His Holiness Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche, the 41 st Sakya Trizin, is the supreme head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Tibet in 1945 and belongs to the ancient Khön family lineage. He is considered a manifestation of Buddha Manjushri; he is a very high spiritual master, endowed with profound wisdom and limitless compassion. From a young age, His Holiness was introduced to Buddhist philosophy and engaged in meditation retreats.
The ceremony for his enthronement took place in Tibet in 1959, the year in which he was forced to leave Tibet for India along with his retinue. Since then, he has acted in favour of his people, the Sakya school, and Buddhism, rebuilding monasteries and schools for monks and nuns of the Sakya tradition, and villages for refugees. These villages constitute a new foundation for the secular and religious life of Tibetans. In Nepal and India, he has directed the foundation of more than 30 monasteries. Furthermore, he supports the creation of Sakya centers around the world.
His Holiness undertakes numerous journeys to teach the Dharma worldwide and comprehensively transmits the profound teachings in a language suited to the aptitudes of the disciples. Given that H.H. Sakya Trizin has received initiations in the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, he is renowned as a non-sectarian Lama (Rimé).
His Holiness Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche saw with his vast vision that in the current era, it would be beneficial to change the system of succession of throne holders, even though this diverged from the procedure in force for centuries in the Sakya tradition. This change would, in fact, lead to an increase in stability in the continuity of the teachings and in the administration of the Sakya school. On May 8, 2014, the new system of succession, which provides for a rotation every three years of the Sakya Trizin in office, was unanimously accepted by the Dolma Phodrang (H.H. Gongma Trichen) and the Phuntsok Phodrang (H.H. Jigdal Dagchen).