This monastery is a must-see for visitors to Tibet. The monastery lies 81 miles southwest of Shigatse. The Tibetan word Sakya, mean­ing "gray soil" because of the color of the local soil, is the central monastery of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Its walls were painted in red, white, and gray stripes, which represent the Manjushri, Avalokitesh-vara, and Vajrapani bodhi-sattvas, respectively. Be­cause the monastery has an enormous collection of highly valuable art works, it is deemed the "Second Dun-huang." The Drum River di­vides it in two: the Northern Monastery and the Southern Monastery.

Established first, the North­ern monastery was founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo in 1073, from which the Sakya Sect arose that once ruled Tibet. Unfortunately, it is now in ruins due to its de­struction during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The ruins still reflect its splendor, however. The fifth Sakya throne holder, Drogon Chogyal Phakpa, known as Phakpa, built the Southern Monastery in 1268. Phakpa was the spiritual guide of Kublai Khan, a Mongo­lian Chinese emperor who granted Phakpa secular and religious authority over Ti­bet. After Phakpa, the Sakya Sect ruled for more than 100 years in Tibet.

The Southern Monastery is in better condition than the Northern. A typical Mongo­lian structure, the fortresslike monastery covers nearly 484,375 square feet, is sur­rounded by a moat, and has an outer wall and an inner wall. With fortifications and battlements on top, it has only one entrance on the east.

Sakya contains countless mu­rals, mostly of the Yuan Dy­nasty. Of these, the murals of mandalas and former Sakya throne holders are the most outstanding. Among its col­lection of treasures are 3,000 pieces of palm-leaf sutras written in Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian, and Sanskrit, which cover a wide range of knowledge. Other artifacts such as seals, crowns, robes, Buddhist vessels, and statues bestowed by emperors of the Yuan Dynasty are also on display there.