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Dharmapala Raksita

Type Figure Region Tibet Time 1268–1287 Also known as Dharmapala Raksita、Dharmapala Rakshita、答儿麻八剌剌吉塔、dharma pA la rakShi ta

Dharmapala Raksita (1268–1287), nephew of Phagpa and ninth Sakya Trizin, served as Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan from 1282, the second member of the…

Timeline

  1. 1268–1280Sakya · Sa'gya CountyBorn after the death of Phagpa's brother Chana Dorje, raised by the local lord of Zhaxi. After Phagpa's passing in 1280 he inherited his uncle's leadership of Sakya and presided over the funeral, becoming the de facto head of the Sakya school.
  2. 1281–1282Dadu · BeijingSummoned by Kublai Khan to Dadu in 1281 at about fourteen years of age. Formally invested as Imperial Preceptor in 1282, succeeding his uncle Rinchen Gyaltsen as the second Khon-family Imperial Preceptor after Phagpa.
  3. 1282–1286Dadu · BeijingResided long at the Yuan court as Imperial Preceptor, never formally ordained as a monk nor serving as abbot of Sakya Monastery. He built a memorial stupa for Phagpa and founded the Medrolba monastery as the Imperial Preceptor's residence, which thereafter served as the permanent office of Yuan Imperial Preceptors until the dynasty's fall.
  4. 1286–1287Chuimandala · TibetResigned as Imperial Preceptor in 1286 and left the Yuan court to return to Tibet, dying en route at Chuimandala at only twenty years of age. His son Ratnapadma died at five, extinguishing this branch of the Khon family; Kublai then appointed non-Khon individuals as Imperial Preceptor and abbot of Sakya.

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