Shākya mchog ldan’s Contribution to the Study of pramāṇa

The present paper examines Shākya mchog ldan’s contribution to the study of pramāṇa (tshad ma) in Tibet. Specifically, it focuses on Shākya mchog ldan’s early life, his study of pramāṇa, dissemination of pramāṇa, and his works on pramāṇa.
At the age of eight to twenty-eight, Shākya mchog ldan learned pramāṇa texts from many masters belonging to the Sa skya pa, such as Rong ston shes bya kun rig. During that period, he also studied with Sangs rgyas chos skyong, who is considered as a successor (rgyun ’dzin pa) of Rngog lo tsā ba’s lineage. From the age of eighteen to eighty, he continuously gave teachings on both Indian and Tibetan pramāṇa treatises at Gsang phu, Gser mdog can, and Rnam rgyal chos sde, and so forth. There are fourteen works on pramāṇa included in his collected works. He was also instrumental in establishing pramāṇa studies in a number of famous monasteries in Tibet.