Sakya monastery is located in the Sakya county of Shigatse prefecture and is one of the most impressive structures in Tibet. It was originally founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo in 1073. The earth in this area is of a grey colour, so the monastery is called “GreyEarth” monastery. Later, in 1262. Drogon Choegyal Pakpa built the southern part of the monastery. The massive central hall in the is called Lhakhang Chemo or the great chapel. Inside it there are many statues and other relics, but among them the most important relics are the Buddha statue in the center, and the conch shell which is believed to have been used by the Sakyamuni Buddha himself.
Against the back walls of the hall, there are about 20,000 volumes of hand written Buddhist scriptures. These are written with liquid Gold, silver or other precious materials. It is said that even if the outer walls collapse, the inner wall of scriptures will not collapse. Because of these important scriptures, people also call it the second Dunhuang, which is famous for its collection of ancient texts and murals,
Beside the main hall there are also many other chapels, including two palaces called Dolma Podrang and Phuntsok Podrang. Each palace has a head Lama and both are hereditary masters which means they get married and their sons will be the next masters. The masters from the two palaces became “Trizin” or the throne-holder by rotation. This is the mother monastery of the Sakyapa and it has many sub-schools and branch monasteries across the Tibetan plateau.
Unlike other monasteries painted in red and white, the Sakyapa monasteries have grey walls with black, white and red coloured lines that represent Varapani, the Buddha of power or indestructible, Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of compassion, and Manjushri, the Buddha of wisdom.