A New Treasure for Chinese National Culture: The Launch of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons”

On April 12, 2025, the launch ceremony of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” was held in Beijing. This 230-volume cultural masterpiece, which has been compiled over more than two decades, systematically presents the millennia-old wisdom system of 188 Sakya Dharma Kings for the first time, becoming a brilliant gem in the treasure house of Chinese culture. In the future, the editorial team will promote the digitalization of the Treasury of Canons and make it a common spiritual wealth of all mankind through multilingual translation and exhibitions.

On April 12, 2025, the new book launch ceremony of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” was held at the Beijing Yachang Art Center. The event was hosted by the Tibet Ancient Tibetan Books Publishing House and co-organized by the Tibet Sakya Culture Research Office, Yachang Culture Group, and the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Research Center of the School of Humanities at Tsinghua University. This 230 – volume cultural masterpiece, compiled over more than two decades, is the first to completely and systematically present the millennia – old wisdom system of 188 Sakya Dharma Kings since the Tubo period, becoming another brilliant gem in the treasure house of Chinese culture. Experts and scholars from the national cultural, academic, and religious circles gathered together to witness this cross – temporal cultural event.

Guest representatives including Sodnam Tsering, former director of the Tibet Ancient Tibetan Books Publishing House; Banchen Donyoe, researcher at the Advanced Institute of Tibetan Language and Culture, director of the Sakya Culture Research Office, and editor – in – chief of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons”; Khenpo Gokar Jampa, representative of the Manchu Sakya Temple; Ven. Yuanchi, director of the Buddhist Library and Museum of China; Shen Weirong, professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and director of the Sino – Tibetan Buddhist Research Center at Tsinghua University; Sarji, tenured professor and director of the South Asian Studies Department at the School of Foreign Studies, Peking University, and deputy director of the Peking University Qinghai – Tibet Plateau Research Institute; and Wan Jie, chairman of Yachang Culture Group, jointly unveiled the new book.

At the launch ceremony, Sodnam Tsering, former director of the Tibet Ancient Tibetan Books Publishing House, delivered the first speech. He emphasized that the official release of this cultural masterpiece, which embodies the wisdom of successive generations of the Sakya tradition, marks another significant achievement in the project of inheriting and developing China’s excellent traditional culture. It will inject new vitality into the protection of Tibetan cultural heritage and academic research.

Sodnam Tsering stated that today’s launch is not an end, but a new beginning. The “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” not only provides the academic community with invaluable primary materials, but also opens a window for the world to gain a deeper understanding of Tibetan traditional culture.

Banchen Donyoe, a researcher at the Advanced Institute of Tibetan Language and Culture and editor – in – chief of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons”, introduced the process of compiling the Treasury of Canons and its cultural and historical significance in his speech. He said, “Over the past two decades, we have traveled across the globe, visiting libraries, monasteries, archives, museums, and private collections to search for those precious documents scattered in the long river of history.”

The release of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” is a tribute to the thousand – year – old academic tradition of the Sakya Dharma Kings of the Kun family and a comfort to all cultural guardians. It is like a cultural bridge spanning a thousand years, connecting the glorious past with the hopeful present, carrying the Tibetan people’s millennium – old wisdom, historical memory, and spiritual inheritance.

Congbo, editor – in – chief of the China Tibetology Publishing House and deputy director of the editorial department of the “Chinese Encyclopedia·Tibetan Volume” at the China Tibetology Research Center, said in his speech that the compilation and publication of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” is of great significance in academic research and cultural construction. The publication of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” will have a positive impact and play an important role in inheriting and promoting the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, building a strong socialist culture, and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Shen Weirong, professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and director of the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Research Center at Tsinghua University, said that the primary documents compiled in the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” not only provide valuable first-hand materials for Buddhist studies but also fill many academic gaps and open up new research horizons for the academic community. He is convinced that this achievement will continue to release cultural energy in the future, inject new vitality into academic research, and shed new light on the inheritance of civilization, allowing ancient wisdom to shine more brilliantly in the new era.

Professor Sarji, head of the South Asian Studies Department at the School of Foreign Studies, Peking University, and deputy director of the Peking University Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Institute, said in her speech that the compilation and publication of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” is not only a tribute and continuation of such cultural projects but also a concrete practice of “bringing the words written in ancient books to life.” She also expressed the hope to collaborate with the Sakya Monastery and people from all walks of life who care about Tibetan culture and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to jointly contribute to the protection, inheritance, and research of Tibetan ancient books, as well as to serve national strategies and promote sustainable development in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The publication of the “Sakya Ga Peng Treasury of Canons” is a great event in the Tibetan cultural community. It bears witness to the perseverance of generations of guardians and injects fresh vitality into the construction of a strong cultural nation in the new era. Moving forward, the editorial team will take the release of the Treasury of Canons as a starting point to advance its digitalization. By employing technological means to digitize and permanently preserve the entire collection of ancient texts, they aim to transcend linguistic and geographical boundaries. Additionally, through multilingual translations (including Chinese and English) and exhibitions, the team will make this canonical work a shared spiritual treasure for all of humanity. When millennia – old wisdom meets contemporary civilization, what we interpret is not only history but also the key to the future.

Reprinted from Fo Guang News Buddhist Culture