Sakya Pandita Quotes
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, monk, and statesman, the fourth of the Five Sakya Forefathers and the leader of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism in the early thirteenth century. His Treasury of Reasoning on Valid Knowledge gave the most important Tibetan synthesis of the Indian pramana tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti, while his Treasury of Aphoristic Jewels collected ethical and worldly maxims that became the most widely memorized work of Tibetan didactic poetry. The quotes below are attributed to Sakya Pandita, organized by topic.
Sakya Pandita on Knowledge
-
Attributed to Sakya Pandita:
“Knowledge unaccompanied by reasoning is the inheritance of the foolish.”
-
Attributed to Sakya Pandita:
“The wise study even from the unwise; the unwise refuse to learn even from the wise.”
-
Attributed to Sakya Pandita:
“What you cannot prove by reasoning, you cannot defend against doubt.”
Sakya Pandita on Politics
-
Attributed to Sakya Pandita:
“Treat the patron as you would treat your most demanding teacher; treat the teacher as you would treat your most generous patron.”
Sakya Pandita on Virtue
-
Attributed to Sakya Pandita:
“Wealth used for the Dharma is the only wealth that does not betray its owner.”