Beyond the main Himalayan ridge, in northern Nepal, lies Mustang (ancient name Lo) — a land more Tibetan than Tibet itself. It was not opened to the outside world until 1992, and its last king did not abdicate until 2008 — a medieval walled city and an unbroken Sakya lineage have been preserved here intact to this day.

The bond between Mustang and Sakya began in the fifteenth century, when Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo, the founding master of the Ngor branch of Sakya, entered Lo three times. In Lo Manthang he established the lineage and oversaw the transcription of the gold-ink Kanjur; from then on all three ancient temples of the city took Sakya as their orthodoxy. Beyond the walls, the older Nyingma shrine of Lo Gekar rests against the legend of Guru Rinpoche's demon-subjugation. One city, one monastery, together preserve the two lifelines of Tibetan Buddhism along the southern slopes of the Himalayas.

The five articles below approach this last Tibetan kingdom from five angles.

Return to Sakya's Sacred Sites.

• Lo Manthang.jpg · Glama1 / CC BY-SA 4.0