The heartbeat of the Sakya tradition today pulses through His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Gyana Vajra Rinpoche—enthroned in March 2022 at the storied Sakya Thubten Namgyal Monastery. Born into the Khön family lineage in 1974, he brings a fresh breeze of scholarship and tantric insight to a school founded more than nine centuries ago.

Right alongside him, His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche—his elder brother—continues to cast a wide net of teachings across Europe, North America and Asia. Having passed the official throne in a graceful hand-off, Ratna Vajra still holds court at major summer teachings in India and Switzerland, weaving sutra and tantra with the same deft touch that earned him acclaim as one of the youngest Sakya Trizins ever enthroned back in 2017.

Within the Ngor sub-tradition, the 37th Ngor Khenchen, S.E. Thrinle Dordje Rinpoche, steers its scholastic and monastic institutes, ensuring that the Ngorpa legacy remains as vibrant as the main Khön line. Together, these figures keep Sakya’s scholarly rigor and tantric flame burning bright—proof that a nearly thousand-year-old school can still feel downright electric.