’Phags-pa

’Phags-pa (born 1235—died 1280) was a Tibetan scholar-monk who set up a Buddhist theocracy in Tibet.

’Phags-pa was a member of the Sa-skya-pa school of Buddhism, which was based at the Sa-skya monastery and which was noted for its emphasis on scholarship. After the Mongols had established suzerainty over his country, ’Phags-pa accompanied his uncle, the Sa-skya Lama, on a visit to Mongolia in 1247. ’Phags-pa later succeeded his uncle as lama and came to have great influence with Kublai Khan, ruler of the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) of China, to whom he became adviser. With Kublai he worked out the relation of Tibet to China as a personal bond between the lama as priest and the emperor as patron (yon-mchod). He also developed with Kublai the “dual principle” of the parity of power and dignity of church and state in political matters. ’Phags-pa also invented an alphabet for the Mongol language.