His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya was born in 1929 in southwestern Tibet within the Phuntsok branch of the Khön lineage. Rinpoche received Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana teachings from his father, His Holiness Sakya Trichen Ngawang Thutob Wangchuk, the 40th throne holder of the Sakyas in Tibet, and from other eminent masters. He also received the unbroken transmission of the Khön lineage, the Sakya initiations of Vajrakilaya and Hevajra, the complete Lamdre, and the 13 Golden Dharmas.
He received his education in Sakya until the age of 22, then travelled to eastern Tibet to receive more advanced spiritual instruction and there met his main teachers. He became a great tantric master, extremely erudite, and repeatedly transmitted the Lamdre in Tibet – in Kham and Sakya, as well as in Nepal and India.
From 1960, Rinpoche lived in Seattle, in the United States of America, where he was intensely engaged in the preservation and transmission of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He conferred many teachings and initiations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and East Asia.
In Seattle, he founded an important monastery that serves as a seat for cultural and religious studies in the West. In 2001, in New Delhi, he also founded the Sakya Heritage Society, with the aim of preserving the family heritage for future generations and for the holders of the lineage.
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).
On April 29, 2016, His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen entered into the profound meditation called Thukdam, and on May 5, 2016, he left his earthly body, entering into Parinirvana.