The Sakya Lekshe is the first philosophical maxim poetry anthology of the Tibetan people and was produced during the later half of the 13th century. The author, Sakya Pandita, used a form of maxim poetry to observe and assess all kinds of social phenomena and then put forward a series of assertions about how to conduct oneself in society, scholarship, knowledge and how to treat things amongst other things. The poetry anthology emphasizes the function of knowledge and wisdom,  and proclaims that benevolence,  brotherhood,  forbearance, charity,  altruism,  honesty,  truthfulness,  and dedication to progress amongst other things are the standard doctrines of Buddhism.The Sakya Lekshe holds an important place in the history of Tibetan literature.Not only has it  been widely circulated throughout Tibetan culture but also it has had significant influence inside and outside of the country.

Sakya Pandita, the author (1182-1251) , was a 4th generation forefather from the Sakya sect born into a post-Tibetan royal Sakya household. From an early age he received strict training in Buddhist sutras as well as other classics and became a well-known scholar of that period.  He put forth many well known writings during his life and the Sakya Lekshe is one of his Major Works.

During the period that the Sakya Lekshe was produced,  it was precisely the time that Tibetan Society was making a shift from a slavery system into a feudal serf and slave system. During the middle of the 9th century after the death ofLang Darma,  and the collapse of the old Tibetan Royal household ( Tubo), the slavery system was uprooted and destroyed as uprisings and insurrections instigated by slaves were carried out all across the land.  Resultingly Tibet fragmented into numerous small areas held by strong groups.  They sent punitive expeditions out toward the other groups engaged in continuous warfare all the way up until the time of the Yuan Dynasty  when a central government was finally established.  Only at this time was it possible to end the 300 plus year period of chaos and turmoil, and only at this time was it possible to unite Tibet.  Due to the developmental demands of social production itself and furthermore because of the influences from the internal feudal economic system before and after the 13th century, elements of feudalism within Tibetan area economies increased little by little and furthermore a feudal serf and slave system economy structure already had gradually taking shape. At that time, a religion that was for a time defamed byLang Darma, was revitalized and resuscitated by efforts made by powers in all parts of the land.  Some of the dominant powers in some places sent individuals one after the other to India to study Buddhist doctrines, and at the same time well known practitioners of Buddhism from India were invited to Tibet to make publicly well-known the teachings of the religion.  Because the way things are passed down can easily take on differences and moreover because of the demands of different politics in different places, Tibetan Buddhism shaped into four major sects: theKadam, the  Kagyu, the Sakya and the Nyingma sects. Great Lamas from each of the sects built temples to expand their spheres of influence, and along with this activity they worked to gather more apprentices and the write books advancing their theories, and furthermore they used literary methods to disseminate the doctrines and assertions of each of their sects.  Therefore for a short while, a prosperous scene of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy emerged.

The Sakya Lekshe was produced under such historical circumstances. Numerous Maxims are taught and beneficial to individuals up until this time.  Furthermore, one of the prominent accomplishments of the Sakya Lekshe is that it uses extremely rich metaphorical reasoning to explain topics. It takes elusive and tedious ethics and refines them into language that is plain and easy to understand transforming it into a vivid, colorful and fresh work with deep morals and a relatively high level of artistic stylization. It is not only a precious document for research of the history of Tibetan literature and philosophy,  at the same time, it can be used as a reference in the creation of literature and art.