" (བསོད་ནམས, Merit) appears in the name of the second great Sakya master, Sonam Tsemo. "Drakpa" (གྲགས་པ, Renowned) appears in Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third great master. "Pandita" (པཎྜི་ཏ, Scholar) in Sakya Pandita reflects the scholarly emphasis of the tradition. "Phagpa" (འཕགས་པ, Noble) refers to the fifth great master, Chogyal Phagpa.
"Rinchen" (རིན་ཆེན, Jewel) is another important Sakya name element. "Wangchuk" (དབང་ཕྱུག, Powerful Lord) appears in many Sakya names, connecting to the protector deity Mahakala who is especially important in the Sakya tradition. "Zangpo" (བཟང་པོ, Good) is common in compound names. "Dawa" (ཟླ་བ, Moon) and "Nyima" (ཉི་མ, Sun) appear in Sakya names as well, following the pan-Tibetan pattern of celestial names.
The Sakya Throne-Holders
The heads of the Sakya tradition hold the title "Sakya Trizin" (ས་སྐྱ་ཁྲི་འཛིན), meaning "Throne-Holder of Sakya." Each Sakya Trizin receives a name that often includes "Kunga" or "Rinchen," connecting them to the lineage of Sakya masters. The current Sakya Trizin is Khondung Asanga Vajra Rinpoche, and previous throne-holders include Sakya Trizin Ngawang Kunga (ངག་དབང་ཀུན་དགའ). The naming of Sakya throne-holders maintains the tradition's distinctive character while reflecting the individual's qualities and the needs of the time.
Distinctive Sakya Naming Practices
Sakya monastic naming has several distinctive features. The use of "Kunga" as a name element is much more common in Sakya than in other traditions. Sakya names also tend to be longer, often incorporating three or four elements. The influence of Sanskrit is more pronounced in Sakya names due to the tradition's strong connection to Indian Buddhist scholarship. "Vajra" (རྡོ་རྗེ), "Ratna" (རིན་ཆེན), "Padma" (པདྨ), "Karma" (ཀརྨ), and "Visuddha" (རྣམ་དག) — the five buddha families — appear in Sakya names, reflecting the tradition's emphasis on tantric philosophy.