His Holiness Khöndung Gyana Vajra Rinpoche, was born in Dehradun, northern India on 5th July 1979, coinciding with the tenth day of the fifth month according to the Tibetan lunar calendar, the holy birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. He is the second son of His Holiness Gongma Trichen Rinpoche, the 41st Sakya Trizin and Her Eminence Gyalyum Chenmo Tashi Lhakyi. His Holiness’s birth was accompanied by auspicious signs, blessing the Sakya Dolma Phodrang with the arrival of the second of a new generation of lineage holders of the glorious Khön family.
His Holiness Khöndung Gyana Vajra Rinpoche will be the 43rd successor of Khön Konchok Gyalpo, the first Sakya Trizin and founder of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. By virtue of his birth, Rinpoche is also the spiritual heir of an unbroken succession of highly realised masters and spiritual leaders of Sakya Khön Throne holders, whose sole purpose has been to lead ordinary beings towards liberation from the cycle of suffering.
The origins of the illustrious Khön family can be traced back to the Abhasvara (Realm of the Clear Light), one of the seventeen levels of gods within the Rupadhatu (Form Realm). From the time of Padmasambhava’s visit to Tibet in the 8th century until today, the Khön lineage has a recorded history of producing a great number of illustrious adepts and Mahasiddhas.
Following the noble tradition of the Khön family, His Holiness Gongma Trichen Rinpoche wrote the Tibetan letter Dhi (Manjushri’s heart letter) on young Rinpoche’s tongue and gave the Sanskrit name Gyana Vajra (Wisdom Vajra). From birth, Rinpoche has been guided by his revered father and immersed in the roles and responsibilities of a lineage holder.
At the age of four, Rinpoche began his formal training under the tutelage of Venerable Lama Rinchen Sangpo, with whom he learned to read and write Tibetan, studied grammar and composition, and memorised religious texts. Later Rinpoche joined Sakya Centre, the seat of His Holiness Gongma Trichen Rinpoche in India for ritualistic studies, where he memorised and mastered traditional Sakya rituals involving deity practice with the help of Ven. Ngawang Gyatso. In 1992 Rinpoche passed a major ritual examination of Vajrakilaya. After completing his studies at the Sakya Centre, Rinpoche was enrolled at the prestigious Sakya College to study Buddhist Philosophy under the guidance of the Venerable Khenchen Migmar Tsering, one of the most distinguished scholars of his time.
In addition to Buddhist ritualistic and academic education, Rinpoche has received a vast number of major and minor empowerments from some of the greatest masters of our time. He has received most of the major initiations, empowerments, oral transmissions, blessings and pith instructions that are inherent to the Sakya tradition, notably the profound Lamdre teachings of ‘Taking the Result as the Path’ from His Holiness Gongma Trichen Rinpoche. Likewise, Rinpoche has received numerous common and uncommon teachings from some of the pre-eminent masters of Tibetan Buddhism, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin, H.E. Dorje Chang Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, H.E. Luding Khenchen Rinpoche, H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, H.E. Luding Khen Rinpoche, H.E. Jetsun Chime Rinpoche, H.E. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, the late H.E. Khenchen Appey Rinpoche and the late H.E. Khenchen Kunga Wangchuk.
Since commencing his formal trainings, Rinpoche has undertaken numerous retreats, the most recent being the major Hevajra retreat, which was completed in 2018. These retreats have followed the traditional system that emphasises the formal sequence of study, contemplation and meditation. Rinpoche’s training from a tender age to the major retreats in recent years have provided him with all the requisites of a Sakya Throne-holder.
Along with his noble father His Holiness Gongma Trichen Rinpoche and his elder brother His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Rinpoche has worked to spread the teachings of the Buddha. Rinpoche has, for several years, turned the wheel of Dharma across the world, giving teachings and initiations to disciples in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
In 2016, under the guidance of His Holiness Sakya Gongma Trichen, Rinpoche founded Sakya Academy, a monastic school in Purkul, near Dehradun. The vision behind the establishment of this school was to equip the next generation of Buddhist monks with both traditional and modern education. Accordingly, the Academy provides a unique education program with a nationally recognised secular curriculum taught alongside traditional monastic training.
This has required an exceptional amount of effort and dedication by Sakya Academy’s over 200 students, teaching and non-teaching staff and the Academy’s management. The ethos driving Sakya Academy is one of selfless excellence, the determination to develop one’s abilities to the maximum in order to benefit others. Since these children are mainly from underprivileged backgrounds, Rinpoche has been generously covering all of their expenses.
As Rinpoche’s religious obligations occupy much of his time, Her Eminence Dagmo Sonam Palkyi has taken on the responsibility of guiding Sakya Academy as its Director. Their two children, Khöndung Siddharth Vajra Rinpoche and Jetsunma Tsejin Lhamo attend the Academy in Kindergarten and Class III respectively. Rinpoche with the help of Her Eminence Dagmo Sonam Palkyi has been making every effort to not only provide quality education to the students at Sakya Academy but also to provide these children with parental love and care.
Along with his spiritual and traditional responsibilities, Rinpoche also holds numerous roles including as the President of the Sakya Monlam Foundation, and as the Vice President of the Sakya Centre. He is also the Chairman of the Phagpa Foundation, an organisation that Rinpoche recently established in Mongolia to educate a new generation of Buddhists there.
Rinpoche assumes the Sakya Throne on the auspicious day of 29 March 2020, the fifth day of the second month of the Iron Mouse year 2147 as the 43rd Sakya Trizin.